Parcel - June 2008 - (Page 31)

industry news from mark taylor by 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 the actual weight, but this is not the best deal for an eight-ounce piece going to zone 2 or 3. A historic change is that shippers will be able to obtain rebates based on their shipping volume. For the ﬁrst time ever, the Post Ofﬁce is offering volume-related price incentives for Express Mail and International parcels. In the past, all customers paid the same price regardless of how many pieces 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: 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 pounds in for a ﬁxed price. The smaller Priority Mail International Flat Rate Box cost $23.95 when shipped to Canada and Mexico and $38.95 for all other countries. The new, larger, ﬂat-rate box is 50% larger than the original Flat Rate Boxes and cost $29.95 when shipped to Canada and Mexico and $49.95 for other countries. In addition to receiving the box itself free, another beneﬁt is that you can use the same packaging for both domestic and international shipping. Another opportunity is for large-volume shippers sending parcels 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. Mark Taylor, MBA, DLP, is the President of TAYLOR Systems Engineering Corporation and the Chief Logistics Ofﬁcer of RedRoller, Inc. Mark can be reached at Mark@RedRoller.com. ■ The Complete USPS Shipping Solution Save time by avoiding trips to the Post Ofﬁce™ Save money with discounted Delivery Conﬁrmation™, parcel insurance and international mail Effe ct U.S ive Ma pos . Postal y12 th, n tage ew Serv p take discou ice™ in ricing f nts! ro c adv Let ludes in m the anta End te ge o f the icia he rnet lp se sa ving you s. 30 DAY FREE TRIAL Bulk Acceptance Scans, Database Integration, Batch Printing and integrated Customs Forms endicia.com/psd www.PARCELindustry.com May 2008 31 http://www.PARCELindustry.com

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

Parcel - June 2008 Contents Editor's Note What Would Augello Say? Success Means Never Being Satisfied Moving from Manual to Automated Fulfillment Regional Carriers Move to the Forefront Understanding Warehouse Management Systems Negotiating Carrier Contracts It’s All About the Data! How Long Will The East-West Trade Imbalance Last? Educate the Shipper, or Fix the Software? Product Profile On the Mark New Products & Services Advertiser Index Wrap Up

Parcel - June 2008

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