{"id":18178,"date":"2014-06-16T10:35:05","date_gmt":"2014-06-16T14:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.21cpw.com\/?p=18178"},"modified":"2014-06-16T10:54:04","modified_gmt":"2014-06-16T14:54:04","slug":"usps-oig-making-every-mile-count-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.21cpw.com\/usps-oig-making-every-mile-count-more\/","title":{"rendered":"USPS OIG: Making Every Mile Count . . . More"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Earn more or spend less. Those are the two basic ways to achieve financial fitness, whether you\u2019re talking about the household budget or a multi-billion-dollar corporate balance sheet.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what it comes down to for the U.S. Postal Service as it seeks to bring revenue in line with expenses (it lost $5 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2013). So far, the Postal Service has been looking at\u00a0cost cutting ideas like moving to 5-day mail delivery to changing employee benefits to consolidating networks.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also been trying to grow revenue, most notably in the package delivery business. But are there some unexplored opportunities to generate income, particularly by taking advantage of one of the Postal Service\u2019s greatest assets \u2013 its last mile delivery network?<\/p>\n

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We asked that question in a previous blog entry<\/strong><\/a> and explored it in more detail in a recent audit report, Delivery Operations \u2013 Additional Carrier Services<\/strong><\/a>. We came up with nearly two dozen ideas \u2013 everything from monitoring services for the elderly and collection of air quality details on delivery vehicles to traffic reporting services and dry cleaning delivery. While these ideas should be explored, most would involve significant financial investments, additional training, and changes to core hours or labor agreements. Also, the 2006 postal law prohibits the Postal Service from offering any new services that aren\u2019t postal in nature.<\/p>\n

But the Postal Service could move relatively quickly to add one new, albeit modest, moneymaker: advertising on postal vehicles. The agency has dipped its toe into similar waters by co-branding with Sony Pictures to promote Priority Mail and \u201cThe Amazing Spider Man-2\u201d on mail trucks. But it could also sell space on its vehicles to promote products unrelated to mail.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, even with all those delivery vans, the Postal Service estimates revenue opportunities would be limited to only about $30 million in FY 2015. That\u2019s because advertising would likely be profitable only in densely populated areas and the Postal Service would carefully select advertisers that don\u2019t compromise its trusted brand.<\/p>\n

\"last_mile_large\"<\/a>Should the Postal Service look at every opportunity to raise revenue by leveraging its last mile delivery force or should carriers stick to delivering the mail? What about advertising? Would the postal brand be tarnished if delivery vehicles promoted nonpostal products or is this a worthwhile opportunity to raise much-needed revenue?<\/p>\n

via Making Every Mile Count . . . More | Office of Inspector General<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Earn more or spend less. Those are the two basic ways to achieve financial fitness, whether you\u2019re talking about the household budget or a multi-billion-dollar corporate balance sheet. And that\u2019s what it comes down to for the U.S. Postal Service as it seeks to bring revenue in line with expenses (it lost $5 billion in…<\/p>\n

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