Potter seeks modernization of Postal Service

If you’ve ever wondered about the effect of email, mobile-marketing and social networking on traditional mail delivery, Postmaster General John E. Potter put it in perspective this week when he said the USPS saw its mail volume fall from 213 billion pieces in 2006 to 177 billion in 2009, and predicted it will drop by another 27 billion by 2020. A USPS press release further states that those numbers represent a 37% decline in First-Class Mail alone, and says revenue contributed by First-Class Mail "will plummet from 51% today to about 35% in 2020."

Potter said that although lifestyles and ways of doing business have undergone dramatic change over the years, the laws governing the Postal Service have not. "These laws need to be modernized to reflect today’s economic and business challenges and the dramatic impact the Internet has had on American life."

The Postal Service has put together a business plan, Ensuring a Viable Postal Service for America, that addresses those challenges and describes a "flexible, agile Postal Service that can adapt to America’s changing mailing habits and preferences." 

The business plan suggests the following action items:

+Restructure retiree health benefits payments to be consistent with what is used by the rest of the federal government and the majority of the private sector and address overpayments to the Postal Service Civil Service Retirement System pension fund.

+Adjust delivery days to better reflect current mail volumes and customer habits.

+Continue to modernize customer access by providing services at locations that are more convenient to customers, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, retail centers, and office supply stores. Increase and enhance customer access through partnerships, self-service kiosks and a world-class Website.

+Establish a more flexible workforce that is better positioned to respond to changing demand patterns, as more than 300,000 employees become eligible to retire in the coming decade.

+Ensure that prices of Market Dominant mailing products are based on demand for each individual product and its costs, rather than capping prices for every class at the rate of inflation.

+A modest exigent price increase will be proposed, effective in 2011.

+Permit the Postal Service to evaluate and introduce more new products consistent with its mission, allowing it to better respond to changing customer needs and compete more effectively in the marketplace.

Read the complete USPS release HERE.