August 28, 2009

Intelligent Mail^® Services Weekly Update

Intelligent Mail Full-Service Option – Where We Are: More than ninety mailers have begun testing Full-Service job submissions using Mail.dat^® 9-1 in the Test Environment for Mailers (TEM). Thirty-one have been approved to enter Intelligent Mail® Full-Service option mailings in production.

Reminder: Mail.dat^® 9-1 validation removals: On Sunday, August 30 PostalOne!^® will be utilizing the scheduled maintenance window of 4:00 AM to 8:00 AM CT to deploy Patch Release 21.0.1 to update the PostalOne!^® Mail.dat client software. Two software validations that are currently performed by the Client software on Mail.dat 9-1 files will be removed as follows:

• The USPS will no longer validate that the Mailer Identifier (Mailer ID, MID) in the Intelligent Mail Range Record (IMR) file is the same as the Mailer ID in the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb™) Lower and Upper Serialization fields. The Mailer ID of the Mail Owner can be different than the Mailer ID in the Intelligent Mail barcodes.
• The USPS will no longer validate that the Upper Sequence Number minus the Lower Sequence Number plus 1 in the Mail.dat IMR file is equal to the Piece Count in the IMR.

The updated software will be available for download and use in PostalOne! production after 8:00 AM CT. Download of the updated Client software is required for all Mail.dat 9-1 users. Updates to the Test Environment for Mailers (TEM) will be performed from 8:00 AM to 12:00PM CT, directly following the production updates. Customers must use the updated Client software in TEM after 12:00 PM CT.

Complete Release Notes for Patch Release 21.0.1 will be available Friday, August 28 on RIBBS.

Software Upgrade - FAST Impact: USPS will be performing a software upgrade on Saturday, September 12 from 8:00 AM CT through Sunday, September 13, 12:00 AM CT. Appointments created in FAST during this outage will not be sent to the transportation management systems in the yards and dock until the software upgrade is complete. Appointments created on Saturday for a same-day drop are the only appointments affected. Appointments scheduled to arrive at USPS facilities from Saturday, September 12 from 8:00 AM CT through Sunday, September 13, 12:00 AM CT should be created in FAST no later than Saturday, September 12 at 5:00 AM CT. The outage for the transportation management systems may result in late or no closeout data for some appointments. We expect the number of appointments affected to be minimal, however, appointments that are impacted will be exempt from ratings.

New Guide for Centralized Postage Payment (CPP) Mailers: The eDoc Process: A Guide for CPP Customers is a comprehensive resource for Periodicals mailers who are engaged in the Centralized Postage Payment (CPP) program and now wish to participate in electronic documentation and payment option using Mail.dat 9-1 and the consolidated payment feature. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on the process for migrating from the current manual payment process via the PCSC in New York to utilizing Mail.dat and the electronic payment feature via the local mail presentment facility.

Full-Service Intelligent Answers: We are conducting a series of telecons entitled Full-Service Intelligent Answers. The calls continue this Friday from 1:00-2:00 PM EDT. These calls are for customers who are testing file submission in the Test Environment for Mailers (TEM) or for customers who have migrated to using Full-Service in production and have questions or are experiencing issues. Mailers can exchange information among themselves and postal experts will be available to answer questions. If you are currently testing in TEM or have successfully completed the TEM process, but have not received an invitation to the calls, please contact the PostalOne! Help Desk at 1-800-522-9085.

Webinar: Full-Service Benefits: Full-Service ACS™ (September 4): The next Intelligent Mail Webinar on Full-Service Benefits: Full-Service ACS is scheduled for Friday, September 4, 2:00-4:00 PM EDT. We will cover the address correction information available under the Full-Service option. We will describe the contents of the address correction information, how it is provisioned, and the flexible data distribution options available. We will demonstrate how to optimize the use of Service Type Identifiers (STIDs) and Mailer IDs in the Intelligent Mail barcode and how to construct the electronic documentation to derive the greatest value from Full-Service ACS. We will describe how Full-Service ACS is different from the other address correction services and how mailers can use these in conjunction with Full-Service to ease the transition to Full-Service ACS.

TO ATTEND THE WEB CONFERENCE AND JOIN WITH AUDIO (No earlier than 15 minutes prior to the start):

IMPORTANT NOTE: Ports (seats) are limited. Please connect through the following link, then click on the telephone icon in the upper right of the screen to have the system call you back. This method will use only one port. Please do not use the link and dial in separately. That uses two ports.

1) Browse to: http://meetingplace3.usps.gov/a/e874c0ac95df660e165a1def7b8decbb

2) After the MeetingPlace window is open, click the Phone icon (under the Participant List or in the upper right-hand corner).

3) Click Connect Me, validate or update your phone number and click Connect Me again.

4) When the system calls you press 1 to join.

To attend with audio only:

Phone Number: 866-567-8049

Meeting ID: 8993961

Date/Time: September 4, 2009 at 02:00 PM America/New_York

For MeetingPlace problems or issues, please contact the MeetingPlace Help Desk at 1-800-343-1796.

National Postal Forum: Save the date. The 2010 National Postal Forum is scheduled for April 11-14 in Nashville TN.

Assistance: Please call the PostalOne! Help Desk at 1-800-522-9085 if you have any questions or problems accessing the Business Customer Gateway, your accounts, or submitting electronic documentation. The PostalOne! Help Desk is accessible from Canada at no charge.