PAUL VOGEL NAMED PRESIDENT, DIGITAL SOLUTIONS; NAGISA MANABE NEW CHIEF MARKETING AND SALES OFFICER
Paul Vogel, president, Digital Solutions, top, and Nagisa Manabe, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has announced two leadership changes to strengthen the Postal Service’s approach to the marketplace and ability to adapt to evolving customer needs.
The Postal Service is launching a Digital Solutions group this week, to be led by Paul Vogel as president. In addition, Nagisa Manabe will join the Postal Service next week as Chief Marketing and Sales Officer responsible for all domestic and international product marketing, development and management, as well as the Sales organization.
Both Vogel and Manabe will be members of the USPS Executive Leadership Team.
Donahoe said Vogel will lead efforts to produce new digital products and services for USPS. “Our growth in this area is potentially quite large, both as a way to develop new revenue streams and to enhance existing products, services and customer experiences — all to better support the mailing industry and the American public we serve,” said Donahoe.
Donahoe noted Vogel’s successful track record at USPS. “Paul built and nurtured our transportation partnership with FedEx,” said Donahoe. “He launched our Global Business unit and he played a vital role in early efforts to re-align our operational network.”
Manabe comes to USPS from the Coca Cola Company, where she served as vice president of New Growth Platforms.
“Nagisa will lead our efforts to frame a new generation of ideas to better promote and grow the Postal Service,” said Donahoe. “As a marketing strategy and product development veteran with a strong background in analytics, she is well suited for the role.”
Prior to her work at Coca Cola, Manabe was vice president of Marketing for Diageo Guinness USA, the beer and malt beverage division of one of the world’s leading spirits, wine and beer companies. During her seven years at Diageo, Manabe held various marketing and innovation leadership positions and managed several brands. She began her career at Procter & Gamble in 1991, and over the past 20 years has held various key positions working on marketing and new product development for more than 30 brands.
Manabe earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Economics and Japanese Studies from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.
New Strategy to Preserve the Nation’s Smallest Post Offices
Wednesday, 09 May 2012 10:09
RRVPCC Admin
New Strategy to Preserve the Nation’s Smallest Post Offices
Modifying Retail Window Hours Could Keep Offices Open
The Postal Service announced a new strategy today that could keep the nation’s smallest Post Offices open for business, while providing a framework to achieve significant cost savings as part of the plan to return the organization to financial stability.
The plan would keep the existing Post Offices in place, but with modified retail window hours to match customer use. Access to the retail lobby and to PO Boxes would remain unchanged, and the town’s ZIP Code and community identity would be retained.
“Meeting the needs of postal customers is, and will always be, a top priority. We continue to balance that by better aligning service options with customer demand and reducing the cost to serve,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. “With that said, we’ve listened to our customers in rural America and we’ve heard them loud and clear — they want to keep their Post Offices open. We believe today’s announcement will serve our customers’ needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability.”
The new strategy would be implemented over a two-year, multi-phased approach and would not be completed until September 2014. Once implementation is completed, the Postal Service estimates savings of a half-billion dollars annually.
“The Postal Service is committed to serving America’s communities and providing a responsible and fair approach for our employees and customers,” said Megan Brennan, Postal Service Chief Operating Officer. “The Post Offices in rural America will remain open unless a community has a strong preference for one of the other options. We will not close any of these rural Post Offices without having provided a viable solution.”
The Postal Service will provide an opportunity for the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to review this plan prior to making any changes. The Postal Service intends to file a request for an advisory opinion on the plan with the PRC later this month. Community meetings would then be conducted to review options in greater detail. Communities will be notified by mail of the date, time and location of these meetings.
This new option complements existing alternatives, which include:
Providing mail delivery service to residents and businesses in the affected community by either rural carrier or highway contract route;
Contracting with a local business to create a Village Post Office; or
Offering service from a nearby Post Office.
A voluntary early retirement incentive for the nation’s more than 21,000 non-executive postmasters also was announced.
Survey research conducted in February by the respected Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) showed 54 percent of rural customers would prefer the new solution to maintain a local Post Office. Forty-six percent prefer one of the previously announced solutions (20% prefer Village Post Office, 15% prefer providing services at a nearby Post Office, 11% prefer expanded rural delivery). This strategy would enable a town to possibly have a Post Office with modified hours, as well as a Village Post Office.
The Postal Service has implemented a voluntary moratorium on all postal facility closings through May 15, 2012. No closings or changes to Post Office operations will occur until after that time.
In addition to maintaining a retail network of more than 31,000 Post Offices, the Postal Service also provides online access to postal products and services through usps.com and more than 70,000 alternate access locations. Nearly 40 percent of postal retail revenue comes from purchases on usps.com and through approved postal providers such as Walmart, Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens, Sam’s Club, Costco and many others.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
Full Service Advance Notice
Tuesday, 01 May 2012 11:30
RRVPCC Admin
Full Service Advance Notice
The Postal Service would like to hear from the mailing industry about our plans to encourage Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) Full-Service adoption by making it a requirement for automation rates, beginning in 2014. In addition to having discussed these plans at MTAC and various association meetings, and hosting a listening session at National Postal Forum, we have issued an Advance Notice published today in the Federal Register seeking formal comments: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-04-20/html/2012-9537.htm
Mailers’ comments will give the Postal Service important insights regarding the perceived challenges involved in moving to Full-Service adoption, including the anticipated cost of moving to full participation, and what the actual costs have been for those already using this offering. The Postal Service would also like to hear about the steps it could take to assist mailers with this move, and the potential benefits of Full-Service adoption, including, for example, the retirement of permit fees, Mail Anywhere/Pay Anywhere capabilities, Seamless Mail Acceptance, and eInduction.
The Postal Service needs input from all mailers – current Full-Service users as well as non-users – to help inform the plan to require IMb Full-Service for automation discounts. The Advance Notice lists specific topics on which the Postal Service would like mailers to comment during the 45-day comment period (ending June 4, 2012). Please take this opportunity to share your comments about the plan, and encourage other mailers to respond, to help the Postal Service understand industry concerns and develop appropriate ways to address them.
Comments and questions can be emailed to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
using the subject line "Full-Service January 2014", or mailed to:
Manager, Product Classification U.S. Postal Service 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Room 4446 Washington, DC 20260-5015
Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion
Tuesday, 01 May 2012 11:35
RRVPCC Admin
Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion - Program Requirements and New User's Guide
On March 26, 2012, the Postal Regulatory Commission approved the 2012 Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion scheduled to run July-August 2012. For business mailers who qualify, this promotion will provide an upfront 2 percent postage discount on Standard Mail® and First-Class Mail® letters, flats and cards (presort and automation only) that include a two-dimensional (2-D) barcode or print/mobile technology that can be read or scanned by a mobile device. The technology must directly lead the person to a mobile optimized website that allows the purchase of an advertised product or to a unique mobile optimized and personalized web page.
New and updated documents have now been posted to the RIBBS page for this innovative promotion. Minor changes and clarifications have been made to the Program Requirements document and they are reflected in Version 2 that is now available for download from the following link: (https://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=mobilebarcode). Additionally, we have posted a User's Guide that mailers can use to register for the promotion on the Business Customer Gateway beginning May 1, 2012. The Incentive Program link will not be visible prior to this date. As a reminder, mail service providers who wish to enroll their customers in this promotion will be able to register on June 10th. Additional program updates and resources will be provided as they become available.
Please provide this information to others in the mailing industry to enable them to benefit from this exciting promotion.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 01 May 2012 11:44
PRC Issues Approval Notice for Picture Permit Imprint Indicia
Tuesday, 01 May 2012 11:27
RRVPCC Admin
PRC Issues Approval Notice for Picture Permit Imprint Indicia
The Postal Regulatory Commission today issued an order approving the implementation of Picture Permit Imprint Indicia as price categories for First-Class Mail and Standard Mail letters and cards. Picture Permit will be available beginning June 24, 2012.
The offering will be available for commercial mailers of presorted First-Class Mail letters and cards and Standard Mail letters using Full-Service Intelligent mail barcodes (IMbs). The premium for First-Class Mail letters and cards will be 1 cent per piece and for Standard Mail letters 2 cents per piece.
Picture Permit allows commercial mailers to include logos, trademarks, and brand images in the permit imprint indicia area of their mail. This provides immediate recognition of companies’ logos, products promotions and brands, and boosts the value and visual impact of First-Class Mail and Standard mailpieces.
Applications for Picture Permit image designs must conform to USPS specifications and be approved in advance. In addition, sample mailpieces are required for testing and approval prior to mailings. Details are available in the April 27 Federal Register at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-04-27/pdf/2012-10014.pdf.
Additional information on Picture Permit, including registration and program requirements, is expected to be posted on RIBBS and usps.com by mid-May.
LOS ANGELES — Of the 4.7 million Americans bitten by dogs annually, more than half are children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The U.S. Postal Service, the medical community, veterinarians and the insurance industry are working together to educate the public that dog bites are avoidable.
