Remittance Mail News and Information  
RMAC Meeting Boasts Record Turnout
More than 40 corporate executives and postal managers — a record turnout — were on hand for a meeting of the Remittance Mail Advisory Committee (RMAC) during The Association for Work Process Improvement Expo Forum in Orlando, FL. Members participated in several presentations, including Intelligent Mail Barcode, U.S. Postal Inspection Service initiatives, USPS Updates and the Phoenix-Hecht Survey. The RMAC membership is open to remittance and remittance–related organizations. To find out more contact Susan Dudley at 202-268-7438 or via email at susan.dudley@usps.gov.

RMAC Meeting Notes (doc) (rtf)

You can view selected meeting presentations at http://www.tawpi.org/usps.html.

Remittance Mail Advisory Committee (RMAC) Meets in Washington DC
Nearly 30 senior industry executives and postal managers met at Postal Service Headquarters in Washington DC on February 1 to kick off the first meeting of the newly reorganized Remittance Mail Advisory Committee (RMAC).

The Postal Service provided an update to the recommendations previously submitted by the RMAC. Several of these recommendations (doc) (rtf) were implemented, including the new remittance mail Web site on usps.com and a new USPS resources page on The Association for Work Process Improvement (TAWPI) Web site. One key RMAC recommendation under review is a process to identify, standardize and certify "Best in Class" remittance mail processing facilities. Postal Operations discussed the details of the process and a tentative implementation plan. In addition, Lex Litton, Senior Vice President, Phoenix-Hecht, discussed the bi-yearly postal study.

Download the RMAC February 1, 2008 Meeting Notes to learn more about the meeting (doc) (rtf).

Remittance Mail Advisory Committee Releases Official Charter
The Remittance Mail Advisory Committee (RMAC) Executive Board has released the committee’s official charter. RMAC collaborates with the USPS by providing recommendations for improving mail processing, performance, consistency, and for meeting emerging needs in the remittance industry.

Review the official RMAC charter (doc) (rtf)

Postal Service Remittance Mail Performance Test: Latest Results
Anyone who has reviewed the Phoenix-Hecht mail survey knows there has been tremendous improvement in remittance mail performance over the last 10 years. The Postal Service is actively taking additional steps to continue this improvement by utilizing mailpiece visibility data generated from Confirm®.

The Postal Service tests remittance mail performance from over 150 originating facilities destined for 36 three-digit ZIP Code remittance cities. This effort is designed to measure end-to-end processing and mail flow hours between facilities, and generate data that assists the Postal Service in taking the type of corrective action that improves overall remittance mail performance.

The tests are conducted by "seeding" incoming remittance mail with internally generated PLANET Code labels. Nightly, each originating facility is required to seed three collection mail pieces going to each of the destinating three-digit ZIP Codes. Postal Service operations and intelligent mail groups are conducting these quarterly tests to identify opportunities for further improvements to remittance mail service. The groups are also currently reviewing operations to determine how quickly the remittance mail is processed upon arrival at each plant.

This proactive testing is just one more way the Postal Service is leveraging Intelligent Mail® programs such as Confirm to gain visibility of the mailstream, diagnose and monitor mail processing issues, and improve overall service performance.

Read detailed information about the Postal Service’s Intelligent Mail products and services.

National Remittance Site Certification Program Update
The national remittance site certification program is a key initiative recommended by the Remittance Mail Advisory Committee (RMAC). The purpose of this initiative is to (1) identify processing standards and best practices and (2) certify significant remittance processing facilities to clarify a set of expectations and ensure consistency in remittance mail processing.

Procedures are being finalized and three locations have been selected for validation. Once these sites are validated the certification procedures will be rolled out nationwide.