How to Work with Your Mail Preparer to Implement IMb ™ Services

1. How to Work withYour Mail Preparerto ImplementIMb™ Services

2. Agenda • Your mailing practices • IMb™ Services • Company Decisions • Your Mail Preparer • The Project Plan 2

3. IMb™ Services • A technology leap forward for the USPS® • Significant undertaking by both the USPS and mailers • Software and operational changes must be in tandem • Decisions which affect participants within the supply chain • Time and planning for implementation • Good partnership with your mail preparers and vendors 3

4. Acquire Knowledge • Postal Service®, Service Providers & Vendors • Find out what they have to offer • Determine potential fits • Obtain details, details, details… • Incorporate discovery into YOUR solution • Customers & Internal Resources • Assess current practices • Document future expectations & constraints • Training • Attend IM™ sessions 4

5. IMb™ Education • RIBBS® – http://ribbs.usps.gov • USPS® maintains the specific mailing requirements for IMb, technical documentation, etc. • Review available materials • Attend your local Postal Customer Council (PCC) meetings. • Find a mailing association that can support some of your educational and information needs • Look for ways to keep up with changing information. Stay involved! 5

6. Determine who … • Owns the customer database • Constructs the mailpiece • Prints the mailpiece • Prepares the mailing • Presents the mail to the Postal Service® • Receives directly or co-receives with service provider(s) data distributions from the Postal Service • Uses in-house constructed and/or third party software 6

7. Understand Your Mailing Practices • What you mail • Invoices, notices, marketing mail, catalogs, packages, etc. • Understand requirement impacts to letter, flat, automated, non-automated, all mail classes and categories evaluated. • How is your mail produced? • In-house, partially in-house, by service provider, etc. • Printing, finishing, mail preparation and sorting 7

8. Understanding Your Addressing Practices • Who you mail to • Your own client list, purchased lists, etc. • Different departments • Different lists • How you acquire, use and update the addresses you use on the mailings • How you meet the USPS® Move Update requirement 8

9. IMb® Service Options • Two service options • Basic • Full-Service • Same mailpiece barcode design • Full-Service has more complex data content within the barcode. • Full-Service has additional benefits. 9

10. IMb® Content • 31 digits, 65 bars, 5 fields Barcode ID Ex: 50 for Mixed AADC Service Type Ex: 260 for First-Class Mail Mailer ID Ex: 123456 USPS assigned Serial Number Ex: 200800001 Mailer Assigned Routing Code Ex: 6449 Amberview Ct., Memphis, TN 38141-8346 38141834649 The POSTNET™ contains only Delivery Point information More data = more decisions 10

11. Basic versus Full-Service 11

12. Full-Service Benefits • Apply to Full-Service pieces only • DO NOT apply to the portion of a mailing that: • has only a 5-digit ZIP Code® or no ZIP Code in the Routing Code field. • is prepared as machinable/presort.

13. Full-Service OptionBenefits 13

14. Full-Service Option Benefits 14

15. Benefits Analysis • Will price difference justify the investment to start using the IMb™ or to switch from Basic to Full-Service to see an improved Return-on-Investment? • How often does your company currently update its address lists? Would you increase frequency because of Full-Service ACS™? • What would Start-the-Clock data be used for? 15

16. Share Knowledge • Work with your various mail preparers and vendors to exchange current knowledge about your business needs and impacts • Ensure your vendors are aligned with the information about changing USPS® requirements and impacts • Establish a communication plan with vendors to keep informed of mutual changes/impacts that impact your business 16

17. Construct a Plan • Incorporate expectations & constraints • Determine timeline • Determine internal and external resource needs and allocate • Determine procedural, operations and technical changes and opportunities • Establish test criteria to ensure content and print quality • Determine implementation sequence through applications and customers • Incorporate tests & validate 17

18. Mail Preparers • Ad Agency • List Broker • Printer • Finisher (binding, inserting) • Mail preparation (traying, present to USPS®) • Mail sortation (commingle) • Consolidator • Transportation providers 18

19. Mail Preparer Services Determine responsibilities and liabilities for • Physical mail production • IMb™ on mailpieces • Mail preparation • IM™ tray and container labels • Mail presentment • Electronic documentation (eDoc) • USPS® feedback • Start-the-Clock • ACS® data • Mail data quality reports 19

20. In-House Portion • How much will you be able to handle • Database management for eDoc and uniqueness of data • Mailer ID assignments • IT and software updates • Print capabilities • Mailpieces, tray labels, container placards 20

21. Mail Preparer Readiness • When is your preparer or printer planning to enter IM™ testing (Test Environment for Mailers)? 21

22. What is best for your company? • IMb™ Basic or Full-Service option • Basic replaces PLANET Code® and POSTNET™ • No additional information is included • Full-Service allows for: • Free Start-the-Clock • Free container visibility induction scans (where available) • Full Service ACS™ • First-Class Mail® unlimited • Standard Mail® and Bound Printed Matter – free notices for 30 days • Periodicals – free notices for 60 days • Mail data quality reporting 22

23. Things you need to know - MID • What Mailer ID (MID) to use? • Mail service provider or mail owner • Where do you get an MID? • Who needs to be indentified? Regardless of whose MID is in the IMb™, the mail owner must be identified in documentation. • Important to understand when a service provider works through an agency and not directly with the mail owner. • Need a Customer Registration ID (CRID) for each mail owner if not using their MID or mailing permit. 23

24. Things you need to know – UAA Mail Undeliverable-as-Addressed Mail • Use the “free” ACS™ information from IMb™ to meet the Move Update requirement • Incorporate changes into file within 30 days for Standard Mail® and Bound Printed Matter • Incorporate changes into file within 60 days for Periodicals • Clear understanding of how pieces are disposed is needed to understand which endorsement is needed on the piece 24

25. Things you need to know – UAA Mail • When a mailpiece is printed with an ancillary service endorsement, the printed endorsement takes priority over the Service Type ID in the IMb™. • Very important that envelopes are imaged correctly. 25

26. Decision Factors • The costs and benefits of the IMb™ Basic option • The costs and benefits of the IMb™ Full-Service option • The costs and benefits of staying with POSTNET™ barcodes, at least for a while • The costs and benefits of any postal services that you use or may want to use • USPS® rules and standards governing what can be mailed at what rates and the consequences of errors 26

27. Company Decisions • Whether you want to use Intelligent Mail® barcodes prior to May 2011 • The type(s) of mail you want to send using Basic or Full-Service IMb™ • Each application may be different • How will the Full-Service uniqueness of data – 45 or more days – be managed • How to begin a transition plan with your mail preparer 27

28. PROJECT TIMEFRAME – for complex mail owner environments The following is an example of timeframe milestonesfor USPS® requirement changes to be introduced into mailer company systems: This example supports: Mail owner with internal mail manufacturing facilities Large / complex IT systems Multiple vendor and internal stakeholders impacted Company business focus is not mail 28

29. MAIL OWNER - Project Schedule Timeline Example 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Project Approved for Initial Evaluation Business Case Funding Submit Production & Factory Testing Mail Factory Introduction Project Close Solution Defined Design Complete Development Complete Unit / System / Integration Testing Quality & Factory Training Deploy-ment Review Factory Work Intake Require-ments Finalized Production Release Commit Defined Vendor Solution Integration Full-Scope Document from finalized USPS® and Vendor Requirements received, identifies Impact Assessment, creates Time & Cost estimates, Project receives authorization to proceed to next step. Team evaluates and baselines internal / Vendor Solution Approach, Freezes Requirement Changes and develops IT Technical Requirement & Architecture Solution. Time & Cost updated, submit Business Case, obtain authorization to proceed, obtain release commit, Document System & Feature Design, Support Vendor Product Integration, as needed. Detailed Design Finalized, Develop, Perform Pre-production Testing, User Acceptance, Quality and Factory Testing. Train Factory personnel. Install Code, User Certification Testing, Project Review / Close 29

30. Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline • Using the same format as mail owners, the following is an example of the timeframe milestones for introduction of production and/or system changes due to USPS® changes. • This example supports: • Mail preparers with internal mail manufacturing facilities • Medium and large complex IT systems • Multiple vendor and internal client impact 30

31. Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline Product Developed Requirements finalized Assessment of need Gap List Created Expenditure Approved Product defined & personnel allocated Outside vendor integration Solution Defined Evaluation of project scope Capital Expenditure Defined Establish scope of project; personnel requirements; list of gaps for future processes versus current processes; outline define solution; estimate project costs with business case Finalize costs; prepare capital expenditure and submit for approval Allocate actual personal based on budget; design solution in detail with stakeholder input Develop solution and user interface; interface with outside vendor processes as required; continue stakeholder input for product solution 31

32. Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline Project Close CAT Testing Production & Factory Testing Mail Factory Introduction Evaluation & Review Quality & Factory Training Deployment Review Pre-Production tests; user interface; system updates/changes as required; debug for production implementation; prepare training material. Prepare quality control requirements for production; finalize training requirements and guidelines; prepare training program and schedule Establish review period for factory; train factory employees; test certification; close project 32