How to Work with Your Mail Preparer to

How to Work with Your Mail Preparer to Implement IMb™ Services

Agenda • Your mailing practices • IMb™ Services • Company Decisions • Your Mail Preparer • The Project Plan 2

IMb™ Services • A technology leap forward for the USPS® • Significant undertaking by both the USPS and mailers • Software and operational changes must be in tandem • Decisions which affect participants within the supply chain • Time and planning for implementation • Good partnership with your mail preparers and vendors 3

Acquire Knowledge • Postal Service®, Service Providers & Vendors – Find out what they have to offer – Determine potential fits – Obtain details, details… – Incorporate discovery into YOUR solution • Customers & Internal Resources – Assess current practices – Document future expectations & constraints • Training – Attend IM™ sessions 4

IMb™ Education – RIBBS® – http: //ribbs. usps. gov • USPS® maintains the specific mailing requirements for IMb, technical documentation, etc. – Review available materials – Attend your local Postal Customer Council (PCC) meetings. – Find a mailing association that can support some of your educational and information needs – Look for ways to keep up with changing information. Stay involved! 5

Determine who … • Owns the customer database • Constructs the mailpiece • Prints the mailpiece • Prepares the mailing • Presents the mail to the Postal Service® • Receives directly or co-receives with service provider(s) data distributions from the Postal Service • Uses in-house constructed and/or third party software 6

Understand Your Mailing Practices • What you mail – Invoices, notices, marketing mail, catalogs, packages, etc. – Understand requirement impacts to letter, flat, automated, non-automated, all mail classes and categories evaluated. • How is your mail produced? – In-house, partially in-house, by service provider, etc. – Printing, finishing, mail preparation and sorting 7

Understanding Your Addressing Practices • Who you mail to – Your own client list, purchased lists, etc. – Different departments – Different lists • How you acquire, use and update the addresses you use on the mailings • How you meet the USPS® Move Update requirement 8

IMb® Service Options • Two service options – Basic – Full-Service • Same mailpiece barcode design – Full-Service has more complex data content within the barcode. – Full-Service has additional benefits. 9

IMb® Content • 31 digits, 65 bars, 5 fields Routing Code Barcode ID Service Type Mailer ID Ex: 50 Ex: 260 for Ex: 123456 for Mixed AADC First-Class Mail USPS assigned Serial Number Ex: 6449 Amberview Ex: 200800001 Ct. , Memphis, TN 38141 -8346 Mailer Assigned 38141834649 The POSTNET™ contains only Delivery Point information More data = more decisions 10

Basic versus Full-Service Basic Full-Service IMb™ barcode on mailpiece IM tray barcode on labels Required IM container barcode on placards Optional Required – unique Electronic Documentation Optional Required Start-the-Clock NA Available Address Correction NA Available Optional 11

Full-Service Benefits • Apply to Full-Service pieces only • DO NOT apply to the portion of a mailing that: – has only a 5 -digit ZIP Code® or no ZIP Code in the Routing Code field. – is prepared as machinable/presort. 12

Full-Service Option Benefits Start-the. Clock Class & Processing Category of Mail First-Class Mail® Automation Letters Automation Flats Automation Cards Standard Mail® Automation Letters Automation Flats Basic ECR Letters High-Density ECR Letters Saturation ECR Letters Basic ECR Flats High-Density ECR Flats Saturation ECR Flats ACS® Full-Service Discounts ü ü ü ü x ü ü ü x x x ü ü ü ü x 13 13

Full-Service Option Benefits Start-the. Clock Class & Processing Category of Mail Periodicals - Outside-County Barcoded Letters Barcoded Machinable Flats Barcoded Nonmachinable Flats Carrier Route Basic Letters/Flats Carrier Route HD Letters/Flats Carrier Route Sat. Letters/Flats Periodicals - In-County Automation Letters Automation Flats Carrier Route Basic Letters/Flats Carrier Route HD Letters/Flats Carrier Route Sat. Letters/Flats Bound Printed Matter Barcoded Presort Flats - non-DDU Barcoded Presort Flats - DDU Barcoded CR Flats ACS® Full-Service Discounts ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü x x ü ü ü 14 14

Benefits Analysis • Will price difference justify the investment to start using the IMb™ or to switch from Basic to Full-Service to see an improved Return-on-Investment? • How often does your company currently update its address lists? Would you increase frequency because of Full-Service ACS™? • What would Start-the-Clock data be used for? 15

Share Knowledge • Work with your various mail preparers and vendors to exchange current knowledge about your business needs and impacts • Ensure your vendors are aligned with the information about changing USPS® requirements and impacts • Establish a communication plan with vendors to keep informed of mutual changes/impacts that impact your business 16

Construct a Plan • Incorporate expectations & constraints • Determine timeline • Determine internal and external resource needs and allocate • Determine procedural, operations and technical changes and opportunities • Establish test criteria to ensure content and print quality • Determine implementation sequence through applications and customers • Incorporate tests & validate 17

Mail Preparers • Ad Agency • List Broker • Printer • Finisher (binding, inserting) • Mail preparation (traying, present to USPS®) • Mail sortation (commingle) • Consolidator • Transportation providers 18

Mail Preparer Services Determine responsibilities and liabilities for • Physical mail production – IMb™ on mailpieces • Mail preparation – IM™ tray and container labels • Mail presentment – Electronic documentation (e. Doc) • USPS® feedback – Start-the-Clock – ACS® data – Mail data quality reports 19

In-House Portion • How much will you be able to handle – Database management for e. Doc and uniqueness of data – Mailer ID assignments – IT and software updates – Print capabilities • Mailpieces, tray labels, container placards 20

Mail Preparer Readiness • When is your preparer or printer planning to enter IM™ testing (Test Environment for Mailers)? 21

What is best for your company? • IMb™ Basic or Full-Service option – Basic replaces PLANET Code® and POSTNET™ • No additional information is included – Full-Service allows for: • Free Start-the-Clock • Free container visibility induction scans (where available) • Full Service ACS™ – First-Class Mail® unlimited – Standard Mail® and Bound Printed Matter – free notices for 30 days – Periodicals – free notices for 60 days • Mail data quality reporting 22

Things you need to know - MID • What Mailer ID (MID) to use? – Mail service provider or mail owner • Where do you get an MID? • Who needs to be indentified? Regardless of whose MID is in the IMb™, the mail owner must be identified in documentation. – Important to understand when a service provider works through an agency and not directly with the mail owner. • Need a Customer Registration ID (CRID) for each mail owner if not using their MID or mailing permit. 23

Things you need to know – UAA Mail Undeliverable-as-Addressed Mail • Use the “free” ACS™ information from IMb™ to meet the Move Update requirement – Incorporate changes into file within 30 days for Standard Mail® and Bound Printed Matter – Incorporate changes into file within 60 days for Periodicals • Clear understanding of how pieces are disposed is needed to understand which endorsement is needed on the piece 24

Things you need to know – UAA Mail • When a mailpiece is printed with an ancillary service endorsement, the printed endorsement takes priority over the Service Type ID in the IMb™. • Very important that envelopes are imaged correctly. 25

Decision Factors • The costs and benefits of the IMb™ Basic option • The costs and benefits of the IMb™ Full-Service option • The costs and benefits of staying with POSTNET™ barcodes, at least for a while • The costs and benefits of any postal services that you use or may want to use • USPS® rules and standards governing what can be mailed at what rates and the consequences of errors 26

Company Decisions • Whether you want to use Intelligent Mail® barcodes prior to May 2011 • The type(s) of mail you want to send using Basic or Full. Service IMb™ – Each application may be different • How will the Full-Service uniqueness of data – 45 or more days – be managed • How to begin a transition plan with your mail preparer 27

PROJECT TIMEFRAME – for complex mail owner environments • The following is an example of timeframe milestones for USPS® requirement changes to be introduced into mailer company systems: • This example supports: ü ü Mail owner with internal mail manufacturing facilities Large / complex IT systems Multiple vendor and internal stakeholders impacted Company business focus is not mail 28

MAIL OWNER - Project Schedule Timeline Example MAIL OWNER - PROJECT TIMELINE Evaluation 0 Project Approved for Initial Evaluation Requirements & Funding 1 2 Solution Defined Factory Work Intake 3 Design 4 Business Case Funding Submit Requirements Finalized 5 6 Design Complete Production Release Commit Defined Full-Scope Document from finalized USPS ® and Vendor Requirements received, identifies Impact Assessment, creates Time & Cost estimates, Project receives authorization to proceed to next step. Team evaluates and baselines internal / Vendor Solution Approach, Freezes Requirement Changes and develops IT Technical Requirement & Architecture Solution. Develop 7 Pre. Production Testing 8 Development Complete Vendor Solution Integration 9 10 11 Production & Factory Testing Unit / System / Integration Testing Time & Cost updated, submit Business Case, obtain authorization to proceed, obtain release commit, Document System & Feature Design, Support Vendor Product Integration, as needed. Production & Factory Testing Introduction 12 Mail Factory Introduction Quality & Factory Training Detailed Design Finalized, Develop, Perform Pre-production Testing, User Acceptance, Quality and Factory Testing. Train Factory personnel. Project Close Deployment Review Install Code, User Certification Testing, Project Review / Close 29

Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline • Using the same format as mail owners, the following is an example of the timeframe milestones for introduction of production and/or system changes due to USPS® changes. • This example supports: – Mail preparers with internal mail manufacturing facilities – Medium and large complex IT systems – Multiple vendor and internal client impact 30

Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline MAIL Preparer - PROJECT TIMELINE Evaluation Assessment of need Gap List Created Evaluation of project scope Requirements & Funding Requirements finalized Solution Defined Establish scope of project; personnel requirements; list of gaps for future processes versus current processes; outline define solution; estimate project costs with business case Design Product Developed Expenditure Approved Capital Expenditure Defined Finalize costs; prepare capital expenditure and submit for approval Develop Product defined & personnel allocated Allocate actual personal based on budget; design solution in detail with stakeholder input Outside vendor integration Develop solution and user interface; interface with outside vendor processes as required; continue stakeholder input for product solution 31

Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline MAIL Preparer - PROJECT TIMELINE Pre-Production Test CAT Testing Production & Factory Testing Evaluation & Review Pre-Production tests; user interface; system updates/changes as required; debug for production implementation; prepare training material. Implementation Project Close Mail Factory Introduction Quality & Factory Training Prepare quality control requirements for production; finalize training requirements and guidelines; prepare training program and schedule Deployment Review Establish review period for factory; train factory employees; test certification; close project 32