Download - Addressing, Automation & Presort Lloyd M. Moss Senior Product Manager Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software
Addressing, Automation & Presort
Lloyd M. Moss
Senior Product Manager
Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software
Agenda
Overview of how Addressing, Automation and Presort earn postal discounts
Addressing Requirements: present and future Automation & Presorting Fundamentals
Overview
You must meet USPS addressing requirements and print Postnet (until May 2009) or Intelligent Mail Barcodes to qualify for automation discounts.
You must sort mail that meets USPS addressing requirements according to USPS rules to earn presort and automation postal discounts
Addressing Requirements
Defined in the Domestic Mail Manual, USPS publication 28 and in CASS™ regulations
In the event of conflicting information, the DMM takes precedence
An address must be complete and accurate for mail to be delivered in the shortest amount of time at the lowest cost to the USPS
Addressing Requirements
Move Update Requirements must also be met as described in Pub 363
Requirement has been in effect for First Class Mailers since 1996. Periodical Mailers have also been covered.
Starting 11/23/2008, Standard mailers will need to comply as well or pay First Class non-automation and single piece rates.
Address Elements
Primary Address (Street Address) Secondary Address (Apt No, Suite No, PO Box)
City State – must use specific abbreviations ZIP Code (Zone Improvement Program)
ZIP+4 Delivery Point
Carrier Route (not printed on mail piece)
2 0 0 0 1 11 11 00 33 0 3 9
5 Digit ZIP Code identifies the post office/station (Washington, DC)
ZIP+4 is a 4 digit code that identifies the block face Delivery Point - 2 digit code to make 11 digit
barcode unique Check Digit – 12th digit to ensure proper decoding
of barcode
Delivery Point ZIP Code
Postal Barcodes
Must be printed on mail piece to qualify for automation discounts
Two types of barcodes can currently be used for letters and flats Postnet (5,9,11 Digit ZIP + check digit) Intelligent Mail Barcode (for flats as of 5/1)
5,9,11 Digit barcode+other information to identify mailer, unique piece and services provided (more on this in next session) – likely to be mandated in 2009
Carrier Route (CRRT)Used for Enhanced Carrier RT Preparation
4 character code that identifies the mail carrier or route. 3 digits preceded by one of the following alphabetic codes:
C UrbanB PO BoxR Rural RouteH Highway ContractorG General DeliveryExample: C015
Enhanced Line of Travel (eLOT)
5 character code that identifies how the carrier route and how it is delivered.
Includes the 4 digit Carrier Route followed by one of the following alphabetic codes:
A AscendingD Descending
Example: 0015A
Main St Washington DC 20001
202 204 206
C015
C016
1101
1102
203 MAIN ST
WASHINGTON DC 20001-1101
201 203 205 0015ADPBC:
200011101031
CRRT:
C015
eLOT:
0015A
ADDRESS EXAMPLE:
Useful Acronyms and Terms
DPV™ Delivery Point Validation» Separate database that contains all delivery points
Vacant Indicates that an address is undeliverable because it Table is vacant.
EWS Early Warning System» File that contains addresses that have not been added to the USPS
address database
LACSLink™ Locatable Address Conversion System
» Separate database that contains 911 converted addresses, USPS converted street addresses, and renumbered PO Boxes
CASS™
Coding Accuracy Support System Measures the accuracy of address matching software such
as CODE-1 Plus CASS™ process creates USPS Form 3553 CASS™ software will “standardize” an address, lookup a
ZIP+4, carrier route, “delivery point”, and eLOT number. Successful ZIP+4 lookup required to qualify for automation
discounts
CASS™ is First Step to Get Discounts
Presort is the other step required to get discounts
To qualify for: You must verify:
You must use: By this Date:
Presorted rates 5 Digit ZIP Code 5 Digit ZIP Code 12 months of mailing
Automation rates
Complete addresses
ZIP+4 w/ Delivery Point
180 days of mailing
Enhanced carrier route rates
Carrier route information
ZIP Code
CRRT
eLOT (for presort)
90 days of mailing
CASS™ Cycle L (Implemented 8/1/07)
Required primary address (street numbers) to be validate using DPV file to qualify for automation discounts
Requires LACSLink™ to be used to get ZIP Code If LACS address not printed on mail piece, mailer
will lose automation discount after a year
CASS™ Cycle M (8/1/09)
Requires DPV validation of high rise apartment numbers to pass secondary address validation, but this validation will still not be required to qualify for automation discounts.
SuiteLink™ required for vendors, still optional for mailers except Full Service NCOALink™ providers.
Preferred Street Alias must be used in output
Future Requirements?
CASS™ required in 7/2009 to earn any postal discounts (proposed in Fed. Register) Must use Standardized Address on mail piece
Secondary Address Validation with DPV to qualify for Automation rates?
DPV failures pay Single Piece Rate, not Presort Rate?
Performance based discounting rather than required process. 2011?
Move Update Requirement
Currently in effect for First Class Will be expanded to Standard Class in early
2009 Requires COA identification Requires updating mailing list data within 185
days with new address
Change of Address Identification Methods
NCOALink™ - pre-mailing ACS™ - post-mailing FastForward™ - post-mailing Ancillary Endorsment Alternative Method described in detail in
USPS publication 363 Merlin® will provide compliance visibility in
2008 and IMB in 2009
Automation & Presort
The point of worksharing discounts for addressing and presort is to allow the USPS to reduce the amount of work they need to do in order to process mail
This requires mailers to prepare mail so it can be processed further “upstream”
The USPS sorting process relies on scanning barcodes. Mail with barcodes already on it can be more easily sorted than if the USPS has to spray the barcode on themselves.
Presorting allows the mailer to separate and containerize mail so it can be processed as far upstream as possible. The further upstream, the bigger the worksharing discount.
Presorting
Process by which the mailer prepares mail so it is sorted, bundled and containerized based on postal regulations in DMM
Allows mailers to do some of the work otherwise done by the USPS and enjoy some cost savings
Presort Software is certified by PAVE™ Presort Accuracy and Validation Evaluation
Presorting(continued)
Presort considerations Piece attributes
Dimensions & processing category Weight Contents Identical or Non-identical
Size of the mailing (number of pieces) Geographic concentration of mailing
What Does Presort Software Do?
Sorts mail for maximum postal discounts Defines bundles and containers (sacks, trays and
pallets) Creates sack, tray and pallet labels Creates reports that USPS requires for acceptance,
verification and acceptance Can create Mail.dat™ files for other applications
Consolidated like small jobs into larger jobs prior to presorting and production. This increases ZIP Code density.
Standard, Periodical and Package Services mailers need to more aggressively take advantage of drop ship discounts.
Mail that is not at least earning at least a 3 Digit automation discount could be handed to a presort service bureau for commingling.
Increase automation discounts by improving address hygiene.
Mailers that Use Presort Software Can Increase Postal Discounts