Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) Articles Index Page

Association for Postal Commerce

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Articles and Other Papers

2013 Articles

What's Possible for the USPS? - Actually Great Things

What Will It Take?

Mail Isn't Dead -- But There Are Some Trying To Murder It

2012 Articles

Will Postal Reform Come Out Of Lame Duck Or Simply Be A Lame Duck?

The Holes That Still Need Filling In The Postal Reform Debate

Postal Legislative Reform: “Who's On First?”

The Challenge Of Good Legislative Execution

The IRET Paper Only Tells Part Of The Story

What's Good for the Goose . . . .

It's Time to Get a Grip on Reality

2011 Articles

The Opera Isn't Over Until the Fat Lady Sings

America's Postal Situation Needs Clear-Headed Thinking

It's Time To Get Serious About Preserving The Nation's Postal System

The Nation's Postal System's In A Hell Of A Pickle

Time for a Postal BRAC

Welcome to the Silly Season

Businessweek Balderdash

Why 23 Percent Rate Increases Shouldn‛t Even Be Discussed

Rationalizing Postal Costing in the 21st Century

Rethinking the Nation's Postal System

The President, Politics, And Doing The Right Thing

2010 Articles

Through a Glass Darkly

An Exigency Increase Is Not Justified

Poly Letter Size Mail Appeals to Marketers

The Postal Service And The Press

Cement The Fiscal Imperative & End The Stamp Tax

Ten Reasons Why Mailers Should Delay Implementing the Full Service Intelligent Mail barcode

A Holistic Approach to Mail Processing The Expansion of Postal Services

2009 Articles

Concerns Regarding Postal Inspection Services Initiative for Move Update
Advances In Technological Alternatives To Mail: The Future Of Ocr For Online Postal Services
The Next Step in Postal Services: The Digital Post
The Big Lie!
Direct Mail: Cheaper than On-line Advertising!
Intentional Or Not, The USPS Is Killing Confirm
A Postal Sermonette: It's Time For The USPS To Wake Up And Smell The Coffee
Liberating the Postal Service
It's Time For Another Postal Product Epiphany
It's Time To Put On The Thinking Caps
Finding The USPS' Way To A Yellow Brick (Gold) Road
Get Angry...Or Just Laugh
There Are More Important Things
USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode and Direct Mailing Industry: Rhetoric vs. Reality---Part 1

First Nail in the Coffin Containing the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB)

The Year That Lays Ahead

2008 Articles

Let's Not Backslide On Transparency

Some thoughts on the most recent USPS Governor nominee

Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place

USPS Reports On "Life Cycle Inventory Analysis Of The U.S. Mail"

So, What Is Missing In The Intelligent Mail Barcode Implementation?

Just What The USPS Doesn't Need

A Commentary On IMb And One Company's Business Model

Who'da Thunk?

The Success Or Failure Of IMb Lies In The Postal Service's Hands

Developments May Weaken Industry Support Of IMB

Challenging TimesPositioning USPS For Continued Relevance

Network Plan Seen Lacking Details By Some, Reasonable Approach By Others

What's Your Address?

Death Of The Automable Slim-Jim? Not So Fast!

The Mission Of The Mail

The Imperative to Produce Automation Compatible Mail

On The Environmental Cost Of Paper Vs. Other Media

Mad As Hell

The Intelligent Mail Barcode: Key to the USPS' Future

Postal Proficiency: The Future of the Disc Industry

2007 Articles

Marketing Our Ideas Together

USPS Does The Right Thing: Commits To 90 Days Notice On Rates

Some First, Halting, Unsteady Steps Into The Brave New World Of Postal Reform

Postal Productivity Targets Need To Be More Aggressive

In Search Of....

Postal Reform...And More

Some Things A Cataloger Should Know

Service Performance Measurement--A Test Of Actual Legislative Intent

Congress Should Stick To Oversight And Avoid Micromanagement

A Quick Look Ahead for Catalogers

Docket No. MC2007-1: What In Blazes Is Going On Here?

There Is A Better Way

An Opportunity Better Not Lost

When It Comes to Addressing, It's Time to Get Yourself Ready

2006 Articles

Condemning Confirm to Perdition?

No, The "END" Is Not Near....It's Still Under Development

The Impact of Competitive Entry into the Swedish Postal Market

Understanding Postal: Beyond Rising Postal Rates

The U.S. Postal Service Is A Government Corporation: So What?

Clean Up Our Act!

Make Break-Even; Not Broken

A Post-Mortem On Postal Reform, or "Who Really Shot John?"

Serenity

The Price Of Being Obstreperous

Automated Mail Stream Under Assault

I Want It Myyyyy Wayyyy.....

USPS Sends Confusing Signals on Service Standards and Measurements

Uncloaking The Postal Service'S Warbird

Inquiring Minds (Redux)

Rate Shock!

Learn the Facts!

"Simplified but Certified"

New Baseline Nsa Can Serve as a Model for Future Agreements

The Case Of Confirm: Postal Pricing And Public Goods

Getting Ready for New Rates

The "Forever" Stamp; Good Idea?

Service Performance Measurement Doesn't Need To Be Rocket Science

Reform, FASB, and Tough Decisions

Waiting for Godot...and the Bookspan NSA

The Blind Leading the Blind

You Got It Wrong!

There Can Be Gold in Them Thar Envelopes

Debt-Free Status, Favorable Economic Events Argue for Contingency-Free Case

How Not To Reform Government

Single Piece First-Class CD/DVDS

Value Added? Or Just Robbing the Cookie Jar?

Mail...The Medium That Delivers

It's 2006 and Inquiring Minds Want to Know

2005 Articles

Seizing the Opportunity to Discuss Network Realignment is a Good Strategy

Turf Wars II How CD/DVDs Affect Letter Mail Automation

USPS Board Picks Earlier-Than-Expected Implementation Date for New Rates

Postal Reform: "The Map Is Not The Territory"

It's Still About Costing

What Will the USPS Network Look Like in 2010?

Postal Reform and a Fair Share of the Marbles

The Postal Service's Transformation Plan Makes For Interesting Reading

Escrow, Escrow Everywhere....

A New Role for the U.S. Postal Service?

The Unique Requirement of Mail as a Medium

One of Katrina's Many Lessons

Turf Wars and the New Mail at the Postal Service

Direct Mail....Worth Much More Than One Week

What's the USPS Got Up Its Sleeve?

You Can't Get There From Here

It's In There

The Rate Increases Are Coming!

Changes In USPS Purchasing Guidelines

The Post: An Engine of Commerce

Getting A Read On The USPS' May Financial Report

Commercial Freedom Of Speech Doesn't Come Free

Reconsidering The Postal Service's Business Model

"Big Wheels Keep On Turnin'"...But All That's Blowin' Is Steam

You Ain't Seen Nuthin' Yet

News and Comment

A Self-Supporting Postal Service?

Transformation and Refom Will Not Be A One-Time Thing

Whatever The USPS Sows, It Most Certainly Will Reap

The Problem of Speaking Two Dialects of the Same Language

The Bogeyman Doesn't Wear Brown

Postal Regulation and Worksharing in the U.S.

Taking Care of Business

To Phase or Not To Phase

It's Time To Get Involved

2004 Articles

Smart Mailers Know Their Address Numbers And How To Improve Them

The Coming of a Postal Plague

Principles That Are Key To Meaningful Postal Reform

USPS: A Valued Partner

The USPS' Future Is Flats

It's Time To Attend To The Nation's Postal Business

The Pony Express Rides Again

The States Want to Tax a Tax!

Is time right for bulk-mail pictorial permits?

Hey USPS -- Where's the Respect?

USPS Marketing: Ethically Challenged?

A Postal Water Torture

Address Management: Why Only One Way?

Higher Standard Mail Rates Ahead?

FSS and DPP -- One Year Later

Thanks

The Harvest of More than Low Hanging Fruit

The Emperor Has No Clothes

The USPS' Products Need Some New Thinking

There Should Be More to Postal Life Than Cutting

The Medium IS the Message

I Just Don't Get It

When The Bill Comes Due

The Postal Brain Drain

The Essence of Postal Reform

Is Mail Worth the Investment?

A Call to Mailer Action on Postal Rates

Two Essentials of Postal Reform

A Death of a Thousand Cuts

Congress Should Just Say "NO" To "Just Say No."

Accurate Costing: The Key To Profitable Network Access

'Freedoms': Everything You Should Tell Congress about Postal Reform

2003 Articles

It's "Put Up" Time

A Blurring of Lines

Worksharing: The Building of Lasting Customer Relations

The True Meaning Of Universal Service In An Enduring Mail System

A PWU Has Laid Down A Challenge We Shouldn't Refuse

The Business Perspective on Postal Reform

A Time of Challenge

What Mail Redesign Ought To Be

How Long Will Rate Relief Last?

Whiter Postal Reform

A Remembrance of Moe

The Proof Is In The Pudding

Let the Naysaying Begin!

The Flats Summit in Retrospect

Grow the Mail!

One Person's Perspective

Don't Mail You; Don't Mail Me; Don't Even Mail the Man Behind the Tree

What the President's Commission on the Postal Service Can do.

Worksharing: An Engine of Postal Commerce

Let'em Know What You Think

A Cause to Celebrate

Prospecting For Gold

Worksharing: Why It Works; Why It Shouldn't Be Changed

The Punishment Should Reflect the Full Impact of the Crime

Reflections on Responses to the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service

Measuring Markets With Flexible Yardsticks: A Rebuttal

Putting The Cart Before The Horse

Who Has The Advantage?

The Reascendence of Direct Mail?

Time to Make Good on Good News

Competition Within The United States Parcel Delivery Market

New Year; New Commission

The World of Silly
2002 Articles

The Shoemaker's Kids

It's Time To Boogie!

Close Encounters of the Postal Kind

A "Simple Formulas" Success?

No Silver Bullet

On the Joys of Being Fedex

If We Want Respect As An Industry, We Must Act Like An Industry

Another Postal Reform Scenario

The Do-Nothing Scenario

Taking A Chance

Who...What...Where?

USPS Transformation Plan Has Items of Interest to Mailers

A Reflection Upon the Postal Service's Transformation Plan

Waiting for Pink Slips

It's Time to Bring Mailing Online's Painful Life to a Merciful End

The Challenge of the New Year

Why Settling R2001 Turned Out To Be A Good Deal

And What About Postal Legislative Reform?

A Sigh of Relief...Not a Squeal of Joy
2001 Articles

Making Difficult Choices In Response To Shrinking Revenue

On Mail Redesign

Co uld the USPS be the First Major Business Casualty of the War on Terrorism?

Monopolizing

Who Is Jack Potter?

Th is Is No Time For Business As Usual

Where Have All the Kiosks Gone?

It's Time to End the Mailing Online Madness

We Have Not Yet Begun To Fight!

Bridge to Reform

Bonuses, Pay-for-Performance, and Whatever

On Infrastructure, Postal Rates, and Postal Leadership

An Alternative for Postal Reform

Can The Postal Service Come of Age

The Postal Constant

Thinking Outside the Postal Box

A Bridge to Postal Reform

To Jack Potter: Congratulations...or Condolences?

The Postal Service Fails Low Income Customers

Your Wake Up Call

The Postal Service's Weak Legislative Strategy

Regulation in the Extreme: How the Postal Service Crippled PC Postage

Can the USPS Survive?

Listen: A Postal Perspective

Another Failed Commission?

It's Time for the Governors to Wipe Away the Cobwebs

The Time for Phased Rates Is NOW!

The Postal Service, the Forum, and Mickey Mouse--A Journey Through Fantasyland

Working Smarter

What Chutzpah!

Show Me The Money!

All the World's a Stage....

Welcome to the Fray!

If You Always Do What You've Always Done....

What do we need? Postal reform....!

Take This Job And Shove It....

2000 Articles

It's Time To Make Postal Reform Personal

Good Law Should Make Good Sense

The Time for Talking Is Done; It's Time to Work!

With Careful Thought and Planning, It's Possible to Live With These Rates

Back-To-Back Rate Cases Is An Unlikely Event

The USPS: Are We On The Road From The Universal To The Invisible?

The "Same Ole, Same Ole" Just Won't Do!

Pushing the Envelope

The Postal Service Has An E-Business Responsibility

The Level Playing Field: Who Really Has the Advantage?

How Good Is Your Shipper...Really?

Postal Reform Must Re-Direct Employee Incentives

The Morning After....

The Summer of Mailers' Discontent

Turning A Postal Crossroad Into A Dead-End

Where Are The Governors?

Another Postal Rate Case: What's A Cataloger To Do?

What We Don't Need...Is A Failure To Communicate!

On Universal Service

The Demise of the Postal Service: Poppycock!

It's Time To Change The Postal Service

What Would You Do Without Universal Mail Service?

"Apres Moi Le Deluge"

Postal Sins Of Omission

Postal Road-Kill

Here's Another Fine Mess The USPS Has Gotten Into.

A Tale of Two Theories

On The Announced R2000 Rate Case: "A Date That Will Live In Infamy"

Empowering Core USPS Service With Electronic Technology

1999 Articles

A "Know-Nothing" Congress

Nobody Believed Jor-El Either

E-Biz At The USPS Means Getting A "PIP" Of A Solution

You Should Get Anything You Want at the USPS Restaurant

Postal Reform Is A Multi-Dimensional Proposition

The Latest Challenge to USPS Finances

AMMA Has Done Its Fair Share

What is the Postal Service doing to protect its core?

Only Serious Players Needed in Postal Reform Sandbox

Will The USPS Capitalize On Its Own Inefficiency?

If it is to Survive, the Postal Service Needs a Back-End Focused Strategy

People in Glass Houses...A Postal Perspective

Leveling the Playing Field....A Postal Perspective

1998 Articles

The British, the Dutch and the Germans are Coming!!

Taking the Next Step...A Postal Perspective

The Work of Postal Reform Has Only Just Begun

Keep the USPS Alive With Three Point Five

Don't Let PLANET Spin Out of Orbit

The Promise--And the Challenge--Of the Internet

Tackling the Challeng of Changing Times

A Lesson in Banquet Table Etiquette

A Gem That's Too Good to Miss

The USPS Needs A Different Legislative Tact

Is There A Role For The USPS On The Internet?

The New PMG's A Hit!

The Whole Cent Integer: The Postal Service's Self-Inflicted Wound

It's A Matter of Trust