The third week of September is National PCC Week in the U.S. During this time, most regional Postal Customer Councils host their big annual events. One such was a USPS event.

Local PCCs are not-for-profit organizations sponsored by the United States Postal Service (USPS) that serve as an open channel for USPS-to-business communication. They provide information and best practices for cost-effective and profitable mailing, education and training, and solving local challenges. Through regular meetings, programs, mailer clinics, and seminars, PCC members learn about postal products and services that may grow their business. According to the Boston PCC, there are nearly 80,000 PCC members around the country.

Greater Boston PCC: Review

Bell and Howell representatives attended a number of these events around the country throughout the week.

I attended the Greater Boston PCC in Foxboro, MA as a speaker for the value of preventative maintenance and the real cost of downtime. Not an overly sexy topic for this audience, but it was important to share recent research.

The event took place at Gillette Stadium, home of four-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. The night before, in that very stadium, rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett (who happens to be from my alma mater, North Carolina State University), led the Patriots to victory over the Houston Texans.

The event hosted more than 200 people and featured keynote speakers, Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman, Dr. Sean Joyce from Omega Consultants, and Steve Grogan, former New England Patriots quarterback.

After the ceremonial introductions, we watched a welcome video of Postmaster General, Megan Brennan. We also enjoyed a live presentation from Stroman. Brennan told the audience that the USPS focuses on simplification of bringing value to mailers. They use initiatives such as informed visibility and other customer-focused investments. She then acknowledged that they have not been effective at marketing the value of IMB (Intelligent Mail Barcode). She promised that a forthcoming marketing push from the post office will help remedy this.

USPS Growth and Change

Stroman focused much of his talk on the growth the USPS is experiencing in parcels. He also discussed the associated investments made to accommodate the growth.

“The challenge created by growth in eCommerce is the biggest in the history of the USPS,” Stroman said.

He added that they are addressing this by investing in parcel sorting systems. This includes upgrading their vehicle fleet, considering driverless vehicles, and even drones.

As Gold Sponsors, we were fortunate to be able to share a video with the entire audience. The video highlights the story of an innovative mailer, AccuDoc Solutions, who recently converted their entire operation over to a Plain Paper Factory. They gained substantial savings as a result by producing their own complete finished healthcare mailpieces from plain white paper.

This was a very well-run USPS event and, as sort of a mini-National Postal Forum, has me anxiously looking forward to next year’s Postal Forum.