Chapter 2: Our Customers
To simplify the deposit of prepaid packages at Post Offices, customers who use Click-N-Ship or PC postage have the option of printing a single Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice form for multiple packages to be mailed at the same time. The employee accepting the packages only has to scan the barcode on the form for all packages associated with the form rather than scan each package separately.
Priority Mail
Priority Mail offers customers delivery within 1 to 3 days for letters, documents, and merchandise weighing up to 70 pounds. It provides 6-day per week delivery, security, and preferential handling. Priority Mail includes Delivery Confirmation at no additional cost for the electronic option, convenient prepaid envelopes, custom-designed boxes, a convenient flat-rate envelope, and two flat-rate boxes. Cradle to Cradle certified packaging is available at no additional cost.
In 2008, Priority Mail pricing was changed to include new commercial base prices that are lower than retail prices. A new large flat-rate box, with a discount for boxes sent to overseas military addresses, was launched.
Open and Distribute service allows mailers to enclose and expedite mail in bulk, such as Standard Mail advertising or merchandise, in a Priority Mail sack or container and address it to a Postal Service facility. The receiving facility opens the container and sorts the enclosed mail for delivery within the service area of the facility. Priority Mail Open and Distribute service was redesigned to provide greater visibility, including standardized labels and identification, tracking, and a flat-rate packaging option for direct shipments to destinating delivery units. The flat-rate packaging option makes sending smaller volumes easier and provides pricing that does not vary by distance or weight.
Bulk Parcel Post
Bulk Parcel Post consists of Parcel Select, Parcel Return Service, and discounted Parcel Post such as origin bulk mail center. Any mailable matter may be mailed as Bulk Parcel Post except matter required to be mailed as First-Class Mail, Customized Market Mail, and copies of a publication entered as Periodicals. Bulk Parcel Post must be entered as part of a mailing of 50 or more pieces and is not sealed against postal inspection.
Parcel Select is the ground package-delivery product designed for medium and large volume shippers and consolidators who have several pricing options depending on presort levels. Packages entered at destination facilities receive the best pricing. The Postal Service holds quarterly meetings with the national consolidators’ senior management to discuss issues such as scanning, service, and manifest accuracy. Parcel Select service performance was at an all-time high in 2008.
Parcel Select pricing was changed on May 12 to include two new discounts for Destination Delivery Unit (DDU): loyalty incentives featuring declining block prices for shippers with more than $5 million in annual Parcel Select postage; and growth incentives represented by rebates based on annual postage for volume growth of more than 10 percent.
Parcel Return Service (PRS) offers an easy and convenient way for customers to mail back items that need to be returned, recalled, repaired, or recycled. Customers use a pre-printed label provided by the merchant or agent that does not require prepayment of postage. The merchant or agent retrieves returned parcels from Post Offices (termed “return delivery units”) or bulk mail centers, and postage is deducted from an advance deposit account. PRS offers full end-to-end product visibility through the logistics partner, who reverse manifests each shipment. Customers can bring the parcel to a Post Office or request pickup during the normal delivery of their mail. A pickup request can be made at usps.com/pickup.
The PRS pricing structure was changed on May 12 to encourage growth and attract new mailers. PRS items retrieved at return delivery units receive lower prices than items retrieved at bulk mail centers.
International
The Postal Service surpassed its revenue targets for international mail. The Postal Service benefited from bi-lateral agreements negotiated with other postal administrations, individual contracts initiated during the year, and streamlined product offerings that appealed to customer needs and service expectations. Favorable exchange rates contributed to international package exports that exceeded expectations for the Postal Service.
Products
Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) is the premium international Postal Service shipping option, with international transportation and delivery provided by FedEx Express. GXG offers reliable, high-speed, date-certain delivery, within 1 to 3 business days to over 190 countries, with a money-back guarantee (some restrictions apply). GXG customers receive a 10 percent discount when postage is paid online at usps.com or through authorized PC Postage vendors.
Express Mail International provides reliable delivery within 3 to 5 business days on average to over 190 countries. It features tracking and insurance up to $100 at no additional charge. Customers receive an 8 percent discount when postage is paid online at usps.com or through authorized PC Postage vendors. The same Postal Service-provided Express Mail packaging used domestically can also be used for international shipping, including the Express Mail flat-rate envelope. Money-back delivery guarantee is available for items mailed to Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.