Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee
                September 14, 1995
                              
                      Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 9 a.m. on Thursday,
September 14, 1995, by Yvonne Reigle, Mailers' Technical
Advisory Committee (MTAC) Industry Chair. She welcomed
members and guests and introduced Postmaster General Marvin
Runyon as a special speaker.

Postmaster General Runyon addressed three key issues in
his remarks to the MTAC:  postal performance, neighborhood
mail, and legislative reform. He noted that financially,
the Postal Service's performance this past year has been the
best ever. Expenses are $825 million less than budget;
revenues are $574 million ahead of expectations; and volume
has increased by 2 percent. Next year's budget has been
approved by the Board of Governors and calls for a net
income of $504 million with a continued increase in volume.
Service performance continues to remain strong, and the
Postmaster General discussed a plan for maintaining
outstanding service during the coming holiday mailing
season.

In discussing neighborhood mail-a simple method for
postal customers to promote their products and reach local
markets-the Postmaster General noted the realities of
competition that are driving implementation of this program
and development of other new business opportunities. He
said that the proposed test of the neighborhood mail program
has been postponed until next year, after the program design
has been evaluated further and discussed more fully with
customers.

Finally, Postmaster General Runyon gave an update on
legislative reform. He noted that important information for
upcoming Congressional hearings on postal reform came out of
two recent meetings:  (1) a Postal Service-sponsored
international conference in July, called FuturePost 95, in
which leaders from 15 major U.S. businesses specified
legislative changes they would like to see, and Directors
General from five foreign postal administrations discussed
postal freedoms available in other countries; and (2) the
August National Postal Forum during which postal customers
supported some important legislative changes and recommended
more business flexibility for the Postal Service. He also
discussed the support that the key postal chairmen in
Congress--John McHugh and Ted Stevens--are giving to postal
reform.

After thanking the committee for its tremendous support
and requesting members' assistance in reforming MTAC, the
Postmaster General answered some questions from the floor.
During this time, he emphasized the following:  (1) Postal
Service commitment to competing for international business;
(2) the need to increase revenue and hold down rates; (3)
the need to improve productivity/quality and to control
postal costs; (4) plans for operating post offices in
Atlanta during the Olympics; (5) plans for increasing media
advertisement of postal services; and (6) the challenges of
making in-house bar coding by transitional employees a
viable investment. Mr. Runyon also suggested that MTAC
invite Jim Walton, Vice President of Workforce Planning and
Service Management, to speak on workload complements at its
next meeting.

Ms. Reigle thanked Postmaster General Runyon for his
presentation. Next, John Wargo, Vice President of Sales,
welcomed Bill Henderson, Chief Operating Officer and
Executive Vice President. Mr. Henderson thanked the
committee for its support and requested members' help in
striving for record levels of service during the upcoming
fall season.

Next, Mr. Wargo introduced Loren Smith, Chief Marketing
Officer and Senior Vice President, to give his perspective
on what is necessary for the Postal Service to be
competitive into the next century.

Mr. Smith began his presentation with an update on
reclassification, a first step toward adequate pricing. He
then noted two laws that impact Postal Service efforts to
"price right," or competitively:  the economies of scale and
the law of the open marketplace. When considering the
economics of the Postal Service, the focus is on optimizing
volume and revenue to maintain the lowest overall cost and
the highest level of service. Remaining competitive also
means identifying and targeting new service markets in a
changing, open marketplace (i.e., the neighborhood mail
program and Fastnet).

To compete in light of these demands, the Postal
Service is investigating the use of technologies such as
electronic commerce and hybrid mail. Mr. Smith closed by
stressing Postal Service commitment to being the most
efficient and effective provider of mail services in the
world and by encouraging ongoing dialogue between MTAC
operating committees and Postal Service leaders.

Mr. Wargo introduced the next speaker, Norm Lorentz,
Vice President of Quality, to discuss changes in dealing
with Postal Service customers and their requirements.

Acknowledging the challenges of changing an
organization to focus on its customers, Mr. Lorentz
expressed confidence in the leaders of the Postal Service
and optimism about their support for such a transformation.
He focused on actions taken by the Postal Service after
completion of the Baldrige assessment in February. Under a
program called CustomerPerfect!, 10 specific areas of the
assessment were singled out as fundamental to creating a
management system with a customer satisfaction focus, and 10
leadership action planning teams were launched to study and
implement changes.

Mr. Lorentz briefly described some of the 10 areas of
focus:  (1) creating business objectives based on customer,
employee, and marketplace needs; (2) improving strategic
planning; (3) realigning education requirements and
compensation packages; (4) creating a reliable method for
new product development; (5) managing business in a process-
oriented way; and (6) measuring customer satisfaction
effectively. He noted that implementing these and other
changes would be more difficult than identifying them, and
he requested ongoing support and encourage-ment from MTAC
members as the CustomerPerfect! program is advertised
internally.

When questioned about the cost of implementing a
quality management program such as CustomerPerfect!, Mr.
Lorentz underscored the costs of lacking such a program
(e.g., rework and mail not being moved). The goal of the
program's 130 dedicated quality professionals will be to
turn everyone in the postal business into a quality
professional, more than recouping initial program investment
by improving overall productivity/quality.

John Kelly, Vice President of Area Operations for the
New York Metro Area, was introduced by Mr. Wargo to update
the MTAC on New York's "key number" system.

The New York Metro Area is developing an alternate
number system to control mail flow for New York City
apartments. A "key number" will be part of the address
format. Mr. Kelly also noted that a proprietary file with
names and a list of key numbers is being developed for use
in converting other customer lists to the key number system
and in delivering Express Mail. Individuals will be advised
to continue using an apartment number for their business
with private delivery.

Next, Mr. Wargo introduced Virgil Horton from the
American Forest & Paper Association, to give an overview of
the industry.

Mr. Horton addressed various factors influencing the
capacity/supply, demand and costs:  (1) slowing capacity
growth, financial constraints of the paper industry, and
changing global markets; and (2) availability affected by
world demand, costs of building new paper mills, and
availability of fibers. For more details on this
presentation, refer to the attached briefing charts.

In his final remarks, Mr. Wargo thanked Jim Jellison,
Ed Meszaros, and Chris Rebello for their recent recognition
of national account manager, Judy Wolf. She was presented
the George Shannon Award by the Parcel Shippers Association.
Then Mr. Wargo presented an award to Dick Funck, Chair of
the ABC Core Group, for the group's efforts to integrate
customer and postal activities into the automation program.
Similar awards were given to each industry member of the
group.

Before adjourning the meeting at 11 a.m., Ms. Reigle
requested that MTAC members bring their new name badges to
future meetings.

                              
       First-Class/Expedited Mail Subcommittee Meeting
                     September 13, 1995
                       Meeting Minutes

1. McHugh Proposal - Payment Date is Postmark Date - A
briefing was provided on the legislation currently in the
House of Representatives which would establish the post mark
date as the date in which charges to an account would be
posted. This bill developed as a result of a letter writing
campaign initiated by a radio talk show host. It was in
response to complaints by consumers that payments to credit
card companies and other billing agents were either delayed
in the mail by the Postal Service or were intentionally
being posted after the due date so that companies could
charge interest on late payments.

The negative impact of this legislation would be
significant. American Express indicated the two areas most
significantly impacted would be loss of finance charges and
system changes required to redesign entire remittance
processes. It was noted that the new legislation could
require firms to retain copies of envelopes as proof of date
of receipt. It also was noted that new emphasis would be
placed on improved service performance of the Postal Service
in handling remittance mail.

Members were asked to be sure that their respective
associations were briefed and that government affairs
departments took the necessary steps to emphasize the impact
this could have when dealing with congressional
representatives. It was noted that the likelihood of this
bill passing is not great. The importance is to make sure
that significant efforts are being made to decrease the
emphasis of this legislation in the future. A copy of the
proposed legislation is attached.

2. Remittance Mail Working Group Update

3. Remittance Mail Postal Update - An update of both the
working group and Postal Service activities on remittance
mail was provide. Copies of the presentations are attached.
Emphasis was placed on the expectations of the committee and
what has been accomplished to date.

The Postal Service emphasized the actions surrounding the
Delivery Policy Letter. It was noted that this letter was
designed to bring plant manager attention to the day-to-day
operations of processing remittance mail. This was designed
to have an immediate impact on performance of this product.

Second, the emphasis was placed on the FIM Network by
looking at the FIM sort plans for each area. This was to
assess the current distribution practices and evaluated
proposed distribution changes which would improve service.

The next steps will be to monitor the progress of the FIM
Networks and the progress on solving service problems to
designated city pairs. It was noted that a "Best Practices"
operating plan would also be developed which would support
the plants in handling this service. The need for more
local remittance working groups was emphasized and the
resolution of performance measurement issues was also
discussed.

4. EXFC Quarterly Report -  The performance trends for
overnight First-Class Mail, as well as the two-day and three-
day categories continue to improve. Compared to the same
period last year which had a performance of 83%, overnight
First-Class Mail for this physical year quarter II was 87%.
The  two day commitment for quarter II of this year was 79%
as compared to last year when it was 72%. The three day
performance was 77% in quarter II, 1994 as compared to the
same period in 1995 when it reached 82%.

This performance set a record for overnight and two-day and
tied the previously set record for three-day mail. Graphic
representation of this data is attached.


5. First-Class Mail Research - Research was presented on
First-Class Mail which was designed to look at what can be
expected in the future. The market was defined as documents
designed to provide visual representations of information.
The current transfer systems included mail, facsimile and
EMail/EFT/EDI. The general consensus for the future is that
hard copy communications will continue to grow. However,
electronic message systems will grow at a faster rate.

The demand for communications is created by economic growth,
population growth, household and business formation, and
business practices and consumer habits. Of these, business
practices/consumer habits and technology are the only areas
which could have a negative impact on growth of hard copy
communications.

Over the next five years, all forms of communications will
grow with customers having a greater choice in the methods
of communications. The greatest needs facing communications
include reach and effectiveness, cost and timeliness,
accuracy and quality, security and privacy, acceptability
and familiarity, convenience.

Change is being driven by highly efficient mail preparation,
reclassification initiatives, decentralization, database
management and development of digital printing.

Details of the presentation are attached. They include the
support data of estimated growth and market share estimates
going into the year 2000.

Additional research is now being developed which will
examine business processes and customer needs in billing,
payments and statements, both before and after items become
mail. This research is being conducted by PSI. The Postal
Service is interested in obtaining volunteers who would be
willing to be interviewed for this research over the nest
two months. If you have interest, please contact Kent Smith
at Postal Headquarters, 202-268-6009.




Mury Salls
Chairman
                            MTAC
                  SECOND-CLASS SUBCOMMITTEE
                     SEPTEMBER 13, 1995
                              
                              
Charles Pace, Industry Chair
John Dorsey, Postal Chair

Introduction

Charles Pace opened the meeting and welcomed all guests.
Erv Drewek, Director of Distribution of the Banta
Publications Group was introduced to review recommendations
by the Industry that a change be considered for DMM Section
E230.8.5.

Recommendation by Industry that a change be considered
for DMM Section E230.8.5

Erv explained that current regulations require a separate
mailing statement be prepared for the per-pound postage
computations for each publication. The per-piece postage
computations for all regular rate publications must be on
the mailing statement for the regular rate publication
containing the higher or highest amount of advertising. The
nonadvertising adjustment must be computed on the
appropriate mailing statement for each rate category based
on the publication containing the higher or highest amount
of advertising matter for that rate category.

He noted that the Policy, Requirements and Methods (PRM)
Group has made the following observations and
recommendations for change:  current policy outdated;
computer technology advanced; proper administration of
postage payment is still critical; Industry emphasis on
comailing issues; documentation should accommodate separate
mailing statement per publication, per-piece computations on
each statement, and nonadvertising adjustment on each
mailing statement; and polybag issues encompass same
publisher and different publishers as well as firm packages.

Erv requested additional Industry input to the PRM Group.
Dennis Farley of Fairchild Publications expressed that this
is a great idea. If different publishers are involved the
current regulations will not provide accurate accounting of
postage. Comailing will still be a practical reality with
or without second-class reclassification. Charles Pace
requested that Anita Bizzotto provide additional perspective
on the PRM group recommendations. Discussion pointed out
that in a comailing environment publishers need to
distinguish between bundles and individual packages.

Policy, Requirements, & Methods (PRM) Update

Bill Strong, Industry Chair of the PRM Group, reported that
the Group's meeting yesterday focused on airmail facilities
(AMF). He also reviewed the recent meeting at the National
Postal Forum in Philadelphia with Operations personnel as
being extremely beneficial. The industry feels that the
Bulk Mail Acceptance Directory is in need of updating and
that it should be made available on CD ROM and/or RIBBS. He
mentioned that Hassett's Dale Brewer attended the meeting.
Bill then reintroduced Erv Drewek who reviewed examples
whereby copalletization can work to the advantage of small
publications. He stressed that copalletization might not be
for publishers who have time sensitive needs, but short run
printers can use this to advantage for clients. His
examples showed sacks saved for the Postal Service and
thanked Ernie Collins' efforts which were instrumental in
taking the PRM Group's recommendations, culminating in the
March 95 final regulations. Erv's copalletization examples
are attached for detailed review. Erv said the next step is
to take multiple titles and use copalletization to advantage.

Bill Strong reviewed the PRM Group's concern over AMF
facility differences. The group wants to profile the
handling of mail at AMF's to encourage USPS development of
consistent operating standards. The group will continue to
identify opportunities to improve acceptance procedures and
will attempt to focus on priorities including minimizing
paper usage and enhancing EDI efforts. He asked for those
interested in joining this effort to identify themselves.

ADVANCE

Charles Pace then introduced the Postal Service's Glen
Cournoyer who reviewed the ADVANCE system currently in use
by third-class mailers as a tracking and monitoring system
which might be adapted for use by second-class publishers.
He covered the process, which calls for mailers to submit
data to the National Customer Support Center eight days
prior to mailing; data is then electronically transmitted to
the ten Area Offices and then goes to 5,700 delivery units.
The delivery supervisor records time of arrival and
start/end time of delivery. This information is available
on RIBBs to enable electronic access to participating
customers.

Glen suggested second-class publishers consider which
requirements are appropriate for them and whether or not
they can adapt this system to meet their needs. Glen
mentioned there are currently 35 third-class mailers in this
program. Ted Russell of Time-Warner asked if the data from
ADVANCE is actionable and if it can be used as a performance
indicator. Glen responded that the system can help
determine why a mailing is late and it can be thought as
"real time" information. He also said EX2C is only
actionable after the fact whereas ADVANCE is actionable
during the fact. Glen asked Charles Pace and John Dorsey to
form a committee of publishers to review this program to
provide policy and technical recommendations to the group.
The following have offered to serve on the committee:

Name              Publication      Telephone #   Fax #

Bob Terry         RPA              205-870-4720  205-870-8957
Howard Schwartz   Conde Nast       212-880-4372  212-379-6331
Bernice Geisert   Advanstar        218-723-9217  218-723-9533
Tom Tully         McGraw-Hill Inc. 212-512-2188  212-512-2160
Bill Strong       RTNP             708-854-8186  708-854-8187
Dennis Farley     Fairchild
                  Publications     212-630-4529  212-630-4454
Jerry Okabe       Miller Freeman   415-905-2259  415-905-2233
Charles Pace      APA              203-834-0533  203-834-0207

Non-Profit Second-Class Update

John Dorsey reviewed the classification reform plans for
second-class non-profits. He stated the first customer
meetings took place during June 1995 and that market
research is now underway. The results will be used to help
resolve such issues as anticipated volume levels at
alternative requirement levels (90% vs. 80%, etc.). A
proposal will be ready for filing by January 96. John
stated the USPS does not want non-profit reclassification to
pose problems for publishers planning to implement currently
proposed reform of second-class and also not to be an issue
if a new rate filing should occur during 1996.

Second-Class Focus Group Special Report

Tom Tully, National Industry Chair for the Second-Class
Focus Groups, provided a report on national delivery and
current issues being addressed by the five Focus Groups. He
reviewed the recent meeting of publishers at the National
Postal Forum in Philadelphia during which Postal Service
Operations personnel from New York's JAF, New Jersey's DVD,
and Los Angeles showed how second-class publishers can
enhance service by providing proper makeup and knowing
specifics about each facility through which their mail
flows. Other facilities reviewed
included Chicago's Irving Park, Atlanta, and Northern
Virginia and specific service problems were discussed for
each of these.

Tom indicated flow charts for second-class mail for the
facilities reviewed would be attached to these minutes. He
also reviewed Joyce McGarvy's presentation which covered
Chicago's introduction of the "Mr. Quality" program to
enhance service and which involved such features as a 24-
hour hotline, etc. Joyce also reviewed the Irving Park
phase-in schedule for secondary zones (chart also attached)
which represents a major change for publications such as
Crain Communications and which has created a number of
problems. Tom Tully stated that based on some EX2C data
there are indications that lateness is occurring 30-70% of
the time. It was agreed that Areas perceived as requiring
attention will be identified at each of the Focus Group
meetings.

Tom noted Lou Bradfield (Industry Co-Chair for the Mid
Atlantic/Allegheny Focus Group) and Dick Strealy (Industry
Co-Chair for the Southeast/Southwest Focus Group) reported
that service complaints are down for these Areas. Tom
reiterated that these groups are extremely effective for
publishers who want to work with the Postal Service
concerning specific service issues in order to gain
resolution of any problems. He said the attachments to the
minutes will also include meetings scheduled for rest of
this year.

Update on Classification Reform

Dick Funck reported on the status of the Periodicals
Implementation Advisory Group. He reviewed the meeting
results from this past July 31 (see attachments for detailed
minutes) and he stated that, with the exception of the
Periodicals Group, the working groups in general have
completed their work. His group is planning at least one
more meeting the time and place yet to be determined. He
covered such subjects as the FSM 1000 which shows promise in
accommodating more machinable flats and will be deployed
next year. However, it does not yet accommodate "flimsies"
and further work is required. He stressed that his group
recommends that the "85/15" ruls (85% requirement of 9 digit
and 15% coded to 5 digit) be maintained since it is
impossible to get 100% barcoded in the publications service.

Update of Network Issues

Bob Sheehan reviewed his part in the BMC network study, the
2C volume as part of this, and the opportunites for service
improvement. His approach has been open discussion with the
industry group, and focus on processing & distribution
issues that improve service (as opposed to revamping the
Distribution Network). Issues being discussed are 2C hubs,
plant loading, impact of reclassfication, impact of air to
surface diversions, critical entry times/operating plans,
and existing transportation. The outcome is that discussion
issues are included in the BMC Network Study.

New Business

Monica Lundquist, Brown Printing Co., raised the issue of
problems arising from the new acceptance and verification by
field personnel. Ed Wronski, Manager, New York RCSC,
promised to review this situation.


Charles Pace, Chairman                  Date:  9/14/95
                MTAC Third Class Subcommittee
                              
Industry Chair Dan Minnick began the meeting by noting that
the item regarding possible changes for flats barcoding
specifications to be presented by USPS's Sheryl Johnson
would be tabled to the next meeting. Due to the number of
samples offered, the testing of customers' differing flat-
sized mail pieces was not yet completed. A full report of
the results by Sheryl and technical representatives would be
given at the December meeting.

Dan Minnick then introduced Tim Reeter, Sales Manager from
Great Lakes Area as the new Postal Chair of the group.

Meeting Discussion

1.  Return Rates for Third Class Pieces

Kathy Siviter from AMMA gave an update (handout attached) on
the progress of the task group formed after the last rate
case where Third Class parcels over 5 ounces received a 20
to 86% increase. The group has already achieved some short-
term changes such as extension of the Carrier Release
Program to Third Class and bound educational material being
allowed to be returned as Fourth Class bound printed matter.
The group also has long-term alternatives including the
possible availability of Shipper Paid Forwarding for Third
Class parcels and a new Address Correction Requested / Do
Not Forward / Return Postage Guaranteed endorsement
permitted under Address Change Service in the future. The
major accomplishment to date is the pending creation and
testing of a new Third Class Bulk Parcel Return Service.
This would include return to a central USPS facility and
establishment of a new bulk rate paid on the total weight of
the returns. This would allow mailers to simplify postage
payment and acceptance. The USPS would benefit by lower
costs and increased revenue through use of this service. It
would also decrease the number of customers forced to
decline having low value parcels returned, which causes USPS
to bear the cost of their disposal. After completion of
market surveys, it is expected that the USPS will file for
this experimental new service by November 1995 for a one
year test.

2.  Classification Reform - Flats Implementation Advisory
Group

Dan Minnick reported that the significant results of the
most recent meeting were that barcoded and non-barcoded
packages did not have to be physically separated in
containers. In addition, some "fletters" (pieces qualifying
as letters or flats) will be allowed, if submitted as
barcoded flats, to be prepared on pallets.
3.  Mailing Facility Liability if Mail Owner Defaults on
Postage Check

Don Harle of Mid America Mailers reported that he had
discussions with Mike Riley and Richard Porras on this
issue. He then introduced Richard Porras who said that USPS
is clarifying its position of this issue to put liability
for insufficient funds on the writer of a check made out to
USPS and not the mailing facility preparing the mail. This
does not include checks from the customer to its mail
preparer; only checks made out to USPS. The new policy has
not received final USPS internal clearance from legal or the
Inspection Service. Richard said that the final proposal
will also be sent to the Area Vice Presidents, but a survey
of the 85 districts indicated that this was not a national
problem but limited to a few localities. It is expected
that the final rule will be out within 30 days.

4.  Non-Profits Using "Doing Business As " Names in Return
Addresses

Brian Hummel of the Alliance of Non-Profit Mailers explained
this issue. Many non-profit customers want to use an
organization's commonly known name in the return address
instead of the official (USPS authorization) name. The
commonly known name is officially recognized by States'
Attorney Generals. The USPS appears to have an inconsistent
policy in this regard and he asked if both the official and
"Doing Business As" name could be jointly held in USPS
records. The USPS's Jerry Lease responded with an option
which would allow non-profit mailers to have their
authorization held under their "Doing Business As" name. He
said this was better than multiple name authorizations which
had both fraud and USPS administrative concerns. Mailers
could send a document from their state showing approval of
the "Doing Business As" name and the Memphis Non-Profit
Service Center could change the name in the data base. If
the industry agrees, Jerry said that this could be
implemented rather quickly with instructions to Memphis and
the field. Brian Hummel said that he would prefer having
both names in the data base but would survey the industry to
see if this was acceptable.

5.  New Non-Profit Eligibility Requirements and
Implementation

USPS's Ernie Collins and Evelyn Stein gave an update on this
issue which has new rules effective 10/1/95. Ernie said
that advertisements for products and services must be
substantially related to the approved purpose of the
qualifying organization. Also a product must be a low cost
item (under $6.50 value as of 1/1/96) excluding donated
items which are allowable. Non-Profit publications can be
mailed as long as the advertising content is eligible.
There are new and different rules for both advertising and
products and customers should be aware. Evelyn Stein
advised interested customers to obtain a copy of Publication
417, "Special Bulk Third Class Eligibility" which is now
available to customers. There is a six-step process in the
publication to help customers determine eligibility. Evelyn
said that USPS training has not been completed for Managers
of Business Mail Entry, Postmasters, and Bulk Mail
Acceptance clerks prior to the October 1st implementation.

7.  "Or Current Resident" on Piece with "Address Correction
Requested"

Dan Minnick updated the committee on this endorsement
recommendation. He also mentioned a new endorsement of
"Address Change Service" only which would allow the owner of
a list to receive the necessary address corrections without
penalizing the list renter by paying the cost of returns,
forwarding, etc. This would greatly improve the address
hygiene of mail lists. A straw man will be prepared on
these general endorsement recommendations and the additional
specifics, as above will be pursued at the next task group
meeting.

8.  Non-Profit Classification Reform Status

John Dorsey said that the preliminary data had been
established and he anticipated a January 1996 filing based
on R-94 costing data. Third Class and Second Class Industry
Advisory Groups have given input and the consensus is that
as much as possible, the proposals mirror the current
Standard and Periodicals Classification Reform requirements.
At present the Third Class group was more comfortable than
the Second Class group due to some uncertainty about the
final rules on Publications and Periodicals. For example,
they might not mirror the Publications requirement of  90%
sorted to the 3-digit level, but might recommend only 80%
sorted to the 3-digit level. Industry data will be gathered
in the next few weeks to support the group's work. It is
hopeful that by mirroring the current Classification Reform
proposal as much as possible, the Non-Profit case can
shorten the normal 10 month time frame. This would also
shorten the period of time that USPS has differing rules for
Standard Mail, Periodicals, and Non-Profits.

9.  Neighborhood Mail

John Dorsey also gave a brief summary on the status of
"Neighborhood Mail" for those members who did not attend the
Philadelphia National Postal Forum. There are some
misconceptions and erroneous information on the USPS intent
of this program. In Philadelphia, Loren Smith said that we
are targeting the low-end, small business market to access
the mail as a medium. It was also hoped that they would
eventually evolve into traditional Ad-Mail customers. The
idea was to have small businesses present Simplified Address
mail at local post offices in Carrier Route saturation
quantities. The program's objective is not to take business
away from list compilers, letter shops or other allied
services. The original test has been delayed until January
1996. In the interim USPS will discuss with the industry to
how best define the program to its intended (new) market
segment. Anyone wanting to offer feedback can call John
Dorsey (202) 268-2255.

Dan Minnick
MTAC Third Class Subcommittee Chairperson
                  MTAC Addressing and ZIP+4
                              
Address Change Service

Rich Schart opened the meeting with a description of his
experience in using ACS. His company is a recent
participant in Address Change Service. He ran his list
through an NCOA licensee and then about 6 weeks later mailed
the pieces with an ACS participant code. He was receiving
ACS corrections at a higher rate than he felt he should
considering the NCOA processing done earlier. He also
received a number of hard copy corrections.

Mike Murphy of the National Customer Support Center (NCSC)
explained that it takes an average of 3 weeks for a change
of address order to appear in the NCOA database once it has
been filed with the Postal Service. This is due to the
collection validation and product generation process. About
.5% of the permanent changes may be delayed even longer
because the address which the customer supplied cannot be
validated or ZIP+4 coded. Once that has happened, then
those records are added. Mike also explained that not all
actual moves will be captured in the NCOA matching process.
This is because of the strict name and address matching
logic which the licensees use. The Postal Service wants to
be sure that only the correct information is supplied from
the matching process. Mike urged that mailers examine the
results which are identified as NCOA Nixie Moves. These are
records which are probable moves, but because of the
matching logic cannot be updated. In addition,
approximately 15% of the records in the database are either
"Moved, Left No Address" or "Box Closed" records, where the
customer has "abandoned" the mailing address. Mike also
pointed out that the quality of the addresses in the list or
the address list system itself may contribute to a decreased
number of matches by the licensee.

Mike also listed several conditions which will always result
in hard copy returns to the mailer. While CFS sites cover
between 93%-96% of all forwarding activity, there are still
some sites which will always be producing manual returns. A
list of the covered ZIP Codes is available. Other reasons
include:  the customer is deceased; the piece has been
refused by the recipient; no order is on file, forwarding
order has expired or mail is received through a single
delivery point, such as a hospital, college, commercial mail
receiving agency, prison, etc. Mike urged mailers who are
experiencing what they feel are high rates of hard copy
returns to contact Audrey Conley at the NCSC. However, he
also pointed out that the inappropriate actions of delivery
unit personnel are customer service issues. If the problem
persists in particular areas, mailers should contact the
district manager who is responsible for those offices.

Address Element Correction

Address Element Correction service provides an opportunity
for mailers to improve addresses which could not be matched
to the National ZIP+4 file using commercially available
address matching software. Step 1 provides a computer
resolution process which is CPU intensive. 100,000
addresses can take 20-30 hours to process. Step 2 uses
proprietary name and address files to add additional
matches. Currently, the process is correcting an average of
about 60%-65% of the addresses it processes in Step 1. Step
2 adds about 10% of the remainder. Some new software
enhancements are planned in a couple months which may raise
the average improvement rates of Step 1. Currently, two DSF
licensees are testing their capability to run the process
commercially. The postal AEC service prefers a minimum
10,000 records but occasional accommodations can be made for
smaller files. Mike urged mailers to run a sample test
first and examine the results closely so that the results of
further use of the process could be easily understood.
Several mailers urged the other members to spread the word
about this service and encourage its use to help them move
towards 100% coded addresses.

CASS Testing

Mike described the cooperative approach the Postal Service
has taken with its Partners in Tomorrow work group. The
group met in June to discuss the new CASS tests which will
be available next year. CASS testing will be checking for
valid military box codes in military ZIP Codes. It will
also eliminate the default ZIP+4 code "5000" for military
addresses. Mike reminded the audience that CASS testing is
designed to make sure that what comes out of the matching
process is correct. It combines both science and art. The
Postal Service is concerned that users of software are
adding more "art" than the vendors used when processing the
certification test. He is working with the vendors to help
ensure the software is used appropriately. Linda Taggart
added that her company regularly goes through the testing
process even though they are using certified software. She
added that the test takes some time and effort but there is
no direct cost and she has used the process to ensure the
software is installed and working properly. She recommended
that others do the same.

Optional Endorsement Line Clear Space Requirements

Cheryl Beller addressed the issue of the clear area around
the optional endorsement line. She indicated that a meeting
is planned in the next two weeks to finally resolve the
issue. A letter is being sent this week to the field to
eliminate confusion about the operational endorsement line
until final resolution can be made.

Addressing Work Group

Bob O'Brien reported on the meeting of the Addressing work
group. He commented that many of the issues had been
discussed during Michael Murphy's presentation. Bob said
the AEC service is going well and it had been his experience
that the quality of the matches provided was not as suspect
as some others may believe. He encouraged users to provide
feedback on their returns to the NCSC. Bob was quite
pleased with his experience and urged others to take
advantage of it, adding "Any enlightened mailer will be
using it. ...(It's) the only game in town."  Bob then
discussed some simulations that had been done to evaluate
the impact of classification reform in light of the changes
to presort. In his examples, the total postage went down,
but the make-up of the mail changed substantially. Bob
asked when information on 5-digit schemes might be availabe.
He also discussed the "electronic only" option for ACS that
has been requested by some mailers to limit the amount of
hard copy notices they may receive.

Address Quality Implementation Advisory Group

Joe Lubenow discussed the most recent meeting of the Address
Quality Implementation Advisory Group. He indicated he had
made a presentation on Line of Travel and Uniform Placement
of Address Elements at the Postal Forum. He offered copies
of the handouts to those who wanted them. He indicated that
the line of travel requirement exists in enhanced carrier
route and publications service. A technical guide for the
LOT product is available from the NCSC by calling 1-800-238-
3150. Joe added the definition of uniform placement is
final and that it is a process best done by computers. He
reiterated the bi-monthly product cycle which will shorten
the active life of carrier route data from 8.5 months to
6.5. ZIP+4 coding must be performed every 6 months for
access to barcoding rates. The group also felt the proposal
to verify the accuracy of 5 digit ZIP Codes was reasonable.
The group is also eager to develop additional alternatives
to meet the Move Update requirement. Joe referenced the
work of some vendors to develop alternatives and indicated a
variety of technical and licensing issues still needed to be
resolved.

John Kelly's presentation on the New York KEY numbering plan
was deferred due to scheduling problems.

Peter Moore closed the meeting by once again asking members
to supply agenda items for the December meeting.



                        MTAC MINUTES
                  FOURTH-CLASS SUBCOMMITTEE
                     September 13, 1995
                              
                              
                              
Meeting was opened at 10:30 A.M. by Ed  Meszaros.

First introduced was Pete Zeranski who gave an update on
Parcels Reclassification by describing the meetings which
have been already held. He went over the methodology of the
customer input process. Next meeting is October 18 here at
USPS HQ. The agenda has not yet been developed but may be
presentation of final product definition. Controversial
elements include treatment of light weight 3C parcels,
customers have been heard and the issue is being addressed
now. A lengthy discussion regarding other elements of the
proposed plan developed, Mr. Zeranski indicated that a
letter soliciting input will go out in the near future,
responses should be directed to Mr. Zeranski  or Lloyd
Karls. Mr. Karls added that he encouraged objective input
into the process to develop a higher quality product.

Rick Schart, of JC Penney's, and Stephanie Tolson gave a
presentation on the Shipper Paid forwarding test currently
underway. After a several year discussion regarding
creating this product, JC Penney's is the first customer
they view it as very successful and are very pleased with
it. Keyline includes rate code, JC Penney's uses this
service for BPM and are being charged BPM, problems with
information contained on the invoice and, in some cases,
carriers still trying to collect Postage Due. USPS has to
get word out to employees. 3C not yet included but is being
considered. It can't be added until the expected 3C filing.
Stef Tolson solicited a work group from the MTAC committee
to help with writing rules for the Federal Register.

Stef continued with an update on the increase of parcel size
130 in. length and girth combined. Operations, including
delivery, is still looking at the actual size they can
handle. The 130 in. is not barrier but individual
dimensions may be. Once defined a special filing will be
made to enter into a test. Actual filing would occur with
the Parcel Reclass filing

Phil Parazino then provided Parcels Work Group update. That
meeting, held Tuesday, dealt with 5 issues:

   1.Bar code of future - the current barcodes are still
     the choice for the near future. A discussion
     regarding the next phase of technology ensued. As a
     result, at the next meeting people from the USPS and
     industry will be invited to discuss future technology.
   
   2.Bar code discounts - Current included as part of
     Parcels Reclass.
   
   3.Polywrap issue - Win Zimmerman explained Swiss
     Colony will have machine which can read through
     Polywrap. This is not a Postal fix but may have
     application for industry.
   
   4.Use of same Bar Code for Flats and Parcels -
     Technology does not yet allow for this.
   
   5.Track and Trace update - The USPS is in pursuit of
     an integrated system to meet the needs of the mailing
     community.

The next Parcels Work Group meeting will be held on the
Tuesday preceding MTAC>

After Phil, Tom Higgins gave a Volume and Revenue update for
4C mail. Volume for all 4C is up by over 23% for AP 12 with
BPM leading the way with an increase of over 52%. The Year-
to-Date figures show an increase of 7.1% for all 4C. Parcel
Post is down by 3.8% Year-to-Date.

Dave Shinnebarger gave an update on the USPS Tracking and
Tracing plans, a copy of his presentation is attached. A
description of the integrated approach being undertaken by
the USPS in pursuing this important enhancement was
presented. The system being developed will exceed the
stated needs of the customers and testing of the concept may
begin as early as December. It is planned to include all
products and provide door-to-door tracking at Real/Near Real
time.

The meeting was closed by Mr. Meszaros at 12:20 PM


_________________________________
Ed Meszaros
Fourth-Class Co-Chair

            MAILERS TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
    ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY/TRANSPORTATION SUBCOMMITTEE
                       MEETING MINUTES
                     SEPTEMBER 13, 1995


Industry Chair - Joe Lubenow
Postal Chair - Bob Cundiff

PIEX Report - Rick Graff: - The PIEX Group met September 12,
and currently is working on three projects in concert with
the USPS. The first project is a beta test of the
Publisher's Electronic Payment System (PEPS) with two
publishers. The intent of the test is to run three
consecutive issues without errors prior to a roll-out beyond
the two test publications. The test is experiencing
problems with the weight as computed by the system for the
publication versus the actual weighing by the DMU clerk.
Additional help from other PIEX members was solicited, and a
work group will be established  to help address those
issues. The second project involves helping the Postal
Service to define and implement ways to use the Graphic
Communications Association's new GCA MAIL.DAT specification,
which is discussed in detail below.

The third project is a payment option program that may
impact a variety of mail classes. According to Rosemary
Hamel, the USPS is considering a change in its procedures
and regulations to allow overnight debiting as a new
electronic payment option. Under this option, a bulk mailer
may be able to do a bank transfer overnight, debiting an
account previously set up by the mailer for this purpose,
instead of arranging payment in advance and perhaps before
the amount owed is known. The testing will be conducted
through the San Mateo PDC using a network to transfer funds
between the mailer and USPS based on the value of all
mailings within a one day period. This would provide
additional float time for the participating mailers.

Containers & Transportation Report - Russ Shores:   In the
meeting September 12, Paul Seehaver of the USPS provided an
update on the fall plans for mail transport equipment.
There should be few problems this fall getting sacks, trays,
or pallets. Current stock includes 1.7 million pallets.
The current contract for production of pressed board pallets
expires in early 1996 and USPS will be going to mostly
plastic pallets which will include a heavier duty plastic
and are more environmentally friendly. Forty million trays
are on hand of which 2.5 million are the extended tray
management trays, and 1.5 million are half-trays. Twelve
million #3 plastic sacks are also available. The disposable
plastic sack label holder has been redesigned for easier
use.

The comment period for the new pallet regulations proposed
in the Federal Register closed on August 30. The final
notice, to be published in late October to early November,
will reflect opportunities for more mailers to palletize.
The 500 lb. pallet will be required, but a 250-499 lb.
pallet will be optional.  A new working pallet will be also
be allowed after the mailer has completed all the required
pallets possible, for left over packages or bundles which
will be distributed to the appropriate origin postal
facility.  Pallet integrity monitoring procedures will be
implemented with feedback will be provided to the mailer.
There is no resolution yet on the percentage of defects that
will be allowed before a mailing is held up or rejected.
Concern was expressed about the pallet regulations
overlapping with classification reform and the amount of
time needed for software companies to rewrite their programs
to accommodate the regulations.

Another topic was the 8125 form accompanying mailings to the
destination, which continues to be an issue when many
mailers are using third party logistics services and
paperwork may pass through a lot of different hands.
Discussion on this issue included possible options to the
8125 process through an EDI environment.

There still seems to be a problem in getting timely drop
ship appointments to certain locations such as the New
Jersey BMC due to short windows. Clarence Banks of R.R.
Donnelley will work on identifying problem areas.
Classifying rescheduled appointments as no-shows continues
to occur.

Flats Report - Dick Funck:   Dick recognized Sherl Johnson
for her significant contributions to improving flats
automation. USPS continues to run tests in Gaithersburg to
certify as many polywrapped mailpieces as possible to
qualify for the automation discounts. A particular type of
polywrap is being tested quite successfully on a variety of
shapes and weights of mailpieces. Twenty-one poly
manufacturers are involved in observing the tests. Other
tests are being scheduled for mailers in late November.

Other non-machinable mailpieces are also being tested for
automation discount qualification based on machine
modifications in Chicago and Hartford. The modifications
includes raising the pusher finger, that pushes the
mailpiece along, and modifying the diverter to accommodate
flimsy mailpieces that are currently subject to flyover.
The tests are ongoing and not yet concluded. These
modifications are necessary as new flat sorting equipment
will not be available until 1996 or later.

The flats group feels that it may not necessarily continue
to meet separately as significant progress is being made on
its current agenda. Longer term objectives such as flats
automation policy and gaining discounts for pieces on new
flat sorters will be transferred to the main Engineering &
Technology/Transportation Committee to be addressed in
future meetings.

Postal Costing and Endorsements - John Reynolds:  This
presentation showed how the USPS rate case cost data
gathering system worked,  and highlighted the potential
benefits to mailers of providing more information on the
mail piece about classes, subclasses and rate categories to
allow for more precise development of postal rates.
Accounting data is supplemented with data from the ongoing
statistical sampling system and from special studies. The
end products are revenue, volume and cost information by
class and subclass and rate category.  The USPS currently
relies on statistical sampling to measure these items
through observation of mailpiece endorsements to determine
categories of mail. Field data collectors, numbering 783
full time personnel, are monitored by auditors and USPS
inspectors. The USPS provides the Postal Rate Commission
all the data, computer programs and system documentation on
which the figures are based. All interested parties,
including customers and competitors have full access to the
computerized rate case data.

There are four major national data systems on which postal
rates are based, as follows:

1)  The In-Office Cost System (IOCS) involves random
observation of clerks, mail handlers, carriers and lower
level supervisors. Nearly 800,000 observations are
scheduled each year. Piece endorsements are relied on to
associate each observation with a category of mail. The
amount of time spent on a category determines the percentage
of salary attributable to that category. This data  is used
to attribute $20 billion in payroll costs to classes and
subclasses of mail.

2)  The Transportation Cost System (TRACS) is also used to
attribute cost data from USPS accounting systems to classes
of mail. USPS spends $3 billion annually with 68 airlines
and 13,000 trucking firms and inspects 10,000 randomly
selected truck, airline and rail van trips to attribute
costs based on space utilization by class of mail.

3)  City and rural carrier cost systems (CCS City and CCS
Rural) involve counting volume by class for each delivery
point. 12,000 routes are tested each year to attribute
about $7 billion per year.

4)  National revenue, volume, and weight by class of mail is
reported as Revenue, Pieces and Weight (RPW). In FY94,
60,000 examinations of mailing statements were conducted to
allocate $50 billion in revenues and 177 billion pieces of
mail. Mailing statements provide most revenue and volume
data, but do not provide all the data needed so they must be
supplemented with the statistical sampling.

The audited Cost Revenue Analysis Report (CRA) provides the
contribution derived from each class and subclass of mail
and is a published report available to anyone. The CRA by
itself is insufficient to complete a rate schedule that must
recognize differences in piece, weight, shape, distance
traveled, work sharing and special services. Additional
special studies, including cost attribution studies, cost
avoidance studies, and weight and distance related studies
are needed to complete a rate case with thousands of rate
categories.


MAIL.DAT (GCA Mailing Database Format) - Dan Minnick:
MAIL.DAT is a database for efficient communication for those
providing list processing, mail production and processing.
It provides information about the pallet, sack or tray,
about the package and in some cases down to the piece level,
with more complete detail than the current GCA container
summary file. Mail.Dat has 8 files which are:

1) Header:  Who, what, when and why. In most cases a single
record.

2) Segment:  Overview of the list components for the job

3) Selective Bind:  Make-up definition for different
versions or editions of a job.

4) Container Summary:  The quantity, weights and destination
per container.

5) Container Label:  For each container summary record,
there is a container label.

6) Package Quantity:  Weights, rates and destination per
package. Most data is contained in this file.

7) Package Label:  This file is for international mail
information only at this time.

8) 3/5 Digit Container Quantity:  The quantities for
presort, barcode or whatever rate eligibility the pieces in
that container qualify for,  presented by three or five
digit zip code within the container.

MAIL.DAT provides all the data pertaining to the job except
the mailing addresses. The related files are linked
together by job ID, segment ID, container ID, etc. as one
penetrates deeper into the file set.

MAIL.DAT can be used to facilitate transportation planning,
postage computation, and potentially for the elimination of
hard copy documentation. Rosemary Hamel of USPS is planning
the use of the MAIL.DAT file as input to a system that would
nationally receive data and distribute it back to the local
DMU, facilitating a more disciplined acceptance procedure
and saving time and money. Tracking mailings or parts of
mailings may be more feasible once MAIL.DAT information is
captured. In the future, this could also provide the USPS
with a universal database which can predict the flow and
nature of mail volumes coming through each processing point
up to 10 days in advance.

Dan suggested that anyone interested in finding out more
about MAIL.DAT talk to him or call GCA. More information
will be provided later based on planned future meetings with
Rosemary Hamel.

Comprehensive Interactive Information System (CIIS) - Joe
Lubenow

A potential agenda item for a future subcommittee meeting is
the Comprehensive Interactive Information System (CIIS)
which is expected to be a comprehensive approach to tracking
and tracing mail in lieu of the numerous current attempts at
developing tracking systems. This may also incorporate the
Unit Load Tracking Architecture (ULTRA) which has been
discussed in prior meetings.

OCR/BCS Processing Smudging Problems - Chuck Shaw:  This was
a USPS response to an industry concern about the smudging of
certain types of mail such as laser printed pieces with
internal smudging on inside components due to external
pressures of the OCR/BCS equipment puts on the mail piece
while it is being processed. USPS has been testing a
variety of possible modifications to mail processing
equipment. The most practical and economical solution is
likely to be to go to flexible belting. Results from
testing the new belts show that smudging is reduced by
approximately 50%.

An Engineering Change Request is in process and the change
board is scheduled to meet within the next couple of weeks
to review replacing the current belts with the new flexible
belts. Full replacement will most likely take about two
years.

Another related problem is the abrasion of the belt rubbing
against the mailpiece as the mailpiece is pushed into the
OCR/BCS stacks. New belts may also help eliminate this
problem. In addition, Engineering is also testing new
software that will automatically shut down a machine if no
mail is being processed after a 30-second interval to reduce
the situation with the stacker belts continuously rubbing
against the last mailpiece entering a OCR/BCS stack. The
new delivery barcode sorter or Phase 3 machine has a
different design of stacker that has a retractable guard
that protects the mail in the stacker.

Soft rollers currently available in the industry have not
proven to provide additional benefits in conjunction with
the flexible belts. There is no plan to test these rollers
until the new flexible belts are completely installed on all
the processing equipment, which will take about two years.

Slim Jims (5 3/8" x 8 3/8") catalogs, that are not tabbed,
have to be processed in the flat sorting machine with the
bound edge forward standing on end. The aspect ratio of
these pieces is such that they will not process consistently
in the flat sorter. There is no modification in test to
make those mailpieces machinable regardless of current
rumors. Flimsy flats were being tested in Chicago and
Hartford, as discussed by Dick Funck, and machine
modifications are being evaluated, but not for Slim Jims.



________________________________
Joe Lubenow
Industry Chair
Engineering & Technology/Transportation Subcommittee