by Monica Lundquist, Window Book, Inc.

Part 6 of an Eight-Part Series
Click here for parts One, Two, Three, Four or Five

In Part 5 of this series, we continued the discussion of Post-Presort Software, and the reasons why it is needed in addition to Presort Software. In this article, we will discuss spoilage management,  mailing data, and mail verification and acceptance.

Managing Spoilage and Non-Mailed Pieces

Some mail gets damaged during the production and preparation processes.  This is commonly known as “spoilage.”  Depending on the type of mailing (i.e., a Standard Mail advertising piece versus a First-Class invoice), the mailer may elect to immediately replace the spoiled pieces, mail the spoiled pieces at a later time, or not replace the spoiled pieces at all.

In some cases, due to spoilage or other unexpected circumstances some mail may be taken out of the production stream and not get mailed at all(i.e., the mail volume is too low to get a good discount rate, out of supplies such as inserts, short on postage, cannot meet the in-house production schedule, etc.) These are non-mailed pieces.

Presort data is only an initial plan.  Once the mailing is finalized, post-presort software provides mailers the option to remove the spoilage and pieces which were not mailed from the Mail.dat file – and the mailing – prior to generating the postage statements, thus preventing over-payment of postage and providing for accurate reconciliation of mailing counts.

Note: Don’t pay for pieces that don’t get mailed!

Mailing Data

Post-presort software provides a unique opportunity to store mailing data electronically. Since this software creates and/or uses the finalized mailing data of the updated Mail.dat files and postal documents, it provides an abundance of information storage and sharing possibilities.  By using robust database tools, post-presort software can also provide extensive reporting and archiving capabilities.  Post-presort software can share mailing data with other business applications, such as project management, production or accounting software.  For example, your post-presort software should generate the data to update the final postage to your postage accounting system or business management system.

Efficient Mail Verification and Acceptance

Generating and submitting postal documents electronically, rather than in hard copy, can speed up the entire mail verification and acceptance process. By eliminating the need to print multiple copies of documents, and the corresponding need for the USPS to manually re-enter the data from hard-copy statements, the mail verification and acceptance process becomes quicker and more efficient for both the USPS and the mailer.  With the implementation of the USPS Intelligent Mail^® Full-Service option, mailers must submit electronic documentation (eDocs) in order to qualify for further postage discounts.

Good post-presort software will give you both options:  submitting all the required postal documents electronically (eDocs ) as well as providing the option of a hard copy version when needed.  If the PostalOne! system shuts down,  as it actually did on February 5^th, 2010 for four days, the post-presort software should be able to print hard copies of all the required mailing documents as requested by the Postal Service™ during the outage.  After the outage, the software should let the mailers resume submitting eDocs via PostalOne!

Note: Get more discounts! Use post-presort software to generate and submit eDocs and qualify for the Intelligent Mail Full-Service option, and have a backup system.

In Part 7 of this series, we will continue the discussion of the various benefits of Post-Presort Software, including postage statement verification.

To learn more about Window Book >>>.

Click here for parts One, Two, Three, Four or Five

Monica Lundquist is Postal Affairs Manager for Window Book, Inc.  She can be reached atmlundquist@windowbook.com.  Window Book has been helping clients manage their operations more profitably since 1989, and is the leader in mailing and shipping software for Lettershops, Corporate Mailers, Service Bureaus, and Mail Owners.  Window Book’s best-in-class postal solutions include: Intelligent Mail Full-Service, PostalOne!, eDocs, Mail.dat, Mail.XML, FAST, Bound Printed Matter, post-presort data management, entry planning, drop shipping, postage accounting, postal documentation & statements, meter and stamp management, Express Mail® and Priority Mail Open and Distribute, New Commercial Plus rates, eVS, Delivery Confirmation™, and manifesting shipping system.

Window Book, Inc.
300 Franklin Street
Cambridge, MA 02139-3781
Ph: 800-524-0380
Fax: 617-395-5900
www.windowbook.com
postalspecialist@windowbook.com