Saving Time And Money With The Address Change Service ACS

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Saving Time And Money With The Address Change
Service ACS

• West Virginia Bureau for Child Support
• Enforcement Training Unit
• September 12, 2006

2
Background

• The WV Bureau for Child Support Enforcement
  generates over 175,000 batch letters each month.
• Large trays or even crates of mail were returned
  due to bad addresses.

3
Problems

• The rate was .75 for each piece of returned
  mail. The cost was just too high!

4
Problems

• If incorrect addresses were not updated with new
  information, or were not coded bad in the BCSE
  computer system, mail continued to be sent to
  wrong addresses.

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US Postal Service Address Change Service (ACS)
To The Rescue!
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ACS

• The ACS provides a cost-effective, efficient
  means of obtaining accurate change-of-address
  information.
• It is used for large batch mailings issued by the
  BCSE, such as the monthly Caretaker statements,
  not for local office mail.

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ACS

• ACS saves time and money by reducing
• The amount of undeliverable-as-addressed mail.
• The need to manually key address changes.
• The amount of mail repeatedly sent to bad
  addresses.
• The need for address verification letters sent to
  local post offices.

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ACS

• The cost is only .21 per transaction.

75 vs. 21
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ACS Requirements

• To participate in the ACS
• The mailing label format must include a
  participant identification code assigned by the
  POs National Customer Support Center.
• The envelope must be stamped with the following
  
• Change Service Requested

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ACS Requirements

• A keyline was also required since the BCSE wanted
  to participate in the nixie service, which
  gives information on addresses that are
  undeliverable for reasons other than the customer
  who moved.

Nixie - A piece of mail that can not be sorted or
delivered because of an incorrect, illegible, or
insufficient delivery address.
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ACS Requirements
Participant Code

• ABCDEFG
• 9876 5432 LS99 8
• John W. NCP
• 123 NCP Drive
• Somewhere WV 01234-5678

Keyline
Change Service Requested
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ACS

• Other programming changes were needed to
  properly interface with the ACS via the Postal
  Services nationwide network of Computerized
  Forwarding System sites.

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ACS

• Each Wednesday evening, the BCSE receives a file
  of ACS information downloaded from the Postal
  Services secure website, then uploaded to the WV
  Child Support computer system.

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ACS

• The keyline on the envelope contains BCSE codes
  identifying the CT or NCP and the type of letter
  mailed.
• This information is used to correctly match the
  CT or NCP with the ACS information when the
  response file comes back from the PO.

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ACS

• There are different codes for specific reasons
  mail might be returned.
• Depending on the ACS code, the BCSE system is
  programmed to
• code addresses bad, or
• change the address to a new one and code it
  verified, or
• make no change to the current address.

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ACS Examples

• For instance, if there is no code on ACS, it
  means there is a new address on record with the
  Postal Service.
• The address will be automatically updated with
  the new information and coded as verified if the
  existing BCSE address was more than 30 days old.

How Workers know ACS provided the address.
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ACS Examples

• If the ACS code is a T, it is because the
  customer is temporarily away.
• The BCSE system does not change the address based
  on this code.

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ACS Examples

• If the ACS code is N, it is because the
  customer moved with no forwarding address.
• The BCSE system will change the address to B
  (bad).

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BCSE Implementation

• In April 2005 approximately 2100 letters were
  sent through the ACS as a pilot project.
• The project then rolled out to all other
  appropriate batch mailings from May 2005 August
  2005.

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Results

• From the pilot in April 2005 through June 2006,
  the Postal fee savings was
  20,503.10 !
• Total letters sent 1,829,513
• Number of notifications received 39,775

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Results

• No more returned batch letters!
• Hours of Employee-time is saved in not having to
  manually process returned mail or send out
  address verification letters to local post
  offices.

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Results

• Address corrections are automatically made by the
  BCSEs computer system, therefore mail is no
  longer repeatedly sent to the same bad address.

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Results

• July 2005 December 2005
• 2.65 of mail generated an ACS notification.
• January 2006 June 2006
• Only 1.77 of mail generated an ACS
  notification.

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Caution

• The ACS is only an enhancement to the traditional
  process of correcting addresses. It does not
  completely eliminate manually keying address
  changes.

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Caution

• Address hygiene is critical for the ACS
  interface to be most effective.
• Address hygiene refers to the proper way to enter
  addresses according to Post Office standards
  regarding abbreviations, zip codes, etc.

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Caution

• To assist in address hygiene, the BCSE ran an
  address scrubber program prior to beginning ACS
  to assure that most addresses in the BCSE system
  met postal standards.

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Caution

• Postal address standards can be found at
• http//pe.usps.gov/text/dmm300/602.htmwp1078946
  and
• http//www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps_abbreviation
  s.html

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ACS

• More information regarding the USPS ACS can be
  found at
• http//www.usps.com/ncsc/addressservices/moveupdat
  e/acs.htm
• Or for technical guidance
• http//www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub8.pdf

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West Virginia Bureau for Child Support
Enforcement Training UnitSeptember 12, 2006