USPS Office of Inspector General

In its five-year strategic plan, the U.S. Postal Service emphasizes the importance of regularly maintaining its facilities. In fact, it outlines an initiative to standardize, upgrade, and realign maintenance operations across field offices to reduce operating expenses.

Have you ever bought a new outfit online but sent it back when it didn’t fit right? Then you have participated in the world of reverse logistics. A new Office of Inspector General white paper, Riding the Returns Wave: Reverse Logistics and the U.S. Postal Service, examines emerging trends in reverse logistics. It looks at the current package return services offered by the Postal Service and considers further opportunities created by this booming market.

You have likely heard the term “big data” frequently these days. From health care to marketing to law enforcement techniques, data analytics are driving decisions and improving outcomes.

At the OIG, data analytics — which include data mining, risk assessments, and predictive analytics — allow us to synthesize data in ways that help us better detect fraud and misconduct. Data analytics also help us identify the root causes of problems or inefficiencies, and then develop solutions.

In 2001 First-Class Mail (FCM) hit an all-time peak of 104 billion pieces. Fast forward to today and it is down more than 40 percent.

Well, if you’re a reader of this blog, you also know that despite this, First-Class Mail remains the biggest provider of revenue and contribution (profit that goes to paying the Postal Service’s institutional costs).

Imagine receiving a text on your phone saying, “The robot has just arrived with your delivery.” Thanks to on-demand delivery services like Postmates and Deliv, which are making robotic deliveries of food and convenience items in San Francisco and D.C., meeting a package bearing robot at your front door could become routine.