Quarterly Performance for USPS Marketing Mail®
Service Variance
Mailpieces Delivered Between 10/01/2018 and 12/31/2018

Overview

Beginning FY2019 Q1 Marketing Mail® Letters and non-Saturation flats Service performance is measured through the USPS internal measurement system. The system uses documented arrival time at a designated postal facility to start the clock, and an Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMB®) scan by postal personnel at delivery for randomly selected delivery points to stop the clock. Mail piece tracking from IMB® in-process scans is used in conjunction with the sampling data to extrapolate results for the entire volume of measurement eligible Full Service Intelligent Mail. The transit time from the start-the-clock through final automated processing is the Processing Duration leg, and the transit time from final automated processing until delivery is the Last Mile. Total transit time was calculated for the mail and compared with the appropriate service standard for the product to determine the service performance.

Scores prior to FY2019 Q1 were calculated and compiled by an independent external contractor. The system used for this reporting was called the Intelligent Mail® Accuracy and Performance System (iMAPS). The external contractor determined service performance based on the elapsed time between the start-the-clock event recorded by U.S. Postal Service® and the stop-the-clock event recorded by anonymous households and small businesses that report delivery information directly to the contractor. The service measure consisted of two parts: (1) how long mail pieces take to get through processing, and (2) how long mail takes from the last processing scan to delivery. The second portion was used as a delivery factor differential to determine the percent of all USPS Marketing Mail® delivered on the last processing date versus the percent delivered after the last processing date. Service performance was measured by comparing the transit time to USPS® service standards to determine the percent of mail delivered on time.

The service performance measure for Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) Entry Saturation flats involves the identification of major weekly Saturation mailings within delivery units. Delivery of these mailings is captured with a scan made by carriers at the completion of delivery of all pieces on the route. Service performance is measured by comparing the delivery date to the end date of the mailer requested in-home window to determine the percent delivered on time.

The service performance measurement system for Every Door Direct Mail – Retail® (EDDM Retail®) uses the documented arrival time of a mailing at a retail unit to start the clock, using the point-of-sale scan when mail is handed to U.S. Postal Service®, and an Intelligent Mail® parcel barcode (IMpb®) scan by a USPS® carrier to stop the clock. The delivery of bundles of EDDM Retail® pieces is captured with a scan made by carriers at the delivery unit upon distribution for delivery. Service performance is measured by comparing the total transit time of mail piece bundles to the service standard to determine the percent delivered on time.

Results for DDU Entry Saturation flats and EDDM Retail® are combined with other Destination Entry Standard Mail in the Destination Entry scores in this report.

The service performance measure for USPS Marketing Mail® Parcels with USPS Tracking® serves as a proxy for measuring service performance for USPS Marketing Mail® Parcels.

Limitations

Due to limited automated processing for USPS Marketing Mail® Flats, the service performance results may not be representative of all USPS Marketing Mail® Flats performance. While Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) entered Saturation Flats and EDDM Retail® Flats have been included this quarter, significant gaps in the coverage of non-Saturation/non-EDDM Retail® DDU Entry mail still remain and are excluded from measurement. Results for USPS Marketing Mail® Parcels, which represent less than 0.1 percent of all USPS Marketing Mail®, are not included in the overall USPS Marketing Mail® results.

A system sampling issue occurred for delivery sampling in FY2019 Q1 and impacted the data. Seven districts were impacted on October 9th. To address the sampling anomaly, a proxy methodology was used to replace missing or scarce data for impacted dates with historical data from the impacted districts.

Performance Highlights

National Destination Entry mail achieved 87.5 percent on time in FY2019 Quarter 1, which is 0.6 points lower than the same period last year. For Destination Entry mail, 98.7 percent was delivered within service standard plus three days. The Honolulu Performance Cluster led the nation in Destination Entry performance with 97.1 percent on time. Twenty-one out of 67 districts achieved an on-time performance at or above the performance target of 91.8 for Destination Entry mail.

End-To-End Entry national performance was 62.9 percent on time, which is 1.1 points higher than the same period last year. In FY2019 Quarter 1, 90.6 percent of End-To-End Entry USPS Marketing Mail® was delivered within the service standard plus three days. The Alaska District had the highest End-To-End Entry score with 86.9 percent on time.