Mary Ann Bennett

Mary Ann Bennett
Mailing & Fulfillment — ‘Move Update’ Moves Forward

IN RECENT months, many have seen articles and announcements that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is implementing new strategies to control operational costs. Most of us have heard a great deal about the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) and the struggles over its implementation. Additionally, we have been distracted by the postage rate increase of May 2007 and the impending increase of May 2008. Unnoticed by most is an approaching issue that will have a much greater impact on the direct mail industry than either rate increase or the IMB. USPS requirements for Move Updating of address lists for First Class Mail claiming presort

Shape of Things to Come

THE GREATEST opportunity to increase your print revenues is right here, right now! And the opportunity is sitting smack in the middle of the U.S. Postal Service’s postage rate increase of May 2007. The USPS is proposing that we change the way we calculate the postage on First Class mail. Currently, postage rates are based on the weight of the piece: one ounce, two ounces, etc. But in May the First Class rates are proposed to be calculated using a combination of weight and shape. This is not a new concept coming from the USPS. In fact, weight/shape-based rate calculations have been in place