USPS Office of Inspector General

The image of the auditor sitting in front of a stack of spreadsheets, with a trusty calculator at the ready, is right out of central casting. So is the investigator on round-the-clock surveillance to uncover fraud or misuse of government funds.

Those techniques have their place, of course, but today’s audits and investigations rely heavily on data analytics and risk models. At the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG), we have invested in building an analytical, evidence-based culture that depends on data to promote efficiency and effectiveness in government.

There are many ways to cut costs. Ask any company that has tried to reduce costs. Or even look at your own household situation. You can cut down on take-out dinners, cancel a vacation, or drop a gym membership you aren’t using anyway. But at a certain point, you realize some costs are just not in your control. You can’t do much about what the utility company charges you or what it costs to fix your car when it breaks down.

The same is true for the U.S. Postal Service.

“Why is marketing for print magazines so outdated?” an industry blog asked after receiving a direct mail offer from a major news magazine that featured all the pizzazz of, well, a 1990s direct mail piece.

As the post that handles almost half of the world’s mail volume, the U.S. Postal Service knows a thing or two about mail. But that doesn’t mean it can’t learn something from other posts.

As an online shopper, the world is your oyster. You can pretty much order anything from nearly anywhere in the world for delivery to your home, or in some cases, to wherever you direct the package. And increasingly, consumers are getting these deliveries at a reasonable cost and with plenty of visibility along the way.