From: SM Communications Sent: Thursday, November 9, 2017 9:01 AM Subject: USPS re:supply Issue 26 November 9, 2017 Issue 26 November 9, 2017 CONTENTS VETS-4212 Federal Contractor Reporting Informed Delivery New Mandate on Limited ACE Access for Contractors Postal Service Ready to Deliver 15 Billion Pieces of Cheer Holiday Stamps Now Available 2018 National Postal Forum Postal Facts U.S. Postal Service Suppliers, You are receiving this newsletter as you have registered your interest to do business with the U.S Postal Service (USPS) or your email is on file as a point of contact for a current or past contract. Please share this newsletter with your colleagues within your company as it contains important supplier related information about the Postal Service. We hope you find the recently-released information in the following articles helpful as part of our objective to keep our suppliers fully informed of all the major initiatives affecting them. This issue is simultaneously being sent to USPS Supply Management employees for their information. Thank you! VETS-4212 Federal Contractor Reporting Extension for Suppliers Required to Report Postal Service suppliers and subcontractors with contracts in the amount of $100,000 or more are required to report annually on their affirmative action efforts in employing veterans. The 2017 filing season for the VETS-4212 report started on August 1, 2017 and ended on September 30, 2017. However, the U.S. Department of Labor has extended the reporting time this year to accommodate the needs of those impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Suppliers who file their report by November 15, 2017 will not be cited for failure to file a timely report. RETURN TO TOP Informed Delivery Know What’s Coming to Your Mailbox The U.S. Postal Service is enhancing the mail experience with Informed Delivery. This new and exciting consumer-facing feature allows users to digitally preview their incoming mail and manage packages in one convenient location. The feature can be accessed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Key Features: * Interact with incoming mail and packages on a secure, online dashboard * View grayscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mailpieces scheduled to arrive soon * Track the delivery status of packages and when they’re scheduled to arrive * Leave delivery instructions if you won’t be home to accept a package * Schedule a package to be redelivered if you miss a delivery * Set up email and/or text notifications to track the delivery status of your package(s) USPS completed the national expansion of Informed Delivery in April 2017. The feature is now available to eligible residential consumers in the majority of ZIP Codes across the country! If you are interested in Informed Delivery, visit informeddelivery.usps.com, where you can sign up, view FAQs, and more. RETURN TO TOP New Mandate on Limited ACE Access for Contractors Effective October 1, 2017 On behalf of the USPS Corporate Information Security Office (CISO), starting fiscal year (FY) 2018, all new contractors assigned an ACE ID (Advanced Computing Environment Login ID) must complete all required CyberSafe trainings before gaining access to the ACE environment. Immediately upon assignment of an ACE ID, we will place new contractors under limited ACE system access. When new contractors enter the ACE environment, they will only be able to access the Learning Management System (LMS) Portal for course completion. Furthermore, if they have remote access to the USPS network, they will not be able to request access to any ACE applications in eAccess until completion of required courses. Postal Service managers will receive the following notifications from eAccess: * The new contractor’s assigned ACE ID, * LMS course enrollment, and * Course completion. If you are a Postal Service employee who manages contractors, please notify all new contractors of this process. Watch for the auto-generated emails coming from eAccess with information regarding new contractors’ ACE system access. If you are a new contractor, you will not be able to access the full ACE environment until you complete all CyberSafe courses. If you have questions about this new mandate, please contact CyberSafeComms@usps.gov. For general information about security training courses, those with ACE access may visit the Security training page at blue.usps.gov/cyber/training.htm. RETURN TO TOP Postal Service Ready to Deliver 15 Billion Pieces of Cheer Including More than 850 Million Packages The Postal Service will deliver more than 15 billion mailpieces this holiday season, according to projections released October 25. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, USPS expects to deliver 850 million packages — an increase of more than 10 percent from the same period last year. “The Postal Service is well prepared to meet our customers’ needs during the holiday season, especially as demand for package deliveries continues to grow,” said Postmaster General (PMG) Megan J. Brennan. USPS will again deliver seven days a week in select cities, beginning November 26. More than 6 million packages are expected to be delivered each Sunday in December. The Postal Service anticipates the busiest mailing, shipping, and delivery week will be December 18-24, when almost 3 billion holiday cards and packages will be processed and delivered. This year, USPS is encouraging customers to use Informed Delivery, a free feature that allows users to view incoming mail, track packages, and schedule deliveries. “America relies on the Postal Service and our 640,000 dedicated employees to deliver the holidays,” the PMG said. “We take great pride in our holiday readiness and preparation, and in our ability to offer reliable, predictable, and affordable service in every community in America.” RETURN TO TOP Holiday Stamps Now Available Christmas Carols Forever Stamps Among Holiday Releases The Postal Service began the holiday season early by dedicating the Christmas Carols stamps October 5 in New York City. The stamps feature images that illustrate the themes of four beloved holiday standards: “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” “Silent Night” and “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.” USPS Brand Marketing Executive Director Chris Karpenko, who led the dedication, noted the carols have been adored by children and adults since the 18th century. “These timeless classics are so recognizable,” Karpenko said. “When holiday items arrive in mailboxes with these stamps, we expect recipients will be humming the tune of the carol lyrics they see — either in their heads or out loud.” The stamps are designed so the four images work as a group and individually. USPS is offering the stamps in booklets of 20, with each design appearing five times. These and other stamps are available at Post Offices nationwide and usps.com/shop. RETURN TO TOP 2018 National Postal Forum Coming to San Antonio May 6-9 The National Postal Forum (NPF) has opened early registration for the 2018 NPF in San Antonio, TX, May 6 – 9, 2018. The NPF is the premier mailing and shipping event to learn about the new innovations and technologies in the industry. Join your peers from around the country to attend workshops and hear from the top voices in the mailing industry. This year marks the NPF’s 50th anniversary. To register, visit the NPF website and login to your existing account or create a new profile. If you register before February 17, 2018, you are eligible to receive an Early Bird Discount. To learn more about registration options and opportunities to save, visit www.npf.org for details. RETURN TO TOP Postal Facts Amazing Facts and Figures about Your Postal Service Did you know the Postal Service processes an average 5,900 mailpieces every second? Or that USPS, if it were a private sector company, would rank 39th on the 2016 Fortune 500 list? Or that mule trains still carry mail to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in Arizona? If not, check out Postal Facts, an annual publication that educates the public about USPS. In addition to eye-opening factoids, this edition includes sections on how the Postal Service is embracing innovation and using technology to make mail more interactive and effective. RETURN TO TOP ARE YOU REGISTERED TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE? Almost 19,000 suppliers have registered since our launch of the Supplier Registration site in July 2009. All suppliers interested in doing business with the U.S. Postal Service should register their company in the Postal Service Supplier Registration system. For more information, please go to http://about.usps.com/suppliers/becoming/registration.htm. CONTACT US! We value your questions and feedback to this newsletter. Please feel free to reply to this message with your feedback or mail to: U.S. Postal Service Supply Management Communications 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Room 1100 Washington, DC 20260-6201 If you prefer not to receive future issues of re:supply from the U.S. Postal Service, click SMCommunications@usps.gov and type Unsubscribe in the Subject line. To be added to our re:supply email list, click SMCommunications@usps.gov and type Subscribe in the Subject line.