USPS Standard Blue Presentation

1
Tools Techniques That Make the Case for Address
Quality National Postal Forum May 17 20, 2009
Gail Milton, Program Manager, Address Management,
USPS Theresa Peterlein, Director,
Sales/Marketing, Presort Services Inc.
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QUALITY ADDRESSING PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE
This session qualifies as one of the four
Addressing sessions in addition to the Tuesday,
May 20th General Session needed for the Address
Quality Specialist Certificate!
3
Total Address Quality
Update
Validate
Standardize
4
Defining a Quality Address

• A quality address is defined by USPS as
• A quality address contains complete and correct
  elements that comply with USPS Address Management
  System standards and allows automated sortation
  to the intended delivery point for delivery to
  the specified recipient without requiring the use
  of Delivery Force Knowledge to complete.

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Can You Recognize A Bad Address?

• Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) costs the USPS
  more than 1.8 billion each year to process
• More than 6 billion pieces of Standard Mail are
  disposed (recycled) of every year because of poor
  address quality
• Main reason incorrect and outdated addressed on
  business-to-consumer mail.

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Physical Address UAA
Common Address Quality Problems
398
CARL SHULER LAKE ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL
60614-1910
CARL SHULER 1414 LAKE ST APT CHICAGO IL
60614-1905
CARL SHULER 1914 LAKE ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL
60614-1910
CARL BROWN 1414 LAKE ST APT CHICAGO IL 60614-1910
CARL SHULER PO BOX CHICAGO IL 60614-1910
CARL SHULER 1414 LARK ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL
60614-1910
226
Millions of Pieces
134
56
47
48
Missing Apt or Ste Number
Incorrect Number
Incorrect Recipient
Missing Number
Missing RR or Box Number
Incorrect Street Name
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Products to Use to Achieve Quality Addressing
Update
Validate
Standardize
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What Is A Standardized Address?
STANDARDIZE

• A standardized address is defined as
• All necessary elements correct and complete

• Pre-directional
• Primary address number
• Street name
• Street suffix
• Post-directional

• Secondary identifier
• Secondary number
• City
• State
• ZIP 4 code

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What Is A Standardized Address?
STANDARDIZE

• Address elements are printed on envelope in
  standard format
• Format all lines of the address with a uniform
  left margin
• Uppercase letters are preferred on all lines of
  the address block

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What Is A Standardized Address?
STANDARDIZE

• A standardized address can have elements that
  are
• Fully spelled out
• Abbreviated using USPS standard abbreviations
• As shown in USPS ZIP 4 file
• www.usps.com

OR
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Examples Of Standardized Addresses
STANDARDIZE
Preferred NE MAIN ST BAY AVE SW N SOUTH OAK
ST MAPLE COURT EAST W
Acceptable NORTH EAST MAIN ST BAY AVE
SOUTHWEST NORTH SOUTH OAK ST MAPLE CT EAST WEST
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Address Readability
STANDARDIZE

• Two of the most important factors in typesetting
  are
• legibility (measures whether type face characters
  can be perceived and distinguished from one
  another) and
• readability (measures how easily and quickly
  typeset words can be read)
• Simple Sans Serif type styles with uniform stroke
  width are best for OCR processing
• THIS IS NOT A GOOD FONT (Times New Roman)
• THIS IS A GOOD FONT (Arial)

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STANDARDIZE
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STANDARDIZE
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STANDARDIZE
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Products to Use to Achieve Quality Addressing
Update
Validate
Standardize
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DPV Product
VALIDATE

• Confirms the existence of a deliverable address
• Identifies a commercial mail receiving agency
• Improves address assignments
• Helps to reduce UAA

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LACSLink Product
VALIDATE

• Provides a database of municipality-introduced
  address changes
• The data is provided by USPS through the
  LACSLink product
• Conversions come into their database from postal
  carriers and municipalities
• Updating the addresses using LACSLink data
  ensures deliverability and prevents further UAA
  mail

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AEC AECII Service
VALIDATE

• AEC provides a crucial last resort approach to
  stubborn addresses
• USPS service to help correct addresses that
  CASS Certified software cannot fix
• AECII expands AEC processing
• Leverages Delivery Force Knowledge for addresses
  that AEC cannot correct

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Products to Use to Achieve Quality Addressing
Update
Validate
Standardize
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NCOALink Service
UPDATE

• A pre-mailing move update method leveraging USPS
  provided data
• Data delivery from USPS to certified licensees
• Three levels of usage for certified licensees
• End User Mailer (18 months of data updated
  monthly)
• Limited Service Provider (18 months of data
  updated weekly)
• Full Service Provider (48 months of data updated
  weekly)

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ANKLink Service
UPDATE

• A valuable add-on to NCOALink Limited Service
  Providers and End User Mailers
• Provides an indicator that a move has occurred in
  months 19 through 48
• Does not contain the actual new address
• Allows for more value out of move update
  processing
• Only the flagged addresses need to be sent to a
  48-month NCOALink Full Service Provider

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ACS Service
UPDATE

• Post-mailing service provided by the National
  Customer Support Center (NCSC)
• Participants include an identification code on
  the mailpieces and receive the change-of-address
  directly from the USPS
• Available electronically via download, media, and
  hardcopy

ACS customer code provided by Postal Service
BWNFXZT P123456789 2572X 7 JOHN E
SMITH 916 N 5TH ST APT 3 SPRINGFIELD IL
62702-5288
ACS key line provided by the mailer for nixies
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OneCode ACS Typical Mailpiece
UPDATE
Intelligent Mail Barcode
ABC Company 123 Main St Memphis TN 38101-1234
INTELLIGENT MAIL ADDRESS QUALITY 6060 PRIMACY
PKWY STE 101 MEMPHIS TN 38188-0001
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Summary

• The quality of your address data directly affects
  the deliverability of your mail!
• USPS provides an extensive suite of existing
  address quality products and services.
• USPS is committed to continuous address hygiene
  improvements to enhance the value of mail
• Small efforts can bring big results!

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Achieve Total Address Quality
Update
Validate
Standardize
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For More Information
ribbs.usps.gov
www.usps.com/ncsc
Customer Care
1-800-238-3150
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• Knowledge Validation
• A standardized address is defined as having all
  the necessary elements required, correct
  complete.
• Two of the most important factors for address
  readability are legibility and readability.
• The deliverability of your mail is directly
  affected by the quality of your address data.

True
True
True
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Thank you
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Sunday List or Lemon? The AP-peal of Address
Quality Lisa West/Wallace Vingelis Period 2,
1145 am 1245 pm Tools Techniques That Make
the Case for Address Quality Gail
Milton/Theresa Peterlein Period 4, 300 400
pm
Monday Address Quality Product vs.
Process Jeff Stangle/Adam Collinson Period 6,
1115 am 1215 pm What are Bad Addresses
What Do You Do With Them, Exactly? Wanda
Key/Stephanie Miracle Period 8, 315 415 pm
Tuesday Move Update How to Keep in Touch With
Moving Customers Audrey Conley/Debora Haskel
Period 10,1000 1100 am Intelligent
Addressing to Achieve 100 Mail Integrity Jim
Wilson/Steve Lopez Period 12, 200 300
pm How Government Agencies Use Address Quality to
Better Serve the Community Gail Milton/Mike
Sexson Period 13, 315 415 pm
Wednesday The Return On Investment (ROI) of
Address Quality Charles Hunt/Stephanie L.
Miracle Period 15, 800 900 am Stump the
Experts with your Uncodable Undeliverable-As-Addre
ssed (UAA) Mail Jim Wilson/Charles Hunt
Period 17, 330 430 pm