POSTAL NEWS
No 19-2020
Formulated by UNI AproPost and Logistics Sector
|
1. Australia
Post renews commitment towards a sustainable future. March 05, 2020.
2.
Japan
Airlines to use iCargo.March 05,
2020.
3. CWU pressure secures public inquiry into Horizon scandal. March 02, 2020.4. Deutsche Post DHL Group meets 2019 earnings target and addresses impact of Coronavirus. February 28, 2020.5. La Poste revenue up 5.2% to €26bn in 2019.February 27, 2020.
6. Virus
Outbreak: Chunghwa Post takes charge of 75% alcohol deliveries. February 20, 2020.
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1. Australia Post renews commitment towards a sustainable future
March05, 2020
Australia Post has announced that 100% of its plastic satchel range will be
made from recycled content by 2021.
Making the
announcement at the National Plastics Summit in Canberra opened by Prime
Minister Scott Morrison, Nicole Sheffield, Executive General Manager Community
and Consumer said the commitment underlined Australia Post’s drive towards a
sustainable future.
“Australia Post
continues to incorporate sustainable design principles in the development of
our packaging, as we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, non-renewable
resource use and water consumption,” she said.
“As online shopping
grows, Australia Post is focused on reducing the quantity of non-recycled
packaging that moves through our network.”
The announcement comes
on the back of Australia Post joining with one of its major customers, Country
Road, to launch its first recycled plastic satchel in December 2019.
The new satchel
is made of recycled plastic, sending a clear signal to the market that
major Australian brands are committed to eliminating the use of virgin plastic
across our packaging supply chain.
Australia Post aims
to provide a range of packaging options for its customers that meet their needs
and expectations.
Australia Post has
been a signatory of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)
since 2005, joining other major businesses and Government to set the ambition
to achieving national packaging targets.
Since the launch of
its Environmental Action Plan in 2018, Australia Post has been incorporating
sustainability principles in the design and production of its packaging, a
commitment that is reiterated in its 2020-2022 Group Corporate Responsibility
Plan.
In 2019, Australia
Post also teamed up with REDCycle to offer our customers access to more than 1,800
soft plastics recycling points at major supermarkets across Australia.
2. Japan Airlines to use iCargo
March 05, 2020
Japan Airlines has selected IBS Software to implement its
iCargo system to manage air cargo operations.
Legacy systems will be replaced by iCargo Terminal
Operations to manage import, export, transfer, warehouse and airport operations
across Japan Airlines’ network.
iCargo supports end-to-end business functions such as cargo
reservations, rating, manifesting, import and export, warehouse management,
revenue accounting, air mail handling and revenue management for airlines and
ground handlers.
It follows air cargo industry best practices and is fully
compliant with industry standards and initiatives such as Cargo iQ, C-XML,
OneRecord, e-AWB (electronic air waybill), and e-Freight.
Rajan, senior vice president and head of cargo and logistics
solution at IBS Software, said, “JAL is an iconic name in the airline industry,
and we are proud to welcome them to the iCargo community. Their aim is to drive
efficiency improvements and iCargo, the leader and IT platform of choice for
airlines especially in the Japanese market, will help their transformation into
digital freight.”
3. CWU pressure secures public inquiry into Horizon scandal
March
02, 2020
Growing
calls for a full investigation into the appalling treatment of postmasters by
Post Office bosses has forced the Government to act.
In
response to MPs from across the political divide, specifically in his answer to
a Prime Minister’s Question from Labour’s Jarrow MP Kate Osborne
last week, asking him to commit to launching an independent inquiry into
the Horizon affair, Boris Johnson said: “I am happy to commit to
getting to the bottom of the matter in the way that she recommends.”
The
announcement was welcomed by other MPs, Lucy Allan (Conservative, Telford)
saying: “There is a groundswell of support building in parliament for the
Government to take steps to help clear the names of Post Office workers wrongly
convicted of theft based on the Post Office’s flawed Horizon computer system.”
And the
Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Post Offices Gill
Furniss (Labour, Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough) also voiced her
backing for the planned investigation, paying tribute to the “hard-fought
campaign of hundreds of sub-postmasters and members of the APPG from all
parties.”
In
his response, CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey pledged that the union will
now “push for the inquiry to happen without delay and for an independent chair
to be appointed, who must have powers to fully investigate and compel witnesses
to be examined and give evidence.
“We
will do all that is necessary to ensure this matter is not swept under the
carpet, that Postmasters get justice and those guilty parties who inflicted so
much pain on innocent and hard-working people are brought to account.”
Two
months ago, the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance won a full
apology from the Post Office and £58 million compensation for
the 557 ex postmasters involved in the group litigation, after a long-running
legal battle going back several years.
A
computerised accounting system – Horizon – was introduced by the Post office
back in the late 1990s to be used by postmasters around the country.
The system soon began to indicate serious financial irregularities in post
offices – but rather than fully investigate the reasons for this, the company
immediately moved to disciplinary actions,dismissals and even prosecutions
of postmasters, explains CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey.
It
became evident that these discrepancies were due to an inherent fault
within the Horizon system itself, and not postmaster behaviour, but the
business refused to step back from its actions – and the Justice for
Sub-postmasters Alliance, began its long legal battle on behalf of the 557
individuals impacted in this matter.
At
one of the court hearings last November, Lord Justice Coulson was so shocked at
the actions of the Post Office that he likened them to a
‘mid-Victorian factory owner’.
Turning
down an appeal by the Post Office against a ruling that had been made against
them, Justice Coulson said: “The Post Office describes itself as ‘the
nation’s most trusted brand’. Yet this application is founded on the premise
that the nation’s most trusted brand was not obliged to treat their
sub-Postmasters with good faith, and instead entitled to treat them in
capricious or arbitrary ways which would not be unfamiliar to a mid-Victorian
factory-owner.”
The
apology and compensation offer to the 557 individuals came soon after this,
and, while welcoming the development at the time, Andy Furey made the call for
a full inquiry.
In
the midst of the general election campaign and its immediate aftermath, Andy
noted that this ‘national scandal’ had largely gone ‘under the radar in the
current circumstances’
But
he insisted: ‘In view of the seriousness of this matter, the union is
calling for a public inquiry into the whole Horizon debacle and we will be
writing to the Minister for Postal Affairs to outline our grave concerns and
will call for a comprehensive investigation in the form of a public inquiry’.
Source
:https://www.cwu.org/news
4. Deutsche Post DHL Group meets 2019 earnings target and addresses impact of Coronavirus
February 28, 2020
The Group today announced that its 2020 earnings guidance is, as of now, excluding any effect induced by the Coronavirus.
Deutsche Post DHL Group today announced that its 2020 earnings guidance is, as of now, excluding any effect induced by the Coronavirus. Since the Chinese government introduced measures to contain the Coronavirus, DPDHL Group has been consistently monitoring the volume development in its networks. In recent weeks, trade volumes have weakened, not only on the inbound and outbound China trade lanes but also in other countries of Asia; constraints on industrial production are increasingly expected also outside of China.
The Group had seen a very good
start into 2020 in January and was prepared for the usual effects around
Chinese New Year in February when the measures of the Chinese government were
introduced. Since then the business development in Post & Parcel Germany as
well as in DHL Supply Chain and DHL eCommerce Solutions has only been
marginally impacted by the Corona crisis. In contrast, the Group currently sees
more significant effects for the DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding
divisions, where the business is particularly affected with regards to
cross-border trade flows into and out of China. Group-wide the negative impacts
of the Corona crisis on Group EBIT amount to around EUR 60-70 million for the
month of February, compared to the initial internal planning.
Implications for the Group
results for full year 2020 cannot be currently concretely assessed. Should the
macroeconomic situation normalize again, there could also be positive effects
for logistics companies. In case of a longer duration or a worsening of the
current situation over the coming months, the negative impacts for the Group
are likely to outweigh the positives. The concrete earnings impact can only be
assessed after a normalization of the situation.
"Deutsche Post DHL Group had
a very good year 2019 and a successful start to 2020 in January. Thanks to our
broad geographic set-up and our comprehensive portfolio we are more resilient
than other companies. However, a worldwide crisis like the Coronavirus does not
leave us unaffected. It is currently hard to judge how strong the impact on our
business will be. That is why our guidance is as of now excluding any impact of
this", said CEO Frank Appel.
Also against the background of
the global economic uncertainties the Group decided to not further actively
pursue the current exploratory talks regarding partnership options for the
StreetScooter activities. Instead, StreetScooter will concentrate on the
operation of the current fleet of e-vehicles.
"Thanks to our
StreetScooter we have one of the biggest electric delivery fleets in the world
and have made a significant contribution to the development of e-mobility. We
have always said that we do not want to be a car manufacturer. A further
scaling of the business without the right partner does not fit our long-term
strategic goals. Independent from the decision today, we will further foster
the transition of our fleet towards e-mobility", said Frank Appel.
"We are committed to our Mission 2050, which means zero-emission logistics
by 2050.”
Basically, eMobility is only one
of the many levers for the company to make logistics more efficient and thus
more sustainable. The Group is therefore working intensively on various levers,
such as the involvement in the production of alternative fuels, the
optimization of its routes and energy efficiency in its buildings.
The refocusing of StreetScooter
– a change outside of the company’s core businesses – is expected to result in
one-off charges of EUR 300-400 million for the current financial year. The
impact on the cash flow, however, will be limited.
The 2020 guidance for a Group
EBIT of more than EUR 5.0 billion is hence as of now excluding any still to be
quantified effect induced by Corona implications, as well as the above
mentioned charges related to the decision on StreetScooter. 2022 guidance for a
Group EBIT of minimum EUR 5.3 billion is not at all affected by this.
As the guidance update is taking
advance on the publication of 2019 full-year results planned for March 10th,
the Group also publishes the following key numbers of the preliminary closure
of FY2019 accounts:
Deutsche Post DHL Group
continued to post profitable growth during the past financial year. Group
revenue was up 2.9% year on year to EUR 63.3 billion, with all five divisions
contributing to this positive performance.
The Group’s operating profit
(EBIT) improved significantly (+30.6%) compared with the previous year in which
earnings were impacted by one-time effects. Group EBIT reached EUR 4.13
billion, which is well within the range of EUR 4.0 to 4.3 billion targeted for
2019 by Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Post & Parcel Germany division
contributed EUR 1.23 billion to earnings (forecast: EUR 1.1 to 1.3 billion).
The DHL divisions generated total EBIT of EUR 3.4 billion (forecast: EUR 3.4 to
3.5 billion). EUR 2.039 billion of which are attributable to the Express
division, EUR 521 million to Global Forwarding Freight and EUR 912 million to
Supply Chain. The division eCommerce Solutions recorded a result of EUR -51
million, while the result for Corporate Functions came in at EUR -523 million.
„We have reached record earnings
in 2019 despite the challenging macroeconomic environment. All divisions
continued to grow, and we took a big step forward with regards to our profitability”,
said Frank Appel.
Deutsche Post DHL Group
continued to invest heavily in profitable growth in the past financial year,
spending a total of EUR 3.6 billion across all divisions – approximately EUR 1
billion more than in the prior year. This includes EUR 1.1 billion for the
debt-financed renewal of the Express division’s aircraft fleet. The new
machines are 18 percent more efficient and thus also contribute to the group's
sustainability goals.
Despite higher capex spending,
cash flow performed very well in the past financial year. Free cash flow was
EUR 867 million, well above the figure of more than EUR 500 million projected
for 2019. The Group had anticipated lower cash inflows in 2019 (previous year:
EUR 1.1 billion) due to higher cash outflows for revamping the aircraft fleet
at Express.
5. La Poste revenue up 5.2% to €26bn in 2019
February 27, 2020
For the year ending December 31, 2019, La Poste’s operating revenue totalled
€25,983m, up from €24,699m or 5.2% in 2018. This increase, which includes the
full-time subsidiary Asendia acquired at the end of 2018, has been driven by
the performance of all of the group’s activities. The growth of GeoPost’s
express activities and the Parcels activity, the activity of La Banque Postale
in a difficult context, and the recent acquisitions in the fields of health,
energy transition and digital consulting, have all contributed. Operating
profit decreased by €3m to €889 in 2019, operating margin was 3.4%, the lowest
since 2014.
Revenues for the Services-Mail-Parcels branch
totalled €12,376m, an increase of 5.8%. Parcel sales amounted to €1,875m.
Organic growth increased by 5.7%, mainly due to the strong increase in
Colissimo volumes driven by the growth of e-commerce. Revenues from the
Services and Mail activities amounted to €10,501m, up €601m or 6.1%. The
operating profit of the Services-Mail-Parcels branch amounted to €410m, down
€85m compared to the end of December 2018. This decrease is mainly explained by
the drop in Mail volumes, combined with the drop in the profit of the
subsidiaries due to a revaluation of Asendia shares by €57m in 2018 and the
sale of ViapostLogistiqueConnectée in 2019. The operating income of Parcels
grew by 3.6%.
GeoPost branch sales amounted to €7,768m, up
€491m, or 6.7% compared to 2018. The Parcel Express segment derives growth in
turnover from that of volumes and price increases. The branch delivered 1,332m
parcels. The New Urban Services segment saw its turnover increase by €36m, in
part because of the development of Stuart in the United Kingdom. GeoPost
operating profit amounted to €379m in 2019 up from €344m in 2018.
Regarding the outlook for 2020, La Poste
believes the economic context will remain difficult, in the wake of previous
years. The priority remains the transformation of the group within the
framework of a plan of conquest, innovation and diversification.
Source :https://www.ti-insight.com/
6. Virus Outbreak: Chunghwa Post takes charge of 75% alcohol deliveries
February 20,2020
Starting this week, Chunghwa
Post is to be in charge of delivering 75 percent alcohol used as a disinfectant
to protect against COVID-19, the postal company said yesterday.
The state-run firm undertook
the task after it was last week ordered to deliver masks to be sold at National
Health Insurance (NHI) partner pharmacies.
Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor
Corp (TTLC) produces the 75 percent alcohol, Department of Mail Business and Operations
head Chen Ching-hsiang (陳敬祥) said.
A Chunghwa Post driver delivers medical alcohol made by Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp to a pharmacy yesterday.
TTLC would first deliver the
alcohol to 23 postal service hubs, from which couriers would deliver it to the
NHI’s 5,660 partner pharmacies nationwide, he said.
Chen said that each partner
pharmacy would receive three boxes, each containing 24 300ml bottles of
alcohol.
As alcohol is flammable,
couriers would be required to deliver the boxes in four-wheeled vehicles or
larger trucks that are equipped with fire extinguishers, Chen said.
They would also be told to
place the boxes in plastic containers for enhanced safety, he added.
Delivering masks and alcohol
would increase couriers’ workloads, but many of them feel honored to be part of
national disease-prevention efforts, Chen said.
Chunghwa Post would pay
couriers overtime or allow them to take compensatory days off due to their
increased workload, he said, adding that it would also have to employ more
couriers.
The demand for additional
couriers is urgent, as from today, the number of masks to be delivered by
Chunghwa Post is to increase from 1.65 million to 3.96 million per day, Chen
said.
POSTAL NEWS
No 20-2020
Formulated by UNI AproPost and Logistics Sector
|
1.
A nation of book worms: Royal Mail reveals house and
street names with literary namesakes across the UK.
March 05,
2020.
2. Acquisitions: does Kiala fit UPS’s needs?March 05, 2020.3. APWU Meets with USPS on the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).March 04, 2020.4. Eboo - Post Luxembourg's new digital banking solution. March 03, 2020.
5. USPS to handle historic census
mailing. March 03,2020.
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1. A nation of book worms: Royal Mail reveals house and street names with literary namesakes across the UK
March
05,2020
In
celebration of World Book Day, Royal Mail has revealed the most popular
literary-themed names that feature in house and street names in the UK. Potter,
Dickens, Copperfield and Montague are all fashionable literary choices across
the nation.
Across
the UK, there are over 7,000 streets and over 25,000 house names containing
literary-themed names.
Nationally,
Copperfield is the most common novel-based street name, featuring in 23
postcodes across the UK. Potter Street is the most common book character
occurring in street names, featuring in 78 postcodes across the UK. Montague
Road and Montague Street are the most popular street names inspired by
Shakespeare.
The
research also unveiled literature as being one of the most common inspirations
for the nation’s house names. Dickens Yard, Copperfield House and Montague
Court are among the most popular literature-related houses that Royal Mail’s
postmen and postwomen deliver to.
London
is host to the most literature-themed house names, including Beatrix
Apartments, Matilda House and Clockwork Mews. Other notable house names
inspired by the world of books include The Hobbit House in Newport, Orwell
House in Aberdeen, Little Snape in Tunbridge Wells, The Hamlet in Belfast and
Pickwick Terrace in Slough.
Royal
Mail’s Address Management Unit analysed over 30 million addresses to identify
the most common literature-inspired house and street names.
Royal
Mail is marking World Book Day with a special postmark, featuring the Share
a Million Stories campaign message.
Steve
Rooney, Head of Royal Mail’s Address Management Unit said: “Houses and streets
across the UK are filled with references to literature. It is promising to see
that the written word continues to have an influence on house and street names
across the nation. In honour of World Book Day, we are encouraging people to
get reading and to read to the children in their care, as this has a
significant impact on their future.”
2. Acquisitions: does Kiala fit UPS’s needs?
March 05, 2020
UPS and the PUDO network Kiala should have been a match made
in heaven. So why isn’t it working out that way? Analysis from Mirek Gral and
Marek Różycki, Last Mile Experts, and Ian Kerr, Postal Hub Podcast.
Global logistics giant UPS has a footprint in most key
geographies. But in 2012, UPS recognized that it needed a better solution to
serve the European B2C market with the desired levels of efficiency. At this
point it became interested in Kiala.
Kiala was founded in Belgium in 2001 by Marc Fourrier and
Denis Payre, the then CEO. It started as a technology provider, with a platform
that allowed e-commerce retailers to offer delivery to a convenient retail
location.
Kiala management quickly recognized that its own
distribution network would be the next step in its business development. To
make this happen, a first investor came on board in October 2001, followed by a
few other funds with a total investment of over €44m (US$49m) by 2007. Kiala
was then able to build its own distribution network with more than 7,200 Kiala
Points and 1,050 click and collect locations across France, Spain, Belgium,
Netherlands and Luxembourg, supported by a few hubs in France, Spain and
Belgium.
Shippers like H&M, Esprit and about 450 other online
shops handed over up to 145,000 shipments daily to Kiala. Early in 2012, UPS,
who had been observing Kiala for some time, finalized a deal to buy the
company.
UPS expectations
UPS immediately started integrating the Kiala business into the UPS network, due to the lack of any in-house solution for the growing number of B2C shipments. The quickest way was to simply use the new network points as alternative delivery locations (ADL) for UPS failed first-time deliveries. By doing this UPS expected to significantly reduce the number of residential second delivery attempts, and consequently reduce last-mile distribution costs while also improving customer experience.
Customers had greater delivery choice and could collect
packages on the same day as the first attempt was made, without the need to
wait another day for the second delivery attempt. UPS also worked on the
possibility of sending shipments through a future UPS Access Points (UAP)
network and introducing a dedicated B2R product.
How did it really turn out?
Integration of this new company created some challenges. The first problem was IT. UPS, with its massive worldwide legacy system created over the decades, was not flexible to interact with the relatively new and dynamic systems at Kiala, which were built for a specific B2C and B2R product. These challenges were largely dealt with during the testing phase, using data exchange servers, which enabled the transmission of key shipment statuses with only a short delay.
The real challenge comes from a unexpected origin …
customers were surprised and confused by the fact that UPS left shipments at
Kiala points after an unsuccessful first delivery attempt, rather than making
another delivery attempt as before. Such a situation resulted in considerable
customer dissatisfaction and an increase the number of complaints.
This was not due to an inherent problem with the service but
more with the fact that PUDOs were still relatively new at the time and,
importantly, that UPS customers were not informed that when ordering a
door-to-door shipment, they could have to collect their package from the
collection point in person, let alone the reasons for and benefits of this
solution.
Many customers complained, claiming that if they had known
of such a change, they would have chosen a different carrier, which already
offered delivery to the points, for much lower transportation costs. UPS tried
to improve the customer experience by launching the ‘My Choice’ online tool,
which enabled the recipient to redirect the shipment to another address.
Unfortunately, the platform had one serious drawback (which,
once again, demonstrated a lack of customer-centric thinking): a long and
complicated user registration process which involved receiving access details
by regular mail! Moreover, the system had limited use in that a redirection of
the shipment could only be made after the first unsuccessful delivery attempt.
Key learnings
In this dynamic and competitive world with growing customer expectations, it is important to consider how new solutions will affect customer satisfaction. To coin an Amazon phrase: ‘Start with the customer and work backward’. This thinking was acutely missing in the UPS process, which undoubtedly contributed to a bad customer experience. Matters were exacerbated by poor communication both prior to the project launch and once problems were being encountered.
Conclusion
Kiala is a sad example of an innovative and agile company being swallowed up by a large and unwieldy player with legacy systems and thinking, but without significant synergy for either party.
Moreover, while operational cost reduction is critical for
the future of the last mile, it cannot be the only reason to make changes. It
is important to remember that it is the customer who decides which service and
at what price they will choose. So, the key aspect of change is customer
satisfaction and their confidence that the service they have purchased meets
their expectations.
In fact, the first stage of the Kiala network integration
with UPS was more about last-mile cost reduction than customer satisfaction.
The promising acquisition of Kiala with its modern solutions probably did not
fully fulfill its role as expected due to limited flexibility of UPS structures
and understanding of real B2R needs and IT systems interactions.
Post scriptum
Based on the latest UPS fact sheet there are more than 15,000 UAPs in Europe (24,000 worldwide). However, UPS Europe is unfortunately far away from being the preferred B2C or B2R carrier.
3. APWU Meets with USPS on the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)
March 04, 2020
The coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, originating
in China, has now spread to over 65 countries including to the United States.
The APWU is continuing to monitor the situation and is in constant contact with
the USPS about COVID-19. The Postal Service informed the APWU on Feb. 29, 2020,
that an employee tested positive for the virus.
Last week, the APWU initiated a meeting with USPS
leadership to discuss their response to the virus. On March 2, APWU President
Mark Dimondstein, Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman, the Directors
of the Maintenance, Motor Vehicle Service, and Clerk Crafts, and the officers
assigned to Article 14 met with the Postal Service and representatives of the
other postal unions to discuss the Postal Service’s response and plans and the
unions’ concerns and suggestions.
Postmaster General (PMG) Megan Brennan was present along
with senior representatives of Labor Relations, Human Resources, the USPS
Legal Department, and their incident preparedness team. PMG Brennan discussed
with the unions what they are doing to help protect employees.
The Postal Service reported that they are working very
closely with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department
of Health and Human Services, and various state public health agencies
around the country to address COVID-19.
Source : https://www.apwu.org/news
4. Eboo - Post Luxembourg's new digital banking solution
March
03, 2020
POST
Luxembourg has unveiled its new eBanking solution, eboo.
Accessible
via an app on smart phones and tablets, and via the browser on desktop
computers, eboo is the Successor of POST Luxembourg’s CCP Connect and CCP
Mobile banking services.
Customers
can check their bank balance and credit card charges, make transfers (including
standing orders as well as domestic and international transfers) and recharge
their Easy Visa card.
With
eboo, customers can get in touch with a POST employee, either by sending them a
message via secure messaging or by making a phone call. Services are available
in French, Luxembourgish, German, and English.
Customers
can securely open the app using Face ID, Touch ID or via a PIN. Activation of
the app and completing certain transactions requires authentication via a
LuxTrust device. LuxTrust is a mobile app that allows customer authentication,
as well as allowing customers to validate operations and sign documents
electronically.
POST
Luxembourg’s previous banking interfaces “CCP Mobile” and “CCP Connect”
remained accessible for a transitional period.
Source
: http://www.thepostalhub.com/blog
5. USPS to handle historic census mailing
March 03,2020
The Postal Service
will handle one of the largest mailings in its history when it delivers 590
million mailpieces from the Census Bureau, beginning in March.
The pieces will
include questionnaires, letters and postcards regarding the 2020 census, the
constitutionally mandated survey that seeks to count every resident of the
United States.
USPS will deliver the
letters in five mailings during a six-week period, beginning Thursday, March
12. Some households will receive more than one piece.
This will be the
single largest First-Class Mail mailing within a 90-day period in USPS history.
“The Postal Service’s
nationwide workforce and ability to deliver to every address makes us uniquely
suited to help the Census Bureau measure the number of residents in the United
States,” said Chief Operating Officer David E. Williams.
The census, which
occurs once every decade, is used to determine the number of seats each state
has in the U.S. House of Representatives. It also aids in deciding how federal
money is distributed to local communities.
This year, the Postal
Service and the Census Bureau are working together to use Informed Delivery, a
USPS mail notification service, to
boost survey response rates.
Residents who use the
digital service will be able to see images of their questionnaire envelopes
before they arrive in the mail. These customers will have the option to click
on the image to complete the questionnaire online.
In
addition to counting the Census Bureau as an important customer, the Postal
Service has benefited from census data itself.
The results of the
first national head count in 1790 helped the United States determine where to
establish Post Offices and the best way to transport mail to them. Today, USPS
continues to use census data to ensure it is meeting the needs of its
customers.
The Postal Service’s
previous largest First-Class Mail mailing was for the 2010 census.
Source : https://link.usps.com/2020/03/03