Mailing/Fulfillment - Postal Trends

Staples Inc. said it will end a pilot program with the U.S. Postal Service to set up mini-post offices in the company's retail outlets, after several protests outside the stores.

Postal workers have protested the program for months, objecting to expanding post office services to Staples stores, staffed with non-union workers.

The news comes days after the American Postal Workers Union won the support of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) after it approved a resolution to boycott Staples.

Postal stakeholders were gratified to see four nominees put up last week to fill out a skeleton crew on the Postal Board of Governors. Mailers might have a change of heart, however, after Monday's vetting of the candidates by a Senate committee revealed them to be ready to hand full rate-setting authority to the U.S. Postal Service.

The Direct Marketing Association questioned the notion of removing regulatory oversight from a government-run monopoly. "Mailers would be vulnerable to the whims of the governors," commented Peggy Hudson, DMA's SVP of government affairs. "The PRC plays a very important role in the mailing community."

In the future, according to a report released in May by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG), "the convergence between the increasing amount of actionable data, the ubiquity of network connectivity to integrate and share this data, and the rapid development of analytics may open up a new world of opportunities for postal operators—the "Internet of Postal Things."

The possibility of equipping the postal network (vehicles, mailboxes, mail pieces and parcels, sorting centers, etc.) with low-cost sensors will exponentially expand the capability of postal operators to collect valuable data. This new rich data sources could help

The U.S. Postal Service assessed Southern California Edison $7.6 million in penalties for not keeping its address lists up to date and Sears $1.1 million for allegedly violating the rules governing how folded self-mailers should be sealed, according to the lawsuits.

The two companies filed appeals of the USPS decisions on June 18 with the U.S. District Court in Washington. Both are represented by Venable LLP, a major Washington, DC law firm.

This week, Structural Graphics is featuring one of its most dynamic designs: the Popper. Nationwide Insurance is known for being "on your side" when it comes to insurance and financial planning. As such, it wanted to clearly communicate the features and benefits of its retirement plan to insurance agents.

This week, Structural Graphics is featuring the Kronos Sales Aid with Touchscreen solution. Kronos, a leader in global workforce management solutions, was looking for an impactful and memorable way to deliver a demonstration of its Kronos Workforce Analytics product.

A funny thing happened to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on his way to pushing an aggressive June legislative agenda that included a modified postal delivery schedule. He lost his Virginia House seat in this week's GOP primary election to economics professor Dave Brat.

The surprising defeat led the The Washington Post to opine that House legislative activity would now cease, as Republican members would “avoid doing anything—literally anything—that could be used against them” in their mid-term reelection bids this summer. Today, Cantor stepped down from his House leadership position.

Cantor and House GOP leadership devised a plan to institute five-day mail

A funny thing happened to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on his way to pushing an aggressive June legislative agenda that included a modified postal delivery schedule. He lost his Virginia House seat in yesterday's GOP primary election to economics professor Dave Brat.

The surprising defeat led the The Washington Post to opine that House legislative activity would now cease, as Republican members would “avoid doing anything—literally anything—that could be used against them” in their mid-term reelection bids this summer. Today, Cantor stepped down from his House leadership position.

Cantor and House GOP leadership devised a plan to institute five-day mail

This week, Structural Graphics highlights luxury packaging and how important it is to package a product in a way that truly reflects a specific brand. In conjunction with TracyLocke, Structural Graphics created premium VIP kits for Samsung containing the new Samsung Gear Fit models.

Raising the U.S. gasoline tax is out as a way to shore up the Highway Trust Fund. So is taxing drivers based on the number of miles they clock. A plan to use taxes on companies’ overseas profits hasn’t gone anywhere.

So House Republicans are now turning to the money-losing U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service lost $1.9 billion in the quarter ending March 31 while the fund supporting the nation’s highways, bridges and transit may run short of money to pay its bills as soon as July, according to the U.S. Transportation Department.