2015 has been a tough year for mail delivery.
Since 2012, USPS has been aggressively consolidating postal processing facilities, cutting hours at retail stores, and optimizing mail delivery for packages. Most of the changes so far have been fairly transparent to mailers. Even as almost half the Sectional Center Facilities (SCFs) closed, USPS was able to maintain delivery standards by using detailed project management plans. But the biggest change came in January. In a sweeping move, USPS drastically changed the hours for most of the processing facilities, shifting work schedules for a large portion of those employees.
The adoption of a new 24-hour processing clock required many changes in the workforce, the USPS has stated this was the largest change they have made since the adoption of automation. It required time to bid on the new positions and then additional time to train employees in their new responsibilities. Staffing gaps and lack of training combined with a slight relaxation in First-Class Mail delivery standards, created a cascade of delivery changes that has not yet been resolved. Nine months later, delivery times are still behind the same period last year, and this is comparing it to the new slower standard. USPS has stated that staffing and training associated with these changes will be complete by September 30th.
As the fall mailing season heats up, service performance is improving compared to earlier this year, but it’s still important to note that the reasonably quick mail delivery you had last year may not apply this year. While the postal service has committed to normalizing the network, if you want to target delivery for a specific day, you’ll need to adjust your formula. If you used to get Monday delivery by dropping on Thursday, you may need to shift your mail entry as early as Monday the week before, depending on the facility and makeup of your mail.
If in-home dates are important for your mail, tracking has never been more important. Piece scan data is free with the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb), and there are a number of reporting services like Satori’s EasyTrack service which will interpret the scan data to give you actionable information.