Parcel - April 2008 - (Page 10)

is it an advantage for the Postal Service and its partners, but customers beneﬁt as well. When the USPS partners with a traditional competitor, the consumer receives faster, lower-cost service for the packages that are shipped to their households. “Packages are an important segment for us, and I think we’re well positioned to make people’s experience with online shopping one that’s pleasurable and works for them.” By making packages more transparent in transit, it gives shippers more insight, which allows them to lower costs and improve relationships with their customers. “Honestly, I think all this information will go a long way to getting people to understand just how good the Postal Service is, because I think there are some incorrect perceptions out there. The whole notion of being more transparent is going to be helpful to us and our customers.” Green: The New Color Trend Obviously providing reliable, efﬁcient service to all of our country’s residents is of the utmost importance to the USPS, but Potter recognizes that there are other issues that demand attention, as well. For some, going green seems to be merely a buzzword, but at the USPS, that concept is a reality. Potter says that he was shocked when he found out the USPS’s old box had 1000 components that went into its manufacture. The USPS then converted to a much more environmentally friendly package and is the ﬁrst and only carrier to receive cradle-to-cradle certiﬁcation. “You can recycle this packaging, you can put it in a landﬁll and it’ll decompose,” he says. “Plus, most of the harmful chemicals used in manufacturing and in the inks were eliminated.” But more environmentally friendly packaging isn’t the only initiative the Postal Service has adopted with respect to going green. More and more people are purchasing goods online and having these packages delivered by the Postal Service, which means fewer trips to the mall by consumers. Additionally, by providing the last mile of delivery, there is only one vehicle on the streets that makes stops and delivers packages, as opposed to two or three delivery trucks. Potter notes that this concept is becoming more and more accepted worldwide. “When I was in Europe recently, I heard there were a couple of towns there that are thinking about licensing a single company to deliver within the conﬁnes of the incorporated towns,” he shares. “Basically, you’re better having one truck make four stops rather than have four trucks making one stop. If you think about our Parcel Select product, that’s the advantage we offer. We’re providing a much more environmentally friendly delivery on that last mile because we’re already there anyway, eliminating the need for multiple trucks to go down the street.” Add in the fact that many of the Postal Service buildings are green (and no, we’re not talking about the color), and it’s obvious that the Postal Service is doing its part for the environment. Yes, it’s no wonder that PMG Potter loves his job. It’s an exciting time to be the head of an organization that has 37,000 retail outlets, over 253,000 collection points and, most importantly, is at every single address — all 148 million of them — six days a week, while still managing to have a positive environmental impact and assist its customers in lowering their costs. The future of the Postal Service is bright, thanks in large part to John E. Potter. And he’s adamant about sharing credit with USPS employees from coast to coast. ■ www.PARCELindustry.com The last mile is not the only place that the Postal Service is leveraging its strengths, however. The ﬁrst mile is an increasingly important component of the service provided by the USPS. Potter shares that Click-N-Ship is one of the most popular USPS services because it offers customers the ability to pay for their packages on their home computers and have the shipments picked up at their doors. “That’s a huge advantage and convenience for American consumers and for businesses, particularly small businesses,” Potter explains. And the increase in online shopping means that there is, necessarily, an increase in returns as well. “We are enhancing our return product, so just like Click-N-Ship you can go online, print a return label and schedule a free package pickup. We’re looking to expand our returns business, and we intend to price it so it becomes attractive in the marketplace. We want everyone who’s using us for the last mile to use us for the ﬁrst mile of the returns leg. So you’ll see us putting more emphasis on that.” More and Better Service to Really Compete Right now, service levels for package shippers are at the highest they’ve ever been. However, this benchmark isn’t cause for complacency for Potter or his team. “Anyone can improve,” he shares, “and our goal is to continue to build upon service and our record. We have to work on becoming even more transparent than today when it comes to tracking and tracing capabilities. We need to go the next step. Today, for example, a piece of Express Mail gets scanned an average of six times from the time it’s accepted until the time it’s delivered. We think there’s an opportunity to do even more scans, making the mail even more transparent. We know that doing this will provide better information to customers and improve end-to-end delivery time.” 10 Spring 2008 http://www.PARCELindustry.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Parcel - April 2008

PARCEL - April 2008 Contents Editor's Note Moving Forward Recycling for Safety’s Sake Want Some Good News? Negotiations Have No Finish Line... Lowering your Parcel Shipping Costs Meeting Industry Challenges New Pricing, New Opportunities Time to Track It’s Scan-tastic! 10 Recycling Facts The New USPS Law Changes New Law, New Opportunities for Package Shippers A Diamond in the Rough Seven Shipping Trends for 2010 ...and Beyond The Move Update Changes A Simple Shipping Solution A Case Study in Efficiency New Products and Services Industry News Advertiser Index

Parcel - April 2008

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