May 8, 2009

Intelligent Mail^® Services Weekly Update

PostalOne! and FAST® Outages – We are preparing PostalOne! release 20 to support Monday’s price change and the Test Environment for the Intelligent Mail Full-Service option on May 18. A system-wide outage for PostalOne! is needed from 4 p.m. on Sunday to 4 a.m. (CDT) on Monday. During these outages mailers cannot access PostalOne! or submit electronic mailing documentation. Mailers should review their file submission processes and make arrangements for these outages.

In conjunction with PostalOne!, FAST WebServices will not be accessible. However, FAST online scheduling will be available except for a four-hour maintenance window on Sunday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (CDT). Mailers who wish to schedule appointments online outside of the maintenance window must log directly into FAST through https://fast.usps.com. Mailers will not be able to schedule appointments electronically using TM/Mail.XML. Please call the PostalOne! help desk at 1-800-522-9085 or your local FAST facility coordinator if you have questions.

PostalOne! Release 20 and the Business Customer Gateway – Effective Monday, May 11, mailers will enter the Business Customer Gateway to access PostalOne!, electronic Verification System (eVS), Customer Label Distribution System (CLDS), FAST®, Intelligent Mail information (including Mailer ID applications), Full-Service feedback reports, and much more.

Business Customer Gateway Log-In Information – Beginning Monday, PostalOne! and FAST users who logged in through the PostalOne! log on page between March 30 and April 15 can use their existing usernames and passwords to access the Business Customer Gateway. Those who didn't log in but responded to the security question during the log in process will be able to log in to the new Business Customer Gateway with their existing usernames but will be required to change their passwords. Users who did not log in to PostalOne! during the prescribed dates or answer the security question as described, will need to register through the Business Customer Gateway as a new user. Separately, in preparation of this migration process we have identified a few customer accounts that do not meet our user name and password standards. These customers have been contacted via email and given new user names for use beginning Monday.

PostalOne!, FAST, CLDS Access – Beginning Monday, users will access the PostalOne!, FAST, and Customer Label Distribution System (CLDS) applications via the Business Customer Gateway at www.usps.com by selecting the Business Customer Gateway link in the lower right corner. On the Gateway login page, users must enter their existing PostalOne!, FAST, or CLDS username and password under the Existing Users Login section. Users will need to login using their existing username in all Capital Letters. Traditionally users have accessed these applications through the National & Premier Accounts link on the usps.com page and then logged on from the PostalOne!, FAST, or CLDS log on pages.

The PostalOne! functions have been remapped and the new links are listed first followed by the old links in parenthesis as follows:

• Balance & Fees (Balance and Fees)
• Postal Wizard (Submit a Form - Postal Wizard)
• Electronic Data Exchange (Mail.dat)
• Mailing Reports (Reports)
• Manage Permits (Manage Permits)
• FAST: Select the Gateway link: (Schedule a Mailing Appointment)
• CLDS: select the Gateway link: (Customer Label Distribution System (CLDS)

Reference the User Access to Electronic Mailing Information and Reports guide for more information on accessing your accounts.

Gateway Business Service Administrator – Beginning Monday, the former PostalOne! External Site Administrator role will be migrated and replaced by the Gateway Business Services Administrator role (BSA). Administrators are responsible for their user base and access levels, approve or deactivate all user requests for Services at the business location, and assign additional users to the Administrator role.

We will migrate former External Site Administrators to the position of Business Services Administrator. Companies without an External Site Administrator will be able to access the system and use its services. New users for that company will be notified of the Administrator requirement and asked to assume the responsibility when they create a new account. If the user agrees, the registration process continues. If the user declines, the service request goes into a pending status until there is an Administrator at the business location. As part of the transition process, some Administrators have been contacted via e-mail and asked to review their profiles.

Mail.dat and User Access – Customers that experience issues using Mail.dat to send files to USPS using the batch mode need to contact the desk at 1-800-522-9085 to verify their username and password.

Mailer IDs – Mailers can use the new online tool to acquire Mailer IDs starting May 11. We explain the new online process in the updated User Access to Electronic Mailing Information and Reports on RIBBS. Mailers should contact the PostalOne!, Confirm and ACS help desks as necessary if they experience issues obtaining Mailer IDs.

PostalOne! Assistance – Please call the PostalOne! help desk at 1-800-522-9085 if you have any questions, problems accessing your accounts, or problems submitting electronic documentation.

Service Type Codes on Intelligent Mail Barcodes for mailpieces – Starting Monday mailers should use the Service Type Codes within their Intelligent Mail barcodes as described in the see A Guide to Intelligent Mail for Letters and Flats Appendix A, on RIBBS. If you are unable to do so or need help, please contact the PostalOne! help desk at 1-800-522-9085 to obtain direction in migrating to the new codes.

Service Type IDs and Address Correction – On Monday, we will implement new Service Type Identifiers in the Intelligent Mail barcode that may change how you receive address change information. If you are currently using a Full-Service option Service Type ID on your mailpieces and wish to continue to receive your ACS data through OneCode ACS, you need to change your Service Type ID to a Basic option Service Type ID starting May 11. If you are using Full-Service option Service Type IDs and have any concerns about your OneCode ACS fulfillment, e-mail acs@usps.gov for assistance. Once you complete Full-Service testing and are approved to move out of the Test Environment for Mailers (TEM), you can convert to a Full-Service option Service Type ID and receive your data through the Full-Service option. For more information see A Guide to Intelligent Mail for Letters and Flats on RIBBS.