Five-day mail delivery has been viewed by many postal officials as the big panacea for the U.S. Postal service and its attendant financial vicissitudes.
Postmaster General John E. Potter has said five-day mail delivery would save the USPS about $3 billion per year. The USPS has lost $11.7 billion in the past three years. Congress is dragging its feet regarding Potter’s five-day mail delivery proposal.
So will this ever occur?
Joe Schick, director of postal affairs for printer Quad/Graphics, believes it will, but not until the spring or summer of 2011.
“For the most part, Congress is not embracing the idea,” Schick says. “If and when they do authorize the change, it’s my understanding that they could also impose a set amount of time before the USPS could implement to ensure that mailers and citizens had enough time to prepare. So I don’t think it will have a big financial impact in 2011. Probably not much savings until FY 2012.”
Robert Bernstock, president of shipping and mailing services for the USPS, told Federal News Radio that five-day mail delivery could begin early next year. Congress needs to eliminate the 1983 provision calling for six-day mail delivery.
What’s more, Bernstock said the USPS wants to expand its retail partnerships to 100,000-200,000 to give people 24/7 access to postal products. Would this involve kiosks in stores? Bernstock said it could involve actual people in stores selling postal products.
The USPS wants a “vastly improved” customer experience, he added.
The USPS is in the second phase of its plan, Bernstock said, which now moves to dialogue. “We’ve defined the problem with great clarity,” he added.
Let’s see what Congress thinks of the newly proposed USPS business plan.
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