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Weston, Florida – November 3, 2008 – Mailing with inaccurate customer data is hard on businesses' budgets. Fortunately, with help from DHL Global Mail, it's easy to prepare for a new U.S. Postal Service initiative designed to alleviate the problem. The USPS will implement revised Move Update standards effective November 23, and DHL Global Mail is taking numerous steps to educate customers and ensure they comply.
For those unfamiliar with the term “Move Update,” it refers to procedures the USPS and mailers follow to ensure addresses on mailings are current – and the intended recipient has not moved. High-volume mailers must adhere to the new, more stringent Move Update standards to continue receiving discounted postage prices. The revised rules incorporate two main changes:
1. Mailers must use addresses validated during the previous 95 days through a USPS-approved method. This represents a substantial decrease from the current 185-day window.
2. Move Update standards are being extended to include all Standard Mail (letters, flats, parcels and Not Flat-Machinables), in addition to automation rate and presort rate First-Class Mail.
This tightening of Move Update standards is designed to improve the timeliness and efficiency of mail delivery while minimizing rerouting and reprocessing costs. Most importantly, the USPS hopes to dramatically reduce the cost of handling Undeliverable-As-Addressed (UAA) mail. The Postal Service currently pegs this figure at $1.8 billion annually, as 14.2% of U.S. residents and 19.3% of businesses move each year. Businesses also pay a steep price, losing hundreds of billions of dollars a year in postage, printing and overhead costs because of inaccurate customer data, according to The Data Warehousing Institute™.
Because of the resources expended on undeliverable mail, Lee Spratt – President and CEO of DHL Global Mail - Americas – hailed the revision of Move Update standards as a positive step by the USPS that will have widespread benefits.
"Adhering to the new standards will not only save businesses money, but also help protect the environment by reducing the paper waste associated with undeliverable mailings," Spratt said.
When the Move Update revisions were announced, DHL Global Mail took a proactive approach to ensure customers understand and comply with the new rules. As part of this effort, they created a Move Update Compliance Kit, which explains the changes, details the options available to mailers and provides customers with information on receiving additional assistance. The kit was distributed to customers through a direct mail campaign and remains available via DHL Global Mail’s Customer Web Portal.
In addition, sales representatives were trained in Move Update issues and DHL Global Mail established a dedicated support team for customers, reachable through a special hotline. The company’s website, www.dhlglobalmail.com, features a convenient link customers can use to download the Move Update Compliance Kit, a link to additional information from the USPS – and a prominent reminder about the impending rule change.
Deutsche Post World Net is the world’s leading logistics group.
Its integrated Deutsche Post, DHL and Postbank brands offer tailored, customer-focused solutions for the management and transport of goods, information and payments through a global network combined with local expertise. Deutsche Post World Net is also the leading provider of Dialog Marketing services, with a unique portfolio of efficient outsourcing and system solutions for the mail business. The Group generated revenue of 63 billion euros in 2007. With some 500,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories, Deutsche Post World Net is one of the biggest employers worldwide.
Delivering Success. Worldwide. DHL Global Mail is the one-stop shop for all international mail services. This division of Deutsche Post World Net operates offices and production facilities on four continents, with direct connections to more than 200 countries. DHL Global Mail’s service portfolio consists of three pillars: In addition to cross-border mail, the company is increasingly focusing on domestic services in international markets and is further expanding its value-added mail services.
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