Beginning in October of 2014, the Postal Service has been successfully delivering groceries for Amazon customers in certain cities including San Francisco and New York. And, similar delivery services could expand. Postmaster General Megan Brennan told Bloomberg Business that the USPS is seeking more customers who are interested in customized delivery of their products. Amazon…
The USPS is pilot testing new small package sorting equipment as part of an effort to grow its package delivery service. Earlier this year, USPS installed the Small Parcel Sorting System (SPSS) machines in select facilities in Florida, Arizona, California, Texas and New York. The machines have been hugely productive. The SPSS machines can sort…
New post office services and features are available at 8,400 competitive post offices. A competitive post office means the USPS provides some of the same services offered by its competitors at comparable prices. Here are some new services for PO Boxes that are available at many of these 8,400 post offices: Baker’s Dozen: 13 months…
In 2010, the Postal Service sought to end Saturday mail delivery, which it estimated would save approximately $3 billion per year. However, as the economy has improved and postal reform legislation has stalled in Congress, the USPS has backed away from its insistence on five-day delivery. Instead, the Postal Service is concentrating on optimizing its…
Beginning on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at 10:30 a.m., CBS will air a weekly program featuring the Postal Service Inspection Service. The 30-minute drama series will feature actress Jessica Lundy, a postal inspector, whose team specializes in consumer fraud and other postal crimes. Each week, “real life” Chief Postal Inspector Guy Cottrell will deliver a…
If you’ve ever wondered how the Postal Service can decipher illegible handwriting, the answer is at the USPS Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City, UT. Each of the 1,500 postal employees at the Center examines 7,000 images every day to determine where the indecipherable mail should be delivered. The majority of letters received by…
A new Surface Visibility (SV) device will allow USPS plant workers to scan mail and packages more efficiently. The lightweight mobile device will replace current equipment. Testing has been completed at plants in Dulles, VA and Nashua, NH. Postal employees at those facilities said that the SV device made their job easier. The device will…
Brick-and-mortar retailers including Macy’s, Nordstrom and Wal-Mart are providing customers with same-day delivery to combat the growing online competition. Such retailers often have entire inventories near customers’ homes. Macy’s uses contract drivers from Deliv, an Uber-like company. It delivers to customers in eight cities and Macy’s will soon increase these speedy deliveries. However, not all…
Test mailboxes in rural and suburban communities in California, Colorado and North Dakota are popular with customers and postal employees. The mailboxes are the same height as normal mailboxes but wider to accommodate the ever-growing number of packages received by customers. Customers volunteered to test the boxes earlier this year. Read more Read more
As Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz, (R-UT) is working to improve relationships with Democrats. He has visited ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in Cummings’ home district, and has invited longtime postal reform advocate Gerald Connolly (D-VA) to join the Subcommittee on Government Operations, which oversees the USPS. Democrats have praised Chaffetz’s efforts,…