News
 Intelligent Mail: Overview and Benefits of Intelligent Mail
Takeaway notes from the USPS Intelligent Mail webinar. By Aliza Bornstein, copywriter, Melissa Data.
Intelligent Mail® is a new suite of
barcodes applied to mailpieces, trays and sacks, and
containers such as pallets, which:
• Provides the capability for end-to-end mailpiece
tracking,
• Provides mailers with feedback about their mail,
• Allows for mail service measurement, and
• Facilitates a much smarter way to use mail.
Mailers can have every mailpiece of their mailing
tracked with Intelligent Mail.
There are three different ways that mailers can
implement Intelligent Mail, each with distinct
benefits. These are the Intelligent Mail Basic
Option, Intelligent Mail Full-Service Option, and
Intelligent Mail with Confirm Service.
1. The Basic Option is the first step to using
Intelligent Mail and the easiest option available.
Mailers must use the Intelligent Mail barcode in
place of the POSTNET™ code on their mailpieces and
comply with existing mail preparation requirements.
The primary benefits afforded to mailers who adopt
the Basic Option are:
1. Increased marketing space on a cleaner mailpiece
because value-added services, such as OneCode ACS®
and OneCode Confirm® are selected in the barcode
rather than having to add extra lines to the address
block.
2. It positions the mailer to move up to
Full-Service down the road should business
opportunities dictate.
3. It supports compliance with the POSTNET barcode
retirement and...
4. OneCode ACS costs less than traditional ACS
costs.
The Basic Option was developed for mailers who
wanted to take advantage of the innovation delivered
through the Intelligent Mail barcode that can add
value to their mailstream.
2. The Full-Service Option gives mailers important
business insight into the mailstream, and it is the
option most mailers will implement. For
Full-Service, mailers must use unique Intelligent
Mail barcodes in place of the POSTNET on each
mailpiece, unique Intelligent Mail Tray barcodes on
each tray or sack, and unique Intelligent Mail
Container barcodes on containers. Mailers must
submit electronic postage statements and mailing
information. And, of course, mailers must still
comply with existing mail preparation requirements.
Since the Full-Service Option requires electronic
postage statements and supporting documentation for
a mailing, hard copy documentation will cease to
exist. Moving to a paperless environment offers
several benefits to mailers.
1. Mailers can automate hardcopy document creation
reusing frequently populated data.
2. Information can be instantly passed between
members of the supply chain who may be hundreds or
thousands of miles away.
3. Mailers can be notified of mail verification
status in near-real time, which can be used to
improve the quality of the mail.
The Full-Service Option is for mailers who want
added visibility into the mailstream supply chain
and who want to manage their mailing costs and
improve mail quality through the feedback they will
receive.
3. With OneCode Confirm service, which is available
for an additional price, mailers receive the mail
sorting machine scans for their mail as it travels
through the postal network. OneCode Confirm service
is for mailers who want to take advantage of the
full range of benefits available for their mail.
The Full-Service Option with OneCode Confirm service
gives mailers all the benefits of the Basic Option,
all the benefits of the Full-Service Option, and
mailpiece scan information to track destination and
estimate in-home delivery of their mailpieces.
What are additional benefits by bringing it all
together? Well, with the Full-Service Option
combined with OneCode Confirm, your business can
improve its…
1.) Supply Chain effectiveness
2.) Marketing efforts and customer experience
3.) Cash management by tracking incoming payments
prior to receipt, and
4.) Management of call centers and remittance mail
processing by anticipating call volumes and incoming
payments.
Mailers who choose to implement the Full-Service
Option with OneCode Confirm will receive data that
they can use to better predict markets and analyze
opportunities. This will allow them to more quickly
adapt to changing market conditions and be more
responsive to customer needs.
Ultimately, Address Correction helps mailers ensure
the right messages reach the right customers at the
right time.
How can you get started? There are six steps to
getting started with either the Full-Service or
Basic Option:
1) Talk with your Mailpiece Design Analyst, mail
service providers and vendors to determine your best
method for implementing Intelligent Mail. Your
providers can give you guidance as to how best meet
your mailing needs with the options the Postal
Service has provided.
2) Apply for a Mailer ID (MID) which will be used to
identify your mail.
3) Apply for a PostalOne!® Account which you will
use to submit electronic documentation.
4) Download the resource guides and software that
you will need to translate your intelligent data
into Intelligent Mail barcodes.
5) Determine how you would like to implement and
manage your uniqueness strategy.
6) Actually create the barcodes and apply them to
your mailpieces, handling units and containers.
Understanding these steps will help you make an
informed decision and help determine what questions
you need to ask yourself or your vendors.
---Source: USPS webinar on Intelligent Mail
Presentations (http://ribbs.usps.gov)
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