The nation’s postal system has a long history of embracing new technology and processes in its never-ending quest to better serve customers.
These efforts have included the creation of the ZIP Code, which revolutionized the way mail is sorted and delivered in the 1960s, and Intelligent Mail barcodes and Intelligent Mail package barcodes, two more recent initiatives that improved the Postal Service’s ability to track mail and packages.
Pioneering new concepts in mail acceptance, processing and delivery has helped USPS foster customer loyalty and drive revenue.
But when it comes to innovation, there’s no resting on your laurels.
This is why the Postal Service has made innovating to deliver value a core strategy, along with delivering world-class customer experiences; engaging, equipping and empowering employees; and investing in the future.
The innovation strategy encompasses several new products, services and features, beginning with Informed Delivery, which allows customers to preview their incoming mail and manage their packages from computers, smartphones and other mobile devices.
In the fall, Informed Delivery marked a milestone when it reached more than 20 million subscribers, exceeding the Postal Service’s goal for the year.
Other new innovations include Informed Visibility, a platform that allows businesses to track their mailings as they move through the postal network and use the data to better manage their marketing campaigns, and Mail Condition Visualization, an Informed Visibility module that generates near-real-time visibility of a facility’s mail conditions.
Additionally, USPS continues to use other innovations to serve customers, including optical character reader technology that reads virtually all hand-addressed and machine-printed mail; automated processing equipment; and robotics systems that move mail trays.