April 2010

CONTENTS

POSTAL SERVICE HONORS SUPPLIERS FOR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE ›

BUYING GREEN, SELLING GREEN, GOING GREEN ›

STRENGTHENING THE SUPPLIER BASE - USPS REACHES OUT TO AMERICAN INDIAN BUSINESS OWNERS ›

SPECIAL SESSION AT NATIONAL POSTAL FORUM - PMG, MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS REVIEW ACTION PLAN FOR VIABLE USPS FUTURE ›

DEBUNKING THE MYTH. DOES USPS WASTE TAXPAYER DOLLARS? ›

POSTAL SERVICE HONORS SUPPLIERS FOR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE

SPA Press Release:
http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2009/pr09_054.htm

BUYING GREEN, SELLING GREEN, GOING GREEN

Earlier this year, Sustainability Vice President Sam Pulcrano testified before a Senate subcommittee examining the government’s progress in making its operations more environmentally sustainable.

The hearing focused on how government agencies are responding to an executive order signed by the president last October that requires them to measure and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to take other steps to cut energy, water and fuel consumption. Although the Postal Service is exempt from the executive order, it has set the pace for federal agencies last year when it issued its first Sustainability Report. The Postal Service also voluntarily determined its greenhouse gas emissions and published its findings, becoming the first and only federal agency to publicly report them.

And, our suppliers are in the forefront in assisting us with our sustainability efforts while saving us money. Postal Service accomplishments reported by Pulcrano included:

• Reducing energy intensity since 2003, representing a cost avoidance of $150 million each year.
• Saving $42 million in fuel costs during quarter 1 of FY 2010.
• Forming Green Teams that saved more than $4 million in 2009.
• Saving $3 million during an agency-wide energy challenge in 2009.
• Avoiding approximately $1 million in costs in 2009 using green IT initiatives.
• Recycling more than 200,000 tons of waste materials in 2009.

Pulcrano also explained that the Postal Service is the only shipping or mailing company to earn Cradle to Cradle Certification™ based on the quality of the raw materials used to produce our Priority Mail and Express Mail packaging, cardboard signs in Post Office lobbies, and Ready Post packaging and shipping supplies, including tape and labels. The one half billion pieces of green packaging supplies the Postal Service provided to customers last year prevented more than 15,000 tons of carbon emissions. That is equal to the amount from 2,747 average vehicles driving on the road for a year.

Click here to learn more about Postal Service “green” initiatives and to read the 2008 Sustainability Report and greenhouse gas emissions study results at about.usps.com/what-we-are-doing/green/welcome.htm.

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STRENGTHENING THE SUPPLIER BASE
POSTAL SERVICE REACHES OUT TO AMERICAN INDIAN BUSINESS OWNERS

To generate new revenue and help drive growth of the mail, the Postal Service has encouraged hundreds of American Indian business owners to be more aware of its products, services and contract opportunities.

Meetings at the 24th annual Reservation Economic Summit and American Indian Trade Fair generated more than 60 business leads from companies interested in increasing their use of the mail. The Postal Service met with an additional 30 potential business partners who want to offer their products and services to the Postal Service.

This event drew more than 2,500 attendees representing American Indian-owned companies and tribal enterprises. This is just one of several outreach events under the Postal Service’s supplier diversity program that helps to improve our relationships with small, minority- and women-owned businesses.

The following are upcoming events where representatives of the U.S. Postal Service Supplier Diversity/Outreach program will be attending and participating:

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SPECIAL SESSION AT NATIONAL POSTAL FORUM - POSTMASTER GENERAL, CONSULTANTS REVIEW ACTION PLAN FOR VIABLE POSTAL SERVICE FUTURE

With revenue and mail volume projections continuing to point toward dramatic losses in the billions, Postmaster General & CEO John E. Potter, at a special session of the National Postal Forum (NPF), outlined the Postal Service’s action plan to remain viable in the future.
The plan provided attendees the opportunity to hear first-hand from senior postal executives and management consultants about the changes needed to create a more flexible business model.
“We wanted everyone at NPF to hear in depth what the consultants had to say,” said Potter, introducing representatives from management consulting firms McKinsey & Company and The Boston Consulting Group. They, along with Accenture LLC, helped identify business and marketing trends. From the consultants’ findings, the Postal Service developed an action plan that was first presented March 2 at a stakeholders conference in Washington, D.C.
The Postal Service plan, said Potter, recognizes that success in the marketplace demands speed and flexibility — flexibility to respond to market dynamics and speed to bring new products to market quickly. Just as significant, lifestyles and ways of doing business have changed dramatically in the last 40 years, but some of the laws that govern USPS have not.
Drawing from the consultants’ recommendations, the action plan for “Delivering the Future” calls for the Postal Service to focus on several main areas where change is needed. These include efforts to:

• Restructure the prefunding of retiree health benefits payments.
• Adjust delivery frequency to better reflect current mail volumes and customer habits.
• Expand access to postal products and services.
• Establish workforce flexibility that allows the Postal Service to put the right people, at the right place, at the right time.
• Apply the Consumer Price Index price cap to all Market Dominant mailing products, rather than the current restriction, which caps prices for every class of mail at the rate of inflation.
• Expand Products and Services by allowing the Postal Service to evaluate and introduce more new products consistent with its mission.

“There is no easy solution or quick fix,” said Potter. “When you hear us talk about solutions, we’re talking about a ‘suite of solutions.’ We want to keep a balanced approach and consider the interests of all stakeholders.”

For more information about the National Postal Forum, please click here.

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DEBUNKING THE MYTH. DOES THE POSTAL SERVICE WASTE TAXPAYER DOLLARS?

When people say to you the Postal Service wastes taxpayer dollars, here’s what you can say to them.

“Bunk.”

Here’s the truth. In 1971, Congress reorganized the Postal Service, making it an independent agency of the executive branch operating as a commercial entity. Today, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, mail products and services for its revenue.

A small annual appropriation from Congress reimburses the Postal Service for free mail for the blind and absentee-ballot mailing for overseas military personnel. Otherwise, the Postal Service has not received taxpayer funds to support its operations since 1982. In fact, though the Postal Service often is described as “quasi-governmental,” it’s required by law to cover its costs.

Don’t let myths about the Postal Service cloud the truth. “Misconceptions about the future of the Postal Service abound,” says Postmaster General & CEO John E. Potter. “Dispelling these myths will show we can continue to deliver the mail.”

Click here for information about more myths about the Postal Service.

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Registered yet?  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

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