USPS Publishes Federal Register on Service Standards

The Postal Service has issued a Federal Register Notice [PDF] seeking public comment on the proposed revisions to the service standards for market-dominant mail products. The most significant revision would largely eliminate overnight service for First-Class Mail. Prior to the proposed rule, the Postal Service received over 4,200 comments in response to an Advance Notice from a variety of sources, including small businesses, periodicals publishers, nonprofit mailers, commercial mail advertisers, mailer trade associations, postal unions, members of Congress, and others. The proposed rule contains service standard tables reflecting the day ranges from the application of the USPS business rules based on critical entry time (CET). Originating and destinating end-to-end service for Periodicals can range from 1 to 9 days, while Standard Mail can range from 3 to 10 days.

Source: Federal Register Notice

Military Ceases Magazine Sales Overseas

By the start of February, hardcopy magazines will no longer be sold at overseas commissaries, according to officials with the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCa). This includes 68 stores in Europe, the Pacific (Japan, Okinawa, South Korea and Guam) and Puerto Rico. Sales at these stores amounted to roughly $1.46 million—620,000 units—in 2011, according to DeCa spokesperson Kevin Robinson. That number reflects a 5.8 percent drop from the previous year, when sales were at $1.55 million, and a 25 percent fall from 2008, when sales reached close to $2 million. This decision comes as a result of rising transportation costs and declining sales, and in light of the need to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer-provided resources, says DeCa director of sales Chris Burns in a prepared statement. “Magazines became a likely area to cut since customer demand had been consistently declining and since magazines are located at nearby exchanges and bookstores,” adds Robinson. DeCa expects to save about $450,000 in fiscal year 2012, according to Robinson, which also marks the end of DeCa’s contract for selling magazines in overseas stores.

Source: Audience Development

Outbox Wants to Revolutionize U.S. Mail

As the USPS announced a controversial plan to make snail mail even slower (first class would take two to three days instead of one), several start-ups are looking to make getting mail easier–and faster. One of them, Austin-based Outbox has received $2.2 million in funding. The weeks-old company, which was founded in October by Evan Baehr and William Davis, two 2011 Harvard Business School graduates, plans to digitize postal mail and deliver it to your tablet. The service would be free, with mail opened, scanned, and stored in a digital mailbox users could then tag, search and archive. They’re trying to work out a plan with the post office where mail would be delivered direct to Outbox, instead of users needing to forward it. The company would make money through advertising that would be shown when the mail is displayed. Their target audience: busy mothers.

Source: Inc.

Season’s Greetings from Distribution Directions

Unless we have some breaking news this will be the last issue of the Distribution Directions newsletter for 2011. We want to wish all of our subscribers a wonderful holiday season and a new year of peace and happiness! Thank you for reading the newsletter.