USPS Office of Inspector General

As Kermit the Frog sang, it’s not easy being green. Well, Kermit, try achieving corporate sustainability. It’s more than just “going green.” It generally means giving consideration to the environmental, economic, and social impact of a company's business practices.

While it’s not necessarily easy, it’s the responsible thing to do. It’s also good business as more consumers demand that companies be good stewards and corporate citizens. And that includes the Postal Service.

Technology plays a huge role in the fast-moving package delivery market. Package delivery companies that skimp on innovation investments do so at their own risk.

As part of its effort to be the “shipper of choice” for customers, the U.S. Postal Service has invested millions of dollars in Mobile Delivery Devices (MDD), handheld scanners that allow letter carriers to track package delivery in real time via Global Positioning System. Tracking capability, known as package visibility, is essential for USPS to meet market demands.

Registered Mail might seem like a service from yesteryear in this day and age of Intelligent Mail barcodes and Informed Delivery, which give customers a sneak peek into their mail via email alerts.

But with proof of mailing and delivery along with strict rules and controls, Registered Mail still appeals to customers who want to send valuable or irreplaceable items through the mail.

Managing workhours is a critical part of helping the U.S. Postal Service realize annual productivity gains, which help offset cost increases.

That’s why it’s so important postal management uses all the tools at its disposal to improve productivity. One tool is the mail processing variance (MPV) model, which measures annual mail processing performance and efficiency.

It makes no difference what part of the country you’re in, post offices nationwide are in need of upkeep and repair. A majority of post office lobbies we reviewed in the Eastern Area have many of the same problems found in other areas.