# Comments to the President's Commission on the United States Postal Service {#comments-to-the-presidents-commission-on-the-united-states-postal-service .unnumbered}

Submitted By:

**[Mailing Industry CEO Council]{.smallcaps}**

**[409 12^th^ Street SW, Suite 701]{.smallcaps}**

**[Washington, DC 20024-2191]{.smallcaps}**

**Introduction\
**The U.S. mail is critical to commerce, serving as a vital channel for
business. The mailing industry generates about \$900 billion annually
and employs more than 9 million people. It represents more than 8% of
our gross national product. The mail touches literally every household
across this nation.

We would like to publicly recognize the leadership and vision of
President Bush in establishing this commission and the contributions
made to date by Postmaster General Jack Potter and the Postal Service
Board of Governors in leading the service and delivery commitments of
our current Postal Service.

The Mailing Industry CEO Council is a seventeen-member non-profit
organization whose main objective is to provide senior executive input
to proposed reforms, facilitate the establishment of industry standards,
and promote the role of mail in industry and commerce.

The Mailing Industry CEO Council was created in 2002 to assist the joint
USPS/Industry Mailing Industry Task Force in its efforts to implement
its proposed reforms, as well as promote reforms that require the
enactment of legislation by Congress. In addition to working to improve
public policy with respect to the mailing system, the Council will seek
to facilitate the establishment of industry standards that foster
industry growth and improve the mailing system.

The CEO Council, a non-profit organization, will also work to unify the
industry in support of reform efforts and promote the critical role that
mail plays in business and commerce. Its members are leaders of a
cross-section of companies that depend on the postal system for much of
their business.

As members of the Mailing Industry CEO Council, we stand ready to assist
you and your staff in any way possible. Please feel free to call on any
of us at any time.

# Value of Mail 

U.S. Mail is Critical to Commerce. The impact of mail is valued at over
\$900 billion annually and 8% of GNP. The Mailing Industry employs over
9 million workers nationwide, in every state and every town. This
industry ranges from paper, card and envelope manufacturers to postal
automation equipment providers to direct marketers to printers and
publishers to package shippers. Mail touches every household and every
business six days a week and provides the communication fabric of our
nation.

The Postal System, and the economy it supports, stands threatened by
many internal and external forces. Mail volume has dropped due to the
state of the economy, electronic alternatives, and concerns about
security. Rapidly escalating rates continue to make mail less
affordable, diminishing its value as a communication medium. This needs
to be addressed now.

Transformation and reform are required. The US economy cannot accept a
continuation of status quo. Almost annual rate increases cannot
continue. Change is required to avoid the continuing spiral of
underlying cost escalation, rate increases, and volume decline.

In response to Congress' request in 2002, the U.S. Postal Service
published a detailed Transformation Plan, which was developed with
considerable industry input. The Plan offered some sensible reform
measures, but continued industry input and collaboration is mandatory to
be successful.

The Mailing Industry Task Force has been a joint industry/USPS focused
effort to identify needed reforms, identify value in the mail stream,
define and develop a framework for the future to enhance the value of
mail and define the operational obstacles that must be overcome. This
task force evaluated what must be done to enhance the value of mail to
the sender and the recipient. The published reports from the Mailing
Industry Task Force provide specific recommendations on enhancing the
value of mail

***U.S. Mail is Critical to Commerce! Its value cannot be
underestimated!***

# Universal Service

We endorse the need for Universal Service. We define Universal Service
to be the combination of:

-   Universal access

-   Universal delivery

-   At affordable prices

We endorse the right of every household and every business in the
country to have universal service.

Universal Service must be maintained with universal access and universal
delivery at affordable prices!

# Pricing Stability 

As senior representatives of the Mailing Industry, we feel very strongly
that price stability is a critical element of any reform program. This
stability requires predictable rate increases for the business mailers
and less frequent and also predictable individual stamp prices for every
consumer. Postal rates should never increase faster than the rate of
inflation, and improved productivity should enable rate increases to be
constrained even further than the rate of inflation. We recommend a
pricing strategy based upon predictable general increases below the rate
of inflation with opportunities for dynamic (seasonal, day of week, time
of day) and flexible (negotiated) rates. To enable this approach, the
Postal System must reduce total system cost while increasing the value
of the mail to ensure customers receive the best value and pricing with
the assurance of high security and reliability.

Price Stability is a critical element of any reform implementation!

# Cost Effective Postal System 

The Postal System is a nationwide integrated network of mailers,
shippers, manufacturers and the US Postal Service. It is the largest
single logistics network in this country. This must continue to evolve
into the most cost-effective Postal system possible. Operational
flexibility must exist for all nodes of the network. Worksharing,
outsourcing, and private sector partnerships provide those cost
effective methods for accomplishing these objectives.

Private Sector Partnerships can grow and continue to produce the most
cost-effective Postal System!

# Stimulate Innovation Through Postal --Industry Collaboration 

The U.S. mailing industry has been very innovative because the U.S.
Postal Service has had the kind of relationship with the rest of the
mail industry that has facilitated innovative solutions. Many of the
privatization and liberalization approaches tried in other parts of the
world have not enabled as much innovation because of the tendency of
postal operators to move beyond their core businesses into adjacent
spaces and to pre-empt or compete with private sector participants.
Whatever postal system structure the Commission adopts should maximize
private sector innovation and collaboration with the Postal Service.

***USPS-Industry Collaboration should be maximized to drive
innovation!***

**CEO COUNCIL MEMBER LIST\
**

-   Michael J. Critelli, Chairman and CEO, Pitney Bowes Inc., and
    President of the CEO Council

-   Gary M. Mulloy, Chairman and CEO, ADVO, Inc., and
    Secretary/Treasurer of the CEO Council

-   Cathleen Black, President, Hearst Magazines

-   William L. Davis, Chairman and CEO, R.R. Donnelley

-   C. Hamilton Davison, Jr., President and CEO, Paramount Cards Inc.

-   David F. Dyer, President and CEO, Lands\' End, Inc., and EVP/GM,
    Customer Direct, Sears, Roebuck & Company

-   T. Michael Glenn, Executive Vice President, FedEx Corporation

-   Richard Hochhauser, President and CEO, Harte-Hanks, Inc.

-   Judy F. Marks, President, Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies

-   Ann S. Moore, Chairman and CEO, Time Inc.

-   Charles D. Morgan, Company Leader, Acxiom Corporation

-   Nigel W. Morris, President and COO, Capital One Financial
    Corporation

-   Thomas O. Ryder, Chairman and CEO, The Reader\'s Digest Association,
    Inc.

-   David M. Sable, President and CEO, Wunderman, New York

-   Charles Schellhorn, President and CEO, DST Output

-   Michael P. Sherman, Vice Chairman, Crosstown Traders, Inc.

-   Dr. Jerome Swartz, Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief
    Scientist, Symbol Technologies, Inc.