Parcel - April 2008 - (Page 36)

A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH The USPS is emerging as a truly competitive player in the market By Joe Ferrazzo • Parcel Return Service will move entirely to a weight based pricing system, resulting in signiﬁcant price reductions for many lighter packages. Advantages of USPS One of the biggest advantages of USPS over its competitors is it has fewer surcharges. Surcharges are one of the main frustrations shippers have with carriers today. The USPS has no surcharges for residential, fuel or Saturday delivery. What this means is you will know what you will be charged at the time you process your shipment – there are no surprises on the bill and no added charges. The price you are quoted is the price you will pay. Also, starting March 3, 2008, the USPS has two new service offerings: ExpressMail will charge a premium of $12.50 in addition to current postage for guaranteed Sunday or holiday delivery of Express Mail pieces. Most competitors do not offer these delivery options. There is also a new Priority Mail Large Flat-Rate box that is competitively priced. The new Priority Mail large ﬂat-rate box is approximately 50% larger than the regular ﬂat-rate boxes currently available. The prices for shipping a Priority Mail large ﬂat-rate box to an APO/FPO ZIP Code destination address or to a domestic ZIP Code address are $10.95 to APO/FPO destination addresses and $12.95 to domestic addresses. T he United States Postal Service recently announced its planned price changes for Shipping Services (competitive) product (including Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Select, Parcel Return Service and Bulk International Mail). These changes go into effect May 12, 2008 and truly make the USPS more competitive in the package shipping market. If you have not considered using the USPS as a carrier for your packages lately or it’s been a while since you have, it’s time to take another look. There are many options available for USPS package shipping from both a technological and services perspective. You may be able to reduce your package shipping costs and gain a competitive edge, as compared to the small package carriers you may currently use. Shipping Services Highlights On May 12, the USPS will adjust prices for shipping services — Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Select, Parcel Return Service and International Mail. For the ﬁrst time, the pricing includes commercial volume and contract prices, rebates, online price reductions and other new incentives. • Express Mail is switching to a zone-based pricing system, resulting in customers paying less for nearby destinations. Customers will receive a three percent price reduction by purchasing Express Mail online or through corporate accounts. Additional price reductions are available for those who ship quarterly minimums. • Priority Mail will have an average 3.5% savings for customers who use electronic postage or meet other requirements. • Parcel Select — USPS’s “last mile” delivery to every door — will feature pricing and volume incentives for large- and medium-size shippers. 36 Spring 2008 USPS Package Shipping Technology Options Customers can ship with USPS via multiple technologies, including a Postage Meter, Internet Postage such as PC Postage or an Approved Manifest Mailing System. Using a postage meter is ideal if you ship low volumes of packages or any volume of mail. A software meter interfaced to a PC is essential for capturing and reporting on postal costs and to provide processing ﬂexibility. Also make sure the system interfaces to a scale, preferably a dimensional scale. This will improve accuracy of rating because accurate dimensions will be ensured. It will also save time since each package won’t need manual measuring. PC Postage is a good ﬁt for medium to low per-user package volumes because it allows a variety of shipping options, such as shipping from your desk, in a hotel while traveling or from home. Depending on the size of your organization, the overall package www.PARCELindustry.com 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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