Standardize and Consolidate Information Technology
Additional opportunities remain to further standardize and consolidate postal information technology. Computer and peripheral standardization is continuing through the refresh of the Advance Computing Environment II (ACE II) rollout that will take place during 2008-2010. Printer standardization has reduced the types of standard printers from 350 to 50, eliminating many stand-alone printers and cutting demand for supplies.
The Postal Service also entered into a contract that will reduce telecommunications costs by up to 10 percent by auditing invoices, analyzing usage, and providing greater management oversight. New procedures and validation techniques will help ensure that corporate data is protected from unauthorized changes and access. Implementation of encryption for applications containing sensitive data will further enhance data security. In 2008, the Postal Service will pilot authentication for all external development and maintenance access as well as a fully-operational disaster recovery capability for all IT infrastructure and application components.
Enhance and Expand Shared Services
The Postal Service will continue to take advantage of enterprise-wide shared services. Shared services centralizes transactions previously performed by multiple functions, producing economies of scale and improving service quality and consistency. PostalPEOPLE, part of Human Resources Shared Services, automates most traditional personnel tasks. Besides eliminating redundant activities, PostalPEOPLE allows employees to manage their benefits from anywhere, at any time. Employees are able to change tax withholding, add beneficiaries to life insurance, increase their Thrift Saving Plan contributions, and perform many other functions online or by phone. Enhancements planned for 2008 include an improved process for posting and filling vacancies.
The Postal Service‘s legal department has already centralized the processing of appellate, complex, and personal injury litigation, as well as facilities, transportation, and many advice functions. Consideration is underway to centralize revenue collection efforts.
Increase Efficiency — Summary of Priorities
- Reduce delivery costs by standardizing best practices, maximizing DPS, and absorbing new delivery growth.
- Begin national FSS roll-out. Leverage experience from initial locations to refine support processes and mail design, preparation, and entry.
- Expand the use of workload data to optimize employee scheduling and availability.
- Expand standardization to optimize equipment, simplify mail flows, reduce manual handlings, and increase container density.
- Maximize use of service-responsive ground transportation. Ensure transportation reliability and consistency with performance-based transportation contracts.
- Continue ongoing adjustments and innovation to achieve a more efficient network focused on meeting customer needs and new service standard requirements.
- Streamline and consolidate business processes to reduce costs while improving quality and minimizing risk.
- Begin to manage costs by mail class, developing systems and processes built on the foundation of Intelligent Mail. Use class-level cost data to improve product profitability while optimizing system-wide processes and capital investments.