Wow, must be some kind of "end of year clearance" on DMM Revisions at the USPS! In bullet list format, here's what they are:
- Domestic Shipping Services Pricing and Mailing Standards Changes
- 2011 Changes for Domestic Mailing Services
- Products Mailable at Nonprofit Standard Mail Prices
- Clarification of the Post Office Box Lock Replacement Fee
- Optional Mail Preparation Standards for Flat-Size Mailpieces in FSS Zones
- Extension of the Simplified Address Format
- Submission of Electronic Documentation With Comailed and Copalletized Mailings
- Open and Distribute — Express Mail and Priority Mail Changes and Updates
- Labeling List Changes
There are a couple IMM revisions for good measure, too, but those will obviously not affect domestic Presort.
From an awareness standpoint, depending on your specific circumstance the big items would appear to be the labeling list changes (#9) that were effective Dec. 6 and required as of Feb 17, 2011 (evidently not Feb 19 as was indicated in the electronic data we received!), and item #2, the 2011 changes for domestic mailing services.
There might be fewer labeling list changes than we sometimes see, but this is a good chance to remind you that the DMM updates for these changes no longer coincide with publication in the Postal Bulletin! I believe the cycle for these is now the first Monday of even-numbered months. The reason you might care, if you haven't hit this yet, is because after the DMM is updated but before the change is published you can be questioned about why your mail is labeled "incorrectly" if it was prepared under the "old" (but still current) standard when there is no published reference of the changes! Not to worry, you just need some reference that shows the dates of the changes, and that is provided to us as a pdf when we receive the electronic updates. You can contact support for help with issues like that.
Now turning to item #2, a quick look seems to show this is the USPS following through on what they said after the rate case changes were denied, namely that the changes in the July filing that were NOT rate related would be filed in time for the January 2 implementation date. We and everyone else involved with mailing will obviously need to review this item carefully to see that these changes do in fact implement the previously proposed rules. Basically these items change the price structure for non-auto STD mail letters, modify rounding PSVC parcel weights for single piece mail to 2 decimals, and remove the option to get certain rigid flats approved for automation prices.
Another section of interest to us is #5, for FSS (Flats Sequencing System) processing. The rules published here appear to align closely with what was previously published in August, and we've been working closely with the USPS as we have prepared our support for this sort option.
Whew! The rest of the items do not appear to affect Presort, but they certainly may impact your specific mailing operation so be sure to take a look at the actual bulletin if you might be affected.
