The postal universe has been through a lot of challenges. Facing The Future Together was the central theme at the premier mailing and shipping conference, National Postal Forum in Phoenix Arizona May 15th – May 18th.
SPC was excited to host our own booth where attendees could explore our innovative formats, and chat with our own in-house postal experts. This forum was the perfect opportunity to learn about the latest mailing and shipping news. Rob Jozefowicz, SVP of Sales & Marketing, said “The theme of the forum, Facing The Future Together was spot on. The event had a sense of community that was missed over the last couple of years. It was refreshing to engage with so many colleagues again.”
Keynote Address
One of the main attractions of the forum was the keynote address, delivered by Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. He discussed the current conditions of the United States Postal Service and how he intends to solve these growing challenges.
Mr. DeJoy took a very candid position at the outset, acknowledging the Postal Service has been simply overwhelmed year after year without a clear plan on how to fix it. “The Postal Service lost its voice to advocate for itself which caused it to lose the ability to lead, which caused it to become ineffective in solving its problems.”
Postmaster General Dejoy presented his 10-year vision that would lead to a more reliable and affordable Postal Service, and transforming it to be the preferred delivery provider in the country. SPC can sum up his initiatives in two words: Rescue & Redesign.
He explains the breakdown of this plan as a dual-transformation process. The first course of action is removing all activities and strategies that are destructive to their overall performance and position in the marketplace. Secondly, invest and turbocharge the Postal Service by creating new strategic goals for continued growth and improvement.
Here are 5 proposed initiatives Postmaster General DeJoy has prioritized:
- Reinvent the Mail Processing Network
This requires imagining a new processing network, with mail streaming in and out of a single, modern plant with standardized processes and machines. This one plant could replace the existing eight processing facilities, ultimately creating a modern Postal Service processing and transportation network. Having one building would improve performance and lower cost while significantly impacting the Postal Service’s carbon footprint by hundreds of fewer trips to facilities.
- Expand the Delivery Network
Currently, the Postal Service has 19,000 locations around the country. This new strategy expands the footprint to as many as 40-50 locations within a 10-mile radius. The end game is to have the greatest reach possible while still being reliable and affordable. Postmaster General Dejoy and his team plan to accomplish that by turning carrier bases into Sort and Delivery Centers. More specifically, to place large carrier operations inside mail processing plants; reducing transportation and mail handling and decreasing time to delivery. Plant closures around the nation would occur with the intent to modernize them to keep in line with the new strategy.
- Re-think Packaging, “Stop moving air!”
Another goal moving forward is to limit the amount of unused space, or “air” in trays, containers, trailers, and carrier bags. To simplify, the objective is to deliver cubic volume of mail and packages and limit the air involved in transportation.
- Deploy New Software
The Postal Service team is implementing new logistic and customer service software to better operate, service, and connect with shipping customers.
- USPS Connect…To Meet the New Normal
USPS Connect was introduced to the audience during the keynote address. Its purpose is to serve every address on every route as the solution to the “gotta-have-it” lifestyle we live in. It will provide same-day and next-day local delivery, and regional delivery and offer seamless returns. Postmaster General Dejoy confidently emphasizes, “It will be successful because of the consolidation of our delivery units.” This new initiative keeps with the new strategic theme of better reach, reliability, and staying relevant in the marketplace.
Moving Toward Stability
When you include the ambitious plan to replace the existing fleet of carrier trucks, this comprehensive plan represents a $40 billion capital investment. Postmaster General DeJoy stated that the Postal Service will become financially sustainable in 2024, emphasizing better efficiency and operating at a lower cost, while achieving the goal of 95% on-time performance across their product categories in 2024.
To stay up to date on USPS News, visit USPS Insights on the SPC website.
