Seamless Acceptance moves the Postal Service away from a paper-ridden acceptance process to an automated process that uses the Intelligent Mail barcode, electronic mailing information and scans from Full-Service Intelligent Mail Devices and mail processing equipment. This information is gathered and validated, then provided to both the Postal Service and mailers through quality metrics in the Mailer Scorecard, which provides a dashboard view of monthly mailing activity.
Several large-volume mailers are piloting Seamless Acceptance and 17.4 percent of total commercial volume was on Seamless Acceptance as of August 2015. Working with this initial group of mailers, we’re continuing to monitor and enhance the program with the end goal of a roll-out to all commercial mailers.
Electronic Verification System — Several initiatives were successfully deployed in FY2015 to increase the adoption of the Electronic Verification System (eVS), including comprehensive outreach efforts. As a result, eVS adoption grew from 75 percent to 90 percent.
Electronic Induction — Electronic induction, better known as eInduction, streamlines the preparation and induction of drop shipments and expedited plant load mailings and eliminates the need for paper induction documents. It leverages existing electronic documentation, Intelligent Mail container barcodes and handheld scanner technologies to verify payment and preparation of commercial mail containers.
The eInduction program, which was deployed in October 2013, offers commercial mailers key benefits such as quick appointment processing through the Facility Access and Shipment Tracking system, automated validation of entry discounts and 24⁄7 appointment resolution, and it supports Seamless Acceptance. eInduction also provides visibility and mail quality information for both the Postal Service and the mailer through the Mailer Scorecard. Over 52.4 percent of drop-ship containers were using the eInduction program as of August 2015.
Other New Innovations, Services or Processes — The Postal Service is working on an initiative to offer its commercial customers a level of self-service that’s missing across current commercial payment channels. This new program is known as Enterprise Payment. Beginning in spring 2016, this solution will upgrade the customer payment process for commercial mailings. The Enterprise Payment program will be deployed in a phased approach. It will provide customers a secure portal to establish banking for ACH debit. Additionally, mailers will have a centralized payment account so they can easily pay for all of the postal products and services they use. A helpful feature will be access to comprehensive reporting and notifications about their payment account and current status.
Another USPS initiative is the Automated Package Verification (APV) program for package mailers. It’s designed to validate accurate postage on packages to ensure proper revenue is paid using an automated approach. These automated approaches will be deployed across the Postal Service’s end-to-end process utilizing existing equipment and new technology. The APV program will leverage highly accurate package data, provide a high degree of transparency into the Postal Service process and protect the customer experience by limiting disruption to the end customer.
We’ll also launch our Premier Business Mail Entry Unit or Premier BMEU program. With the rapid advances in information technology, commercial mailers today are better informed and connected than ever before. Our mailers have access to real-time information for nearly every aspect of their business, and they expect immediate solutions to their most pressing mailing challenges. By analyzing the results of customer insight surveys and the interactions between our customers and acceptance employees, we identified a trend of customer needs. Intended to address mailer challenges by providing technical advice through on-site, personal customer support, the Postal Service is developing a training and certification program for our acceptance employees. This program will enhance and reinforce their knowledge to empower them with the tools to deliver solutions through diagnostics, research, consultation and hands-on assistance. The Premier BMEU will provide our customers a “one contact solution.”
