The Postal Service will redesign and simplify its portfolio of Special Services to offer customers a more logical set of integrated, value-based mailing solutions. It will determine customer mailing needs for safety, control, and assurance, and adapt existing services to best respond to those needs. An example is the introduction in September 2004 of the Electronic Return Receipt, which lets customers obtain a record of delivery as a PDF file attached to an email message. Similar enhancements will add utility to other Special Services and will be made in tandem with continued efforts to simplify requirements and processes. The goal is to make Special Services better understood and more useful to a wider range of customers.

The Postal Service will continue to encourage more small businesses to use the mail to find new customers and manage relationships. It will continue efforts to expand access to services where it is most convenient to customers and enhance the number and utility of its online resource. For example, the Business Reply Mail® Web site (usps.com/replymail) makes it easier for businesses to learn about and use reply mail. Customers can use the site to apply for permits, pay fees, confirm ZIP+4 codes, and electronically create pre-approved camera-ready reply mail formats. Another site (usps.com/directmail) contains a variety of tools, advice, and easy-to-use tutorials on direct mail.

Make Mail Intelligent

Over the last 20 years the Postal Service has successfully applied automation technology to improve service and reduce costs. Barcodes have been the technological foundation for these efforts and for the development of new product features, allowing the Postal Service to add value by providing information about mail in transit. Development of CONFIRM, a commercial service that uses barcodes to track First-Class Mail, Periodicals, and Standard Mail through the mailstream, has helped business customers manage their operations more efficiently.

The Postal Service will explore new product structures so that these customers can use information about mail to better manage their business and further reduce costs by improving their operations. Emerging Intelligent Mail technology will enhance CONFIRM and allow the Postal Service to create additional features, with pricing based on value. For First-Class Mail, the Postal Service will use the 4-state barcode and information-based indicia to build a robust platform of data about mail, which is obtained in-process using passive scanning. These data will pinpoint where mail is in the system and when delivery is expected. Products developed from this information could be advantageous to many commercial customers and strengthen First-Class Mail's position as a cost effective vehicle for business transactions. With advanced notice of the delivery of individual mailed payments, remittance companies could reduce the time and total cost to process the payments. There will be opportunities for Periodicals and Standard Mail customers to use this same technology to enhance the visibility of their mail. For example, an advertiser will know with greater certainty when a direct mail promotion has reached a customer, which can help the advertiser prepare for the customer's response and fine tune the timing of future mailings.