Checklist of Active Postal Issues from the ACMA
This list outlines some of the more important issues ACMA is currently following and intervening in on behalf of its members. This summary does not supplant more detailed information on requirements mailers must comply with nor fully describe ACMA’s position on the issues but provides an overview of items you should be familiar with.
MOVE UPDATE: Effective November 23, 2008. All standard mailings must use one of the USPS approved methods of list corrections 95 days before mailing. Or current resident is an approved method. Must make address corrections to your file. On or after August 20th, all mailing lists must be run against the NCOA or face loss of discounts.
ADDRESS PLACEMENT: Effective March 29, 2009. Address placement on flats must be within upper 1/2 of cover when holding bound edge in right hand.
SLIM JIMS: Expect new specifications to be published late this year with effective date in 2009.
FLAT SEQUENCING SYSTEM (FSS): Automation to the flats mail stream costing hundreds of millions and requiring years of work. First machine will be installed in Columbus, Ohio late fall. No rate changes initially but later expect loss of Carrier Route discount. Anticipate significant future preparation compliance requirements to accommodate automation.
INTELLIGENT MAIL BARCODE (IMB): Must be complete by May 2011 but incentives starting May 2009. Multiple issues touching virtually every piece of software in the industry including print production lines. Requirements still a bit of a moving target. Mailers should start applying for their Mailer ID but preparers now allowed to do so for mail owners. Note that automation rate flats must have delivery point routing codes effective May 2009.
ADDRESS QUALITY: Ongoing issue required to improve Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) mail. Expect “Do Not Mail†to put additional pressure on improved address and database quality with the need to eliminate duplicate mailings coming soon.
NETWORK REALIGNMENT: Rationalizing 37,000 retail offices and hundreds of plant locations to reduce overhead in a highly charged environment. Mailers must push for cost reduction and making the tough decisions despite political pressure from unions on Congress.
RATES & AFFORDABILITY: Ongoing work to address the uneconomical rate structure put in place last year. Represents an area of heavy ACMA activity to keep catalogers from migrating out of the mail.
DO NOT MAIL: Consumer and legislative risk management to keep the mail open for catalogers and supply of future prospect lists; increased NGO attacks on catalogers.
UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION: Report due to Congress December 2008 that may lead to significant future modifications to the USPS monopoly and cost structure. ACMA is offering testimony and comments on the variety of competing proposals.
NEGOTIATED SERVICE AGREEMENTS: Ongoing work and debate as to how volume discounts will be approved for major mailers.
SERVICE STANDARDS: How we measure performance and construct data gathering systems that will control performance measurement as required by the new postal law.
DEFINITION OF POSTAL & NON-POSTAL PRODUCTS: Defines which rules and regulations apply to USPS products and sets forth in which areas the quasi-government agency can compete with the private sector.
Questions about this material? Please contact the American Catalog Mailers Association
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