Simplified Package Shipping Solutions from the USPS Part 2: UPS Mail Innovations and USPS Informed Delivery for Packages
Simplified Package Shipping Solutions from the USPS Part 1: USPS Connect™
In our previous post, we explored USPS Connect™ its convenient shipping and return services. Now, let’s turn our attention to some additional simplified package shipping solutions.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) claims it’s “delivering for America with innovative solutions for businesses.” Informed Delivery® by USPS and UPS Mail Innovations® make good on that promise.
Both programs help businesses keep pace with the astonishing rise in eCommerce shipping by solving a handful of operational challenges.
What is UPS Mail Innovations®?
UPS Mail Innovations is a collaborative program between USPS and UPS to deliver parcels more efficiently. Shipping solutions relying on traditional USPS mailing methods typically see a parcel travel through six separate touchpoints along its journey. By integrating with UPS and leveraging its national network of processing facilities and technology, that number is slashed. UPS handles the heavy lifting—long transits, labeling and, sorting of qualified mail—before dropping mail pieces at a USPS facility for last-mile delivery.
The streamlined solution offers speed and lowers costs. Those aren’t the only benefits, though. Today, 20% of merchants, including pharmaceuticals and healthcare providers, use the service. With the ability to brand, personalize and even include bounce-back incentives, the labels become another important piece of the marketing toolkit.
Convenience can’t be underscored either. Merchants can drop off packages at any UPS store, 24-hour service kiosk*, or rapid drop-off station. And returns are just as simple with easy-to-use, prepaid labels.
What is Informed Delivery® by USPS?
Informed Delivery by USPS has been around for a few years—enough time to realize the benefits are real. The free service provides recipients an email preview of their mail before it arrives. But the real upside to this shipping solution belongs to those businesses that capitalize upon it.
Informed Delivery email open rates are strong at 63%, meaning more than half of direct mail pieces receive multiple impressions across channels. Shippers can use Informed Delivery to enrich an existing marketing campaign—at no additional cost. What’s more, they have access to a digital dashboard sharing important metrics like click-through and open rates. Great for A/B testing, it can help businesses understand what messaging resonates.
And it’s about to get better. Until now, Informed Delivery only pertained to letters, but package campaigns are coming soon.
Contact us to discuss how we can enhance your operations in tandem with these USPS offerings.
About Tension Packaging & Automation
Tension Packaging & Automation is a leader in complete packaging and automation solutions for the eCommerce and pharmacy automation
industries. Our line of packaging equipment seamlessly integrates with transportation management systems (TMS) with options for weight verification, rate shopping, and sorting to multiple carriers (e.g., USPS) and service levels — contact us to get started.
