Mailing Systems Technology - May/June 2008 - (Page 51)

new pricing, if it is sent to a nearby destination (zone 2), it would be $12.22, a 22% reduction. The Express Mail ﬂat-rate envelope will still be available for $16.50 (retail) to any US destination regardless of weight; but this is not the best deal for an 8 oz. piece going to zone 2 or 3. An historic change is that shippers will be able to obtain rebates based on shipping volume. For the ﬁrst time ever, the USPS is oﬀering volumerelated price incentives for Express Mail and International parcels. In the past, all customers paid the same price regardless of how many pieces that they shipped. Now, under the new law, there are rebates that will be paid quarterly for commercial customers that have a corporate account or have an account with an authorized third-party postage vendor. A business that averages a couple of pieces a day can qualify. This is how much you can save from retail prices: Volume rebates based on an average daily volume: Express Mail • 5% — 2 pieces/day • 7.5% — 7 pieces/day • 10% — over 15 pieces/day For International mail, the opportunity is even greater. I have found that the rates for Global Express Guaranteed packages to be 25%-35% less than the retail rates of other carriers with similar delivery guarantees. When you add the volume rebates, it is very competitive. For an annualized volume of $20,000, the rebate is 10% oﬀ retail and 12% for over $60,000 in annually. One of the best deals is the Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes that you can put up to 20 lbs in for a ﬁxed price. The smaller Priority Mail International Flat Rate Box costs $23.95 when shipped to Canada and Mexico and $38.95 for other countries. The new larger Flat Rate Box (12” x 12” x 5.5”) is 50% larger than the original and costs $29.95 when shipped to Canada and Mexico and $49.95 for other countries. In addition to receiving the box free, another beneﬁt is that you can use the same packaging for both domestic and international shipping. Another opportunity is for large-volume shippers to residential locations. Parcel Select has rebates and pricing incentives for shippers who exceed minimum levels of total Parcel Select postage, and who exceed their previous year’s total Parcel Select volume, as speciﬁed in the Domestic Mail Manual. If your parcel shipping spend is over $5 million, then you should talk to your Post Oﬃce Account Manager. According to PMG John Potter, “These innovative published pricing incentives will make our products more attractive to all shippers, especially small businesses. We’re pricing our products to sell in today’s competitive shipping market. In the near future, the Postal Service plans to explore contract pricing for larger customers similar to others in the market.” President Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Take a look and see if this postal change can bring opportunities for your organization. Mark A. Taylor, DLP, is the Chief Logistics Ofﬁcer of RedRoller and President of TAYLOR Systems Engineering Corp. He has been featured on ABC News and in the New York Times and is the author of Computerized Shipping Systems: Increasing Proﬁt & Productivity Through Technology. His blog, www.shippingcoach.com, provides tips and advice for shippers. Call 734420-7447 or email Mark@RedRoller.com. WWW.MAILINGSYSTEMSTECHNOLOGY.COM | MAY-JUNE 2008 51 http://www.mailingsystemstechnology.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Mailing Systems Technology - May/June 2008

Mailing Systems Technology - May/June 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Peer to Peer It’s an Inside Job Greening Your Mail Center Adopting an Automated Document Factory Intelligent Mail and Address Quality 7 Steps to Combat “Do Not Mail” A Successful Resolution Q&A with Dan G. Blair, Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission The Intelligent Mail Barcode Developing High-Performance Teams Simple Strategies to Save You Money A Powerful Social Network With Change, Comes Opportunity Increasing the Deliverability of Mail Kate’s Slate Products & Services People of Distinction Advertiser Index Sho Time

Mailing Systems Technology - May/June 2008

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