TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

The following is a perspective by postal commentator Gene Del Polito for Direct magazine. The views expressed are solely the author's.

Throughout the past year, you've probably heard and read a lot about postal reform -- including some of it from me. It's been described variously as "a vital renewal of our nation's commitment to cost-efficient and universal mail service," "akin to buying a pig-in-a-poke," "an empty promise," "a political football," "a grab at the Postal Service's fiscal resources," and probably lots more. Whether postal reform ever becomes a reality, and whether reform lives up to the promises envisioned over the past 11 years of discussion and debate, only time will tell. Of only one thing you can be sure, and that is, if your business is tied in any way to the continued viability of a universal mail delivery system, you'd better get used to focusing on micro and not just macro postal issues.

As long as postal costs are predominantly driven by labor-related costs, and as long as the general drift in the cost of living in the 21st century is upward, increases in postal rates will continue to be part of your business way of life. What that means is that not only will you have to contend with some of the regulatory minutia which is the stuff of rate cases, but also that you will have to pay much closer attention to the things that you do that may be closely linked with the cost of postal services.

Sure, there are rules that govern the minimums for qualifying for various mail subclasses and categories, but we, as an industry, have known for some time that a substantial amount of a mail service's cost can be maximized or minimized in the course of mail production and preparation for postal entry. Despite this, some within the industry persist in mail preparation methods that add to postal costs and ultimately to postal rates.

The time is ripe for you to do some postal auditing of your own. It's time you look at your own mailing practices to see if whatever you or your supplier is doing is helping or hurting your long-term business interests. If you haven't the expertise to do so, there are plenty of consultants out there who can help you do your company's postal audit. So, if you're unhappy with your company's cost of doing postal business, take a look at some of the micro elements that together make up your macro postal reality. It may be time for a change.