Managers, Statistical Programs, Cs&S Districts

Finance

March 1, 2010

MANAGERS, FINANCE, CS&S DISTRICTS

MANAGERS, STATISTICAL PROGRAMS, CS&S DISTRICTS

SUBJECT:Policy Memo – Statistical Programs Letter #3, Fiscal Year 2010; SIRVO-IODIS,

TRACS, ODIS-RPW

The purpose of this letter is to provide updated policy and procedures for SIRVO-IODIS, SIRVI, CCCS, RCCS, TRACS, IOCS, and ODIS-RPW that are effective April 1, 2010.

GENERAL

Attachment 1 updatesParcel Select markings (BulkMailCenter is renamed to NetworkDistributionCenter), and a new nonmachinable greeting card stamp is introduced.

SIRVO-IODIS

Attachment 2 addresses recording Forever Stamps.

SIRVI

Attachment 3 updates the Receptacle Contents screen.

TRACS

Attachment 4 updatesthe rescheduling policy for all TRACS tests, deleting rescheduling to any day of the week when a test is rescheduled a third time.

ODIS-RPW

Attachment 5clarifies First-Class Mail and Standard Mail markings, allows Standard Mail weights over

1 pound when indicia is Permit eVS, and adds a new calculation for Forever Stamp revenue.

J. Ron Poland

Manager

Statistical Programs

Attachments

cc: Mr. Corbett, CFO

Mr. Moeller

Mr. Foucheaux

Finance Managers, Areas (w/o Attachments)

Accounting Managers, Area

Statistical Programs Liaisons, Areas

Managers, Statistical Programs, HQ

Mr. Colvin

Ms. Mayes

Ms. Vetter, Senior Manager, Ernst and Young

Ms. Hilderbrand, Office of Inspector General

475 L'Enfant Plaza SW

Washington DC 20260-5000

SP Letter #3, FY2010

Attachment 1

GENERAL

The following policy and procedure changes are effectiveApril 1, 2010.

Parcel Select Markings

Parcel Select mailers are in the process of changing the “BMC” markings on their mailpieces to “NDC” markings, to reflect the new Network Distribution Center (NDC) mail processing network. The changes are:

Parcel Select BMC Presort (or PRSRT) will become Parcel Select NDC Presort (or PRSRT).
Parcel Select OBMC Presort (or PRSRT) will become ONDC Presort (or PRSRT).

We will add the new markings in the next software release. Until then, record any Parcel Select NDC markings under their BMC counterparts.

New Stamp for Nonmachinable Greeting Cards (Applies only to SIRVO-IODIS, IOCS, and ODIS-RPW)

A new 64-cent Butterfly stamp will be available for greeting cards that require additional postage to cover the nonmachinable surcharge.

Participating greeting card manufacturers will print a silhouette image of a butterfly on their envelopes, making it easy for customers to understand that the new Butterfly stamp or equivalent postage is needed for mailing.

The butterfly symbol will be used on all future nonmachinable letter stamps. When prices increase, USPS will issue a new stamp using the butterfly symbol.

Whether the mailer uses the new Butterfly stamp or another form of postage, enter “yes” on the Nonmachinable Letters Screen when a mailpiece:

Is square or doesn’t meet aspect ratio.
Is polywrapped or made of non-paper material.
Contains items that create an uneven mailpiece or are closed using clasps, strings, or buttons.
Has an address that is parallel to the shorter dimension.
Is rigid and doesn’t bend easily.

This Page Left Intentionally Blank

April 2010 GENERAL 1

SP Letter #3, FY2010

Attachment 2

SYSTEM FOR INTERNATIONAL REVENUE AND VOLUME OUTBOUND –

INTERNATIONAL ORIGIN-DESTINATION INFORMATION SYSTEM

(SIRVO-IODIS)

The following policy and procedure changes are effective April 1, 2010.

Forever Stamp Recording

The Postal Service relies on Statistical Programs sample data to estimate Postage in the Hands of the Public (PIHOP), which includes Forever Stamps that have been sold but not used. It is very important to record the number of Forever Stamps and the year printed on them accurately, so the PIHOP estimates are as reliable as possible.

If you are recording multiple identical pieces, be sure that the same number of Forever Stamps, with the same year shown on the stamp, appears on each piece. As with other multiple identical pieces, record the number of Forever Stamps on just one of the identical pieces. The software will automatically calculate and report the correct number of pieces and stamps for the grouping. Do not add and record the total number of stamps on the entire grouping of pieces.

Example: If you are recording five multiple identical pieces with one Forever Stamp on each piece, record the number of Forever Stamps as “one,” not “five”andrecord revenue on the Total Mailpiece(s) Revenue Screen the same way. In this example, enter the revenue as “$0.44,” not “$2.20.”

To support Forever Stamp recording, we added a new calculation that automatically compares the number of stamps per piece with the revenue per piece. You will see a warning screen if the revenue entered is more or less than the expected value. When you see the warning screen, please check your entries on the Number of Forever Stamps Per Piece and Total Mailpiece(s) Revenue screens, and adjust if necessary.

This Page Left Intentionally Blank

April 2010 SIRVO-IODIS 1

SP Letter #3, FY2010

Attachment 3

SYSTEM FOR INTERNATIONAL REVENUE AND VOLUME INBOUND

(SIRVI)

The following policy and procedure changes are effective April 1, 2010.

Receptacle Contents Subscreens

The subscreens related to the Receptacle Contents screen (e.g., Non-Exempt, Exempt/Return to US Sender …) are modified to have three possible displays. For most data collection, the subscreens remain unchanged.

When the Origin Country entered isAA (military), a new Military Mail (Domestic shape definitions) screen will display to record data by domestic shape. The basic differences between the UPU Shape Template used for all other SIRVI data collection and the domestic shape definitions are as follows:

A domestic Letter is 2” inches greater in length and 3/8” smaller in height than the UPU Small/Letter-shape;
A domestic Large Envelope (Flat) is limited to 13 oz. in weight. A UPU Large/Flat-shape is limited to 17.5 oz.

For periodicUPU flow studies, new subscreens will appear that require weight step data entry using UPU shape definitions. These subscreens will only appear when the “Special Study?” column on the Target Receptacles screen is marked as “Yes”.

Note: The UPU flow study is expected to occur during May, 2010. We will provide more details in April, once we have more information.

This Page Left Intentionally Blank

April 2010 SIRVI 2

SP Letter #3, FY2010

Attachment 4

TRANSPORTATION COST SYSTEM

(TRACS)

The following policy and procedure changes are effective April 1, 2010.

Rescheduling Procedure

TRACS rescheduling policy is revised, no longer allowing an exception when a test is rescheduled three times

In Handbook F-95, Chapter 3, Section 3.7.3.1, bullet 4 delete the following sentence:

“If a third reschedule is necessary, the test can be conducted on any day of the week.”

And replace with the following:

"However, during the last 7 days of the quarter, the test may be rescheduled to any day.”

This Page Left Intentionally Blank

April 2010 TRACS 1

SP Letter #3, FY2010

Attachment 5

ORIGIN–DESTINATION INFORMATION SYSTEM – REVENUE, PIECES, AND WEIGHT

(ODIS–RPW)

The following policy and procedure changes are effective April 1, 2010.

First-Class Mail and Standard Mail Markings

A previous update to the mail markings screens for First-Class Mail and Standard Mail caused some confusion about how automation mail is identified and recorded across all systems. To keep ODIS-RPW consistent with the cost systems and the way mail was recorded previously, we returned the MLOCR barcode marking (“A??????” through “L???????”) as a valid marking for automation First-Class Mail and Standard Mail in ODIS-RPW.

The notation “A??????” through “L???????” means that the mailpiece has a seven-character marking starting with the letter “A” through the letter “L” to the left of a mailer-applied barcode along the bottom of the mailpiece. The first character (“A” through “L”) indicates the month (A = January, B = February, C = March… L = December), characters two through four are software and system identifiers and may include special characters (“-”, “#”, “”, “/”, “*” or “.”), and characters five and six are rate code identifiers (alpha or alphanumeric combinations). Record mailpieces with an MLOCR barcode as option “1 – AUTO” on the Mail Preparation/Sortation Marking screens.

A barcode that begins with “A??????” through “L???????” is always a mailer-applied barcode. Be sure to also key them as “2 – Mailer Applied” on the Barcode Source screen.

In Handbook F-75, update the “AUTO” entries in RM 3-6 and RM 3-7 as follows:

RM3-6 Mail Preparation/Sortation Marking: First-Class Mail

Mail Preparation / Description
AUTO / Record as AUTO if the mailpiece is marked AUTO; if the Manifest Mailing Code AB, AT, AV, or MB is printed on the piece; or if an MLOCR barcode (“A??????” through “L???????”) is used.

RM3-7 Mail Preparation/Sortation Marking: Standard Mail

Recording Standard Mail Weight for eVS Mailpieces

We modified the Weight Screen to allow entries over 1 pound for Standard Mail parcels paid using permit eVS. Standard Mail must weigh less than 1 pound, but pieces paid using eVS may be mismarked “Standard Mail” when they are actually prepared and paid as Priority Mail or Package Services. The new policy supports “key what you see” and enables the eVS team to identify misprepared parcels, ensure postage was properly paid, and ask mailers to correct the mail markings.

When you enter a Standard Mail weight over 1 pound, a warning screen will ask you to confirm your entry.

Forever Stamp Recording

Example: If you are recording five multiple identical pieces with one Forever Stamp on each piece, record the number of Forever Stamps as “one,” not “five,” andrecord revenue on the Total Mailpiece(s) Revenue Screen the same way. In this example, enter the revenue as “$0.44,” not “$2.20.”

To support Forever Stamp recording, we added a new calculation that automatically compares the number of stamps per piece with the revenue per piece. You will see a warning screen if the total revenue you entered is not the expected value. When you see the warning screen, please check your entries on the Number of Forever Stamps Per Piece and Total Mailpiece(s) Revenue screens, and adjust if necessary.

April 2010 ODIS-RPW 1