There has been a lot of discussion in the news and on blogs about the impending changes at the USPS. There are big changes coming to the postal network, with more than half of the current mail sorting facilities being studied for closure. There are many reasons for the current fiscal situation in the USPS, including Congressionally mandated payments for (future) worker retirement and healthcare costs, and the operation of retail (local) Post Offices in locations where retail sales are not great enough to cover the operational costs. These are issues that you are seeing debated in Congress. There also will be additional changes, internal to the USPS, impacting mailers and their delivery times to USPS Business Mail Entry Units (BMEU’s).

There will be inevitable changes to how the USPS processes First-Class Mail. Looking ahead, how mailers change their current and future strategies to account for these changes in USPS distribution and service levels will enable mailers to differentiate their businesses, based on the service level and delivery channels they are able to provide.