USPS Approves Bundle-Based Solution |
Bundle-Based Processing works great in a letter shop environment that knows how the mail will qualify before it is produced, but it is not quite so friendly in an MLOCR environment in which the mail must first be read and sorted before qualification can be determined. The problem lies in the fact that the Bundle-Based Processing rules do not allow less than full trays. This is a problem in the world of MLOCR operations, which create logical trays based on the volume sorted during the First Pass of the mail. To solve this problem, NPI has developed a Bundle-Based feature as part of its Postal Manager software that produces USPS Standardized Postal Reports for First-Class mailings. The first benefit of this software is it allows you to analyze your mailing as Tray-Based, then re-analyze as Bundle-Based to determine if the additional savings justify the labor required to sort to bundles. This is how the NPI Solution simplifies preparing a mailing in accordance with Bundle-Based Rules. Following a normal First Pass Run, the differing sizes of mail that are commingled and sorted to kill pockets may create overflow bundles that will not fit in the resulting tray but are insufficient to fill a second tray. The customer will run a normal analysis on Postal Manager to create the standardized USPS Qualification Summary Report. Then, utilizing a handheld scanner, the customer scans the destination tray label to which the overflow bundle will be redirected. Next, the customer scans either the barcode of the first piece in the bundle if processing Postnet barcodes, or the barcode of each piece in the bundle if processing Intelligent Mail barcodes. This process is repeated for each overflow bundle in the mailing. The customer then places the hand scanner in its dock, which allows the scanned data to be downloaded to the Postal Manager computer. Following this procedure, the customer clicks on an icon to Reconcile Overflow Bundles and then runs a secondary analysis in Postal Manager. This secondary analysis will incorporate all of the redirected bundle information into the USPS Qualification Summary report and produce an updated Report that matches the physical mailing. This process can be delayed until second pass is complete and the second pass overflow bundles have been scanned. All of the data in the scanner is retained until the download is completed. The NPI solution has been tested and approved by the USPS and has been deployed to several sites that are now successfully producing Bundle-Based Flat Mailings. The best part is that NPI has made this otherwise difficult operation a simple process and has implemented it as a standard part of its Postal Manager product. The only thing required to use this solution is the handheld scanner. No additional license fees and no annual maintenance! If you feel that Bundle-Based Processing of Flat Mail could be beneficial to your operation or if you are interested in Automated Flat sorting in general, please contact your NPI Sales Manager. If you are new to NPI, please call 214-634-2288, ext. 209 or email Sales@NPISorters.com |
