What I Learned at NPF 2016

Tuesday, Jun 28th 2022
business people working in an office discussing a marketing plan

It’s hard to believe it’s April and NPF is already over. We had a packed schedule this year, and I came away with some really interesting insights that I’m already starting to look at back in the office.

The atmosphere and attitude of the attendees was very positive this year. There was a sense of openness and discovery throughout the week, and around 30% of the attendees were there for the first time. Here are a few of the takeaways I found the most interesting:

It’s all about the technology

From Megan Brennan’s keynote speech to many of the educational sessions, new technology was in the spotlight. A few of the more exciting ones include the postal service’s new Informed Delivery™ app, new capabilities in Informed Visibility, and of course Satori Software’s new offering: Satori Ignite.

Informed Delivery™ is currently in pilot mode in New York City. With this program, mail recipients get a notice with scans of the mail they are set to receive that day. Participation and feedback in the pilot has been very positive, even as all the kinks get worked out. Postmaster General Megan Brennan announced that they plan to have this application available for every ZIP Code by 2017.

USPS will be expanding Informed Visibility™ drastically in 2016, adding more scan events and getting those scans into the hands of mailers sooner. The next addition will be delivery scans using geospatial technology.

We had many good conversations about Satori Ignite in our booth. For mailers who are ready to move the bottleneck away from list processing, Ignite customers have seen a minimum 90% reduction in processing times using our solution. If you’d like to hear about what this technology can do for your business, please let us know!

…and simplifying the customer experience

Another big focus was simplification. Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Jim Cochrane noted that marketing, at its core, hasn’t really changed much. What has changed are the demands on customer’s time. The more we as an industry can focus on taking the friction out of the mailing experience, the better it will be for everyone.

For USPS, that will mean looking at every customer interaction: retail, delivery, business mail entry and even mobile. Expect them to keep pushing mailers to Full-Service, eInduction and Seamless Acceptance. And for those looking for information on these programs, there’s an effort to re-organize and simplify the RIBBS web site. This site holds lots of information about different programs and services, but it has gotten pretty unwieldly. As a regular RIBBS user, I am looking forward to checking out the new Postal Pro site.

They’ll also be rolling out a new, more modern payment engine to the industry later this year. It will take a while to replace entrenched systems like CAPS, but in the end it will be a lot easier to pay USPS for their services.

…with a look at 2017

USPS all but confirmed that the next price change (after this week’s price decrease) will happen in January 2017. With so many months to go, the details on what will change were a little sparse, but we did get some good hints. PMG Brennan noted that they will add a third ounce to the “second ounce free” option for First-Class letters. They’ll be using pricing signals to encourage more carrier route pallets, and making significant efforts to eliminate redundant prices. We’ll get the details this fall when they make an official filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission.

What was your biggest takeaway from the National Postal Forum? Send us an email to let us know!