USPS Office of Inspector General

Due diligence shouldn’t end after a contract is awarded. If you decide to work with the same contractor on a second project, maybe you won’t check references again, but you’re certainly going to make sure the first job was completed properly, on time, and within budget before rehiring, right?

Our auditors looked into whether the U.S. Postal Service was essentially doing the same with private individuals and firms it hires to deliver and collect mail nationwide. Specifically, we wanted to know whether the renewal process for USPS’s Contract Delivery Service (CDS) was following applicable policies and procedures. We looked at all CDS contract renewals for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.

As we note in our recent audit report, we found CDS officials didn’t follow Postal Service policies and procedures when renewing CDS contracts. For instance, based on our statistical sample, almost 80 percent of contracts didn’t always assess a supplier’s past performance or ensure that background screening documents for supplier eligibility were completed. Just over 60 percent didn’t have evidence of supplier performance, and in some cases, officials didn’t ensure suppliers were in good standing before renewing the contract.

It makes more than just good fiscal sense for the Postal Service to make sure it’s working with reliable CDS contractors. The USPS brand and quality of delivery service could suffer by renewing with one doing less than satisfactory work.

Do you have any experience with CDS contracts, or do you know anyone who has? Tell us about it below.