B. 100 PERCENT DATABASE QUALITY

By pursuing an aggressive policy of ongoing quality review and by developing technological and procedural improvements that improve communication among delivery and field AMS sites, the Postal Service is making progress toward the goal of providing a 100 percent accurate Address Management System (AMS) database. AMS provides timely delivery point address information for use in all automated processing operations. It also is the source of address information products required by the commercial industry in preparation of automation compatible mailings. In 2005 delivery routes in 41 districts were reviewed as part of the Postal Service's National AMS Street Review Program.

C. ADDRESS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Improving address quality reduces the amount of undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail and improves the effectiveness of automated mail-processing operations. The Postal Service provides products and services that assist mailers in attaining and maintaining 100 percent deliverable address lists. Mailers who use the resources detailed below are able to produce more deliverable mailpieces, increase their return on investment in the mailing, and gain access to work-sharing discounts.

1. ADDRESS ELEMENT CORRECTION

Address Element Correction (AEC) is a service that corrects and standardizes address elements. This process aims to transform problem addresses into accurate, standardized addresses, which allows mailers to take full advantage of automation discounts. AEC also produces a diagnostic report about the mailer's list management practices. The current electronic service resolves, on average, 31 percent of the previously unmatched addresses. More than 20 million addresses were processed in 2005 with 6.4 million addresses resolved.

In 2005 AEC II was launched as an enhancement of the basic, computerized AEC address correction process and seeks to correct addresses in mailers' lists that cannot be fixed using existing programs. Using Delivery Force Knowledge, which is, the knowledge of postal employees that deliver the mail for customers every day, AEC II corrects minor errors in mailers' address lists. AEC II helps reduce the volume of UAA mail for both mailers and the Postal Service.

2. ADDRESSEE NOT KNOWN (ANKLink)

ANKLink is an optional enhancement to the 18-month NCOALink product which was launched in 2005. ANKLink will enable Postal Service licensees to detect if there was a "probable move" beyond 18 months — up to 48 months. This data will not reveal the new address, but will inform mailers whether a customer change of address is on file along with the date of the move.

3. ELECTRONIC ADDRESS SEQUENCING

Centralized electronic address sequencing service eliminates workhours in the handling of manual address sequence cards and improves the consistency of the service provided. With average processing times of less than 5 days, the electronic service assists walk sequence mailers in updating their address lists in an efficient and time-saving fashion. In 2005 more than 26.8 million addresses were processed for 115 customers.

4. LOCATABLE ADDRESS CONVERSION SYSTEM (LACSLink)

The Postal Service introduced the Locatable Address Conversion System (LACSLink) in September 2004 to provide a secure technology for address conversions other than a customer move. LACSLink technology enables business mailers to update their rural-style addresses electronically with new, locatable city-style addresses in areas that are experiencing 911 emergency response address conversions. Other types of conversions happen when local municipalities make changes to the addressing schemes or the Postal Service renumbers Post Office boxes. There are currently more than 5 million converted addresses in the LACS file. LACSLink is now available as an option through CASS-certified software.

5. MULTILINE ACCURACY SUPPORT SYSTEM

Multiline Accuracy Support System (MASS) certification is designed to test multiline optical character readers, remote video encoding, local video encoding, and encoding stations. The MASS certification process evaluates the ability of MLOCRs and encoding stations to process address information and apply an accurate delivery point barcode to a mailpiece. MASS provides mailers and manufacturers with a common measure by which to test the quality of their machines and, after achieving a minimum percentage of accuracy, be certified by the Postal Service.

D. CHANGE OF ADDRESS SERVICE

Internet Change of Address (ICOA) service, available through usps.com, offers customers the ability to change their address via the Internet. For security, customers must use a credit card to authenticate their identity, and they are charged a $1 credit card verification fee. The application standardizes and adds ZIP+4 codes to the old and new address using the Postal Service database and delivery point validation. In 2004 the site introduced special offers on move related products and services through view and print coupons. It offers moving tips and information on government services. This initiative, also known as MoversGuide Online, is a part of the Strategic Alliance with a private sector company. In 2005 almost 6 million address changes were made using ICOA, with 4 million filed electronically. This service was especially useful in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when an emergency ICOA Web site was created to help people change their addresses quickly.