Bulk Mail Training

[pabney]

Hello Group,
I am interested in getting some training on bulk mail.
Are their companies that do this? Is something available from the USPS? I can't seem to find anything on that site.

Thanks
Paul

 

[Craig]

Good luck! The best thing I can tell you is depending on whether you live near a large sorting facility or not is ask the USPS questions. If you are like me and do not have a sorting facility but just a BMEU you will eventually be teaching them the rules. Get mailing software with GOOD tech. support like AccuZip. Those guy's (and girls) know their stuff. All of them use to work in the field and can help a lot.

We are in a small town of 30,000 and mail over 1 million pieces a year. It will get easier each time you do it. Visit the USPS Business Gateway. Once you register there you will have access to more information. Look at the Domestic Mail Manual for answers. Just get ready for BORING reading.

If you have not already started mailings, start small with a mailing or 2 for your business. This way if you screw up it's on your stuff and not a customers. Just remember to get the basics down first, like letter rate vs post card rate. A single card 5.5x8.5 is mailed at a letter rate, even though you may call it a post card. USPS rates are based on sizes, not the vernacular of the mail piece. Ask the USPS if they have templates that show the OCR Read Area and Barcode placement area.

 

[Keith]

Like Craig said, start small. The only part of what he said I may disagree with is the mailing software unless you have that $2,000 to give them, there are less expensive (and less robust) presort software out there like Postage Saver. Another good resource is a list broker like Mailers Haven. For training, I would recommend you start here: http://www.msmanational.org/mdc.html Mailpiece Design Consultant. It teaches mostly about mail shape and address specifications but it also goes over USPS history, barcodes and other entry level postal requirements. All in all, mailing is actually easy (untill you git into the massive mailers with business reply mail, palletizing and co-mingling- I don't even know what any of that stuff is).

 

[pabney]

Thanks guys.
We already do mail. We use Satori for the presorting.
What I am interested in is insuring my people are doing the job the best and most accurate way. The only way I know how to do that is to train. The "expert" I had in charge of this has retired. I am not 100% sure that he taught the remaining people everything they should know, so I am looking for a way to do that.

Paul

 

[Shawnd]

George would be able to whip them into shape in no time, he does consulting for businesses just like you that have lost a key person and need to get that "knowledge" back.

He does boot camps from time to time like this one: http://epicomm.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/PostalBootCampBrochure-Upstate-2015.pdf

This is an old powerpoint from one of his presentations: http://www.swiftprint.com/goingpostal.pdf

Contact info:

George Heinrich
Office - 303-325-3048
e-mail the Postal Hotline - [email protected]

Satori also offers training: http://www.satorisoftware.com/support/training/

 

[JimBob53]

Several years ago I took a training course offered by USPS. I would check with them to see if they still offer training on postal regulations and bulk mailing.

 

[MailGuru]

Also,get your "new guy" involved with your local PCC (Postal Customer Council). It is usually "co-chaired" by a USPS Postal employee, and, one of your local mailers. They usually meet once a month, and, go over postal regulations and processes. I'm not sure what the annual dues are, but, I'm sure it's next to nothing. The problem with postal regulations is, that they are NOT static, and, will change frequently. It's also a "mailer's trade group" where local mailers may exchange ideas and processes.

-MailGuru

 

[pabney]

OK, Thanks guys.
All of this has been very helpful. I will start the reading and research now.
In the mean time, until I can actually learn what is going on, can some one answer a question form me. The whole reason I fell that the mail department is undertrained is we have a customer that does not want the OEL above the address on the mail piece.
My mail department says it HAS to be there. I disagree as I have examples of mail with out it. So the question.


On standard presort mail does the OEL HAVE to print on every mail piece?

I will of course continue to look for my self, but the soon I get this issue answered the better.

Again, thanks everyone for the help.

 

[Craig]

"Optional" Endorsement Line. Sometimes I just print the tray and sequence numbers at 6pt off the the side somewhere. That way the mail sorter can flip through to confirm trays.

 

[Shawnd]

Same, we will do OEL's on first and last of trays, but put the package info in a small font off to the side.

 

[MailGuru]

So the question. On standard presort mail does the OEL HAVE to print on every mail piece? I will of course continue to look for my self, but the soon I get this issue answered the better. Again, thanks everyone for the help.

The optional endorsement line only has to be on the first (front) piece of the tray ------ UNLESS ----- you are doing an Enhanced Carrier Route Sort, is which case it must be on every piece.

While you will not find this "specific" reference in the DMM, it is "inferred" as follows:

An "optional" endoresment line is just that - "OPTIONAL". However, if you are not using the OEL, you must affix "bundle" labels to the "TOP PIECE" of each bundle ("D" for direct 5-Digit, "3" for 3-Digit, "A" for AADC, "M" for Mixed ADC).


DMM Section 708.7.1.1

7.1.1 Basic Standards

An optional endorsement line (OEL) may be used to label bundles instead ofapplying pressure-sensitive bundle labels or facing slips to the top piece of bundles. The OEL must show carrier route information or the type of bundle and ZIP Code information as shown in Exhibit 7.1.1. Use of OELs on bundles is subject to the standards for the price claimed. At the mailer's option, pieces in trays of noncarrier route automation letter-size mail may bear OEL information that corresponds to the sortation level of the tray in which the pieces are placed. The ZIP Code for use on OELs must include the 3-digit ZIP Code prefix or 5-digit ZIP Code as required.



Since automation (barcoded) letters are prohibited from being bundled, the "bundle" is considered to be the entire tray. Thus, if you elect to use the OEL instead of bundle labels, it only has to appear on the top piece of the bundle (tray). Most mailers (as you see from the previous posts) will print the OEL on the first and last piece in a tray. We do the same. While there is no "postal regulation" for this, it is done this way to accommodate whether you are filling the tray front-to-back, or, back-to-front so that the first piece in the tray will always have the OEL. As I mentioned before, however, carrier routed sorts must have the OEL on each and every piece by regulation.

Best

-MailGuru