Mailing

Government Executive August 1, 1998

Facing the Postal Service's 1999 deadline for replacing mechanical meters, offices all around the country are buying equipment and renegotiating contracts. In the process they are shaking up the mailing systems industry.

The USPS rule, designed to reduce fraud, has accelerated the adoption of electronic and automated mailing systems.

Pitney Bowes, which controls the vast majority of the market, has several new products that exemplify the trends.

Among them are:

  • Software that captures and crunches shipping data from multiple sites.
  • Software that tracks incoming mail and packages (including notifying recipients by e-mail when a package has arrived).
  • A multi-carrier logistics management system, designed to help mailers move away from relying on one carrier in the wake of the UPS strike.
  • Software and hardware that bring mass mailing capabilities (like sorting, folding, collating and inserting) in house.
Also, PC-generated postage will be a reality soon, and several major players are competing to be the first out of the box. Look for products from E-Stamp Corp. (backed by Microsoft and AT&T) and Pitney Bowes.

Contacts

Pitney Bowes

(800) MR-BOWES (672-6937)

www.pitneybowes.com

www.pbtranscape.com

Ascom-Hasler

(800) 243-6275

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