Chapter 4 Annual Performance Report and 2007 Annual Performance Plan


a year by an independent firm for industry subscribers. The survey is an objective, carefully monitored, statistically valid measurement. This service measures transit time in hours from originating offices to destinating lockbox offices. The results of this survey are used by both mailers and the Postal Service to improve remittance mail service. Since 2001, this survey has shown consistent improvement in service performance. The Postal Service and the industry conducted research and worked on ways to further serve this segment. The results of the Phoenix-Hecht Survey also tend to move in the same direction as EXFC and ODIS, further reinforcing the validity of service performance trends.

Some mail, including First-Class Mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail, is dependent upon consistent air transportation. The Postal Service entered into an agreement with UPS, similar to its existing agreement with FedEx, to provide more consistent air transportation. The number of commercial air carriers was reduced as performance measurement systems identified nonperformers.

Internally, the Postal Service is adding new systems to detect and correct service problems such as “double feeds” — letters going through automation equipment transport systems that are not properly separated — and mail that is automatically identified as out-of-sequence.

B. EXPRESS MAIL

Express Mail is a premium 7-day-a-week service, with delivery on Sundays and holidays. Overnight delivery is guaranteed to most domestic locations. In cases where a destination is not on the Postal Service overnight transportation network, second-day delivery is guaranteed. Ontime performance is closely tracked. Scan data provides a reliable performance measurement system that verifies that the mail is delivered on the date committed. It is enabled by unique mailpiece identifiers and processes to scan mail at acceptance and delivery. A validation system is used to determine if the scanning procedures and processes are valid and accurate. As a premium service, scanning is built into the price of Express Mail.

For most International Express Mail, the Postal Service is limited to the measurement of the domestic portions of the service due. For inbound service, transit time is measured from the point a mailpiece leaves U.S. Customs (which “starts the clock”) to postal delivery to the U.S. address. Outbound service is measured from the originating Post Office to the postal plant serving as the international gateway.

In 2005 several postal administrations entered into an alliance to improve International Express Mail performance and reporting. As a result, the Postal Service now has an agreement with the posts of Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea to give customers a money-back guarantee for day-certain Express Mail service between partner countries. The Postal Service continues to work with other posts and organizations to improve International Express Mail service and measurement.

Global Express Guaranteed is a day-certain premium express product to 190 countries. It is operated in partnership with FedEx, which provides for transportation and delivery to the foreign address. Ontime performance measurement is based on scans from initial acceptance through delivery.

C. PRIORITY MAIL

Priority Mail is a nonguaranteed service with a 2- to 3-day service standard to most locations, depending on distance. Delivery service is provided 6 days a week, and excludes federal holidays. This year the Postal Service replaced the Priority End-to-End (PETE) measurement system. The new system, the Delivery Confirmation Priority Mail Retail (DCPM-R) service performance, expands coverage to 23 million retail Priority Mail pieces. Results are based on Delivery Confirmation, a service that must be requested and paid for by the customer. By scanning the piece at acceptance and at delivery, the Postal Service is able to measure service performance from entry to delivery. There are processes in place to ensure that the data are accurate at specific points in the system. Information about the elapsed delivery time is available to the customer at usps.com.

In 2007 Delivery Confirmation will also be provided to commercial mailers who submit an electronic manifest with their bulk Priority Mail pieces. The manifest is scanned at acceptance and entry into the mail system and with the scan at delivery, customers know when their mail was delivered. The Postal Service and the mailing industry are working on technical issues related to accuracy and timeliness of the manifest. However, as these issues are resolved, Priority Mail from commercial customers will be included in the service measurement system in 2007.

D. REPORTING SYSTEMS

Postal managers and commercial customers have other tools to assess delivery service performance. The Mail Condition Reporting System (MCRS) is an internal diagnostic tool that provides data to analyze service performance, focusing on mail processing centers. The Customer Service and Delivery Reporting System (CSDRS) provides daily reports on conditions within delivery units. These two systems include the categories “mail on hand” (not delayed) and “delayed mail”, by facility on a daily basis. This data is available for review at the area and the national levels. Some major mail service providers have developed proprietary performance measurement systems for their customers using these postal data systems.

The ADVANCE Notification and Tracking System was introduced in 1995 to track the delivery process for qualified Standard Mail and Periodicals mail. Delivery performance is tracked by approximately 7,000 delivery units serving over 11,000 ZIP Codes. Using the process, district and area offices can track the mailing to ensure receipt and delivery at the local unit and can work with mailers to identify problems.

CONFIRM was originally designed to provide commercial mailers raw scan data from a second mailer-applied barcode (PLANET code). It is now used as an internal diagnostic tool. A limited number of commercial customers also use the data to confirm their own analyses. Another tool used by the Postal Service and mailers is the Facility Access and Tracking (FAST) system, which tracks the arrival of commercial mail at postal processing facilities for entrance into the mailstream. The report analyzes mailers arriving late for scheduled acceptance, “no shows,” and those who arrive without appointments.

Customers may apply Delivery Confirmation or Signature Confirmation to obtain information about the delivery status of their packages. Parcel Post service standards vary by distance. Commercial customers using Parcel Select service have Delivery Confirmation included. The service standard