Seamless Acceptance
Introduction Benefits Requirements Scorecard Verifications Postage Assessment Onboarding
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Seamless Acceptance Agenda
Seamless Acceptance is a fundamental shift from the traditional verification model, which was an up-front manual verification process on a per mailing basis Seamless measures the quality of a Mail Preparer’s process over a calendar month to
identify trends in mail quality issues rather than isolated poor quality incidents Measurement is done post induction and no longer allows a mailer to rework and
resubmit a mailing
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Seamless Acceptance Introduction
Traditional Verification
Mail quality determined based on a per mailing basis
Seamless Verification
All mailings submitted in an entire calendar month are used to
determine quality on an aggregate basis
MAIL QUALITY
MAIL QUALITY
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The complete Seamless Acceptance process automates and streamlines mail induction and verification
Seamless Entry
(3) Capture data by handheld scanner (FS-IMD) at acceptance or induction
(1) Mailers submit eDoc for all mailings, which will include:
• Unique Barcodes• Piece data provided
(2) Auto-finalize postage statements2
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Mail Preparation
Submit Mailing
Information
Mail Induction & Scanning
Reconcile & Report
(6) Detailed mail quality reporting
(5) Compare data scans to electronic documentation
(4) Capture data by MPE scans
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Seamless Acceptance Introduction
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93 mailers are on Seamless Acceptance and another 356 are on Seamless Parallel reviewing their reports and preparing to transition
AUTOFINALIZATIONELECTRONIC POSTAGE
STATEMENTS
TREND BASED QUALITY
MANAGEMENT
STANDARDIZED AUTOMATED
VERIFICATIONS
STREAMLINED MAIL ACCEPTANCE
SEAMLESS ACCEPTANCE BENEFITS
Seamless Acceptance Benefits
RE
QU
IRE
ME
NT
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Seamless Acceptance requires unique Intelligent Mail barcodes on all mailpieces, trays, and containers regardless of the rate they are paid. It also requires electronic documentation of mailing information (eDoc).
Electronic Documentation (eDoc)
Submit Electronically
Submit Postage Statement
Information & Supporting
Documentation like Qualification
Reports electronically for
all mail
eInduction
Participate in eInduction if
creating drop-shipments
Specify Barcodes
Barcode Information for
Containers included in eDoc
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Intelligent Mail Barcode
Mailpiece Barcode
Apply unique Intelligent
Mail barcodes (IMb) to
identify each postcard,
letter and flat mailpiece
regardless of rate
Tray Barcode
Apply unique Intelligent Mail tray barcodes (IMtb) on
trays, tubs and sacks
Container Barcode
Apply unique Intelligent
Mail container barcodes (IMcb) on
placards for containers,
such as pallets or
APCs, when required
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Seamless Acceptance Requirements
Additional Requirements Beyond Full Service
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Seamless Acceptance OnboardingMailers preparing over 90% of eligible mail for Full-Service are candidates for Seamless. The path to Seamless Acceptance starts with on-boarding to Seamless Parallel:
Ensure mail meets Seamless requirements
• Mail Seamless eligible Mail Classes and Processing Categories*
Contact BMS Analyst to move to Seamless Parallel
• Seamless Parallel provides a test period before moving onto Seamless Acceptance
Provide unique barcodes for all pieces
• Work toward barcoding 100% pieces with unique IMb (Auto and Non-Auto)
Submit eDoc for all automation mailings
• Ensure that eDoc includes piece level detail (.pdr, .pbc, Mail PieceBlock)
• Review new eDoc warnings for Seamless
* Eligible Mail Classes include First Class, Standard, Periodicals, and Bound Printed Matter Eligible Processing Categories include Letters, Cards, and Flats
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Seamless Acceptance OnboardingOnce on Seamless Parallel, mailers can work with USPS to understand mail quality results and prepare for Seamless Acceptance:
Review Seamless results on the Mailer Scorecard
• Evaluate results against the “Mailer Contact” Thresholds
Work with USPS to identify the root causes of any issues
• Resolve any mail preparation issues identified in Parallel
Demonstrate mail quality under thresholds
• Quality must be maintained for at least one calendar month
Activate to Seamless Acceptance
Weight
Electronic Documentation
Sampling
Mail Processing Equipment
Have all the pieces been paid for?
Are the pieces addressed correctly?
Is the mailing prepared correctly?
Undocumented Delivery Point
Barcode Quality
Postage
Nesting / SortationMail
Characteristic
Mail will be verified through the comparison of eDoc to data gathered as the mail is processed and sampled Seamless Acceptance assures revenue by using these main
verification types to answer 3 main questions:
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Seamless Verifications
Each verification determines Seamless Acceptance compliance and answers one of the three key questions:
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Is the mailing prepared correctly?
Are the pieces addressed correctly?Have all the pieces been paid for?
Undocumented (Piece)Piece barcode is paid for and included in an eDoc
Delivery PointConfirms that 5-, 9-, or 11-digit delivery point in the IMb is valid
Weight Physical weight matches the weight in the eDoc
Postage Postage affixed matches the eDoc
Mail CharacteristicMail traits match eDoc (processing category; class; non-profit; etc.)
Barcode Quality (Piece)IMbs are formatted per USPS standards
Nesting/SortationPhysical sortation meets mail preparation rules
Seamless Verifications
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Results are from eDoc, Manual sampling, and Census verification over a calendar month for Seamless Acceptance or Seamless Parallel
The tab is broken into 2 main sections and types of metrics, depending on how the data is obtained
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Mailer Scorecard: Seamless
From MPE Scans
From Sampling
Seamless also has a Mailer Scorecard report
1. CRID Seamless Status: Indicates if the eDoc submitter CRID is enabled for Seamless Acceptance or Seamless Acceptance Parallel Processing
2. % Seamless Acceptance Jobs: The number of Seamless Acceptance Jobs as a percentage of the total number of jobs submitted in eDoc
3. # Seamless Acceptance Containers: The number of containers marked for Seamless Acceptance processing from eDoc
4. # Seamless Acceptance Handling Units: The number of handling units marked for Seamless Acceptance processing from eDoc
5. # Seamless Acceptance Pieces: The number of pieces marked for Seamless Acceptance processing from eDoc
Seamless Verifications
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6. % Volume Seamless Acceptance: The number of pieces marked for Seamless Acceptance processing as a percentage of the total number of pieces claimed in eDocumentation
7. Sampling Quality Score: Mailer Quality based on a weighted average of manual sampling errors and piece barcode scan rates over the previous 3 months
8. % Seamless Acceptance Jobs not Auto-Finalized: The number of Seamless Acceptance jobs that were not auto-finalized as a percentage of the number of Seamless Acceptance jobs
9. Piece Scan Rate: The total number of unique piece scans as a percentage of the total number of unique pieces associated to an eDoc
Seamless Verifications
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10. Adjusted Scan Rate: # of unique piece scans as % of number of unique pieces associated to eDoc excluding pieces where scan isn’t expected based on mail class, processing category, rate category, entry type facility, non-automation zones or high reject MPE machine runs
Seamless Verifications
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% Undocumented Pieces ErrorMailer Contact threshold is 0.3%Egregious threshold is 0.8%
Error Calculation:
11. % Undocumented Pieces: The number of piece scans from Mail Processing Equipment and Sampling that could not be associated to an eDoc as a percentage of the total number of undocumented pieces and documented pieces from eDoc
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Undocumented “Book-ending”A back-end enhancement changes how Undocumented pieces are associated and assigned to mailers:• Previously, this process was based
solely off of the mailer MID• Now, this association categorizes
pieces based on surrounding piece scans (known as “bookends”) as the mail is scanned on MPE
• As a result, pieces can be assigned to other CRIDs and impact how Undocumented piece counts are determined for a mailer
Seamless Verifications
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% Nesting/Sortation ErrorsMailer Contact Threshold is 1%Egregious threshold is 3%
Error Calculation:
Seamless Verifications
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12. % Nesting/Sortation Errors (MPE): The number of piece nesting/sortation from mail processing scanning errors as a percentage of the number of total pieces from eDoc
Seamless Verifications
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13. % Delivery Point Piece Errors: The number of piece delivery point verification (DPV) validation errors as a percentage of the number of pieces processed for eDoc validations
% Delivery Point Errors:Mailer Contact threshold is 2%Egregious threshold is 5%Error Calculation:
To Investigate and Fix This Error:• Common root causes for delivery
point verification errors may be:o Mailer is not using a CASS
certified system. CASS = Coding Accuracy Support System, was designed to improve the accuracy of postal codes
• Ask mailer what software they are usingo Ensure the software is certified
Seamless Verifications
14. # Containers Sampled: The number of containers samples taken.
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15. # Handling Units Sampled: The number of handling units samples taken.
16. # Pieces Sampled: The number of piece samples taken.
To Investigate and Fix This Error, consider the following:• Was there an Invalid Zip Code
designated?• Was there incorrect nesting?
% Nesting/Sortation Errors (Sampling)Postage Adjustment Factor is 1.05
Error Calculation:
Nesting/Sortation Errors (Sampling)A nesting/sortation error will be logged if any of the following conditions are met when sampling scans are compared to eDoc:• Nesting of FS-IMD Container sampling scans
to FS-IMD Piece sampling scans does not match nesting in the eDoc
• The destination ZIP code of the FS-IMD Piece Scans parent FS-IMD Handling Unit does not match the destination ZIP code of the associated eDoc piece’s parent Handling Unit
The % Nesting/Sortation Piece Errors is the total number of nesting/sortation validation errors as a percentage of the total number of piece samples
Seamless Verifications
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Weight Piece Errors
Weight errors occur when the weight of the physical piece is different than what is claimed in the eDoc and crosses a weight category OR exceeds a threshold set for pound postage
This error is generated when, in the sample scan: • The sampled piece weight does not
match the weight for the piece in the eDoc and the difference would cross a price level for the class and processing category (e.g. moving a First-Class letter from 1.2 oz to 3.1 oz.)
The % Weight Piece Errors is the total number of piece weight validation errors as a percentage of the total number of pieces sampled
To Investigate and Fix This Error:• A common root cause for Weight Piece errors may be:
o Weight populated incorrectly by mailer in eDoc
% Weight Piece Errors Postage Adjustment Factor is 1.05
Error Calculation:
Seamless Verifications
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S:\Training\R41 April 2015
Seamless VerificationsPostage Piece Errors
Postage errors are generated when the postage amount, or the postage payment method, on the physical piece in the sample scan does not match the information submitted in the eDoc for the following fields: For a postage affixed mailpiece -
less postage was applied to the mailpiece than was indicated in the eDoc, or,
The postage payment method does not match the eDoc postage payment method
The % Postage Piece Errors is the total number of piece postage validation errors as a percentage of the total number of pieces sampled
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To Investigate and Fix This Error:A common root cause for Postage Piece errors may be:
• Postage populated incorrectly by mailer in eDoc
% Postage Piece ErrorsPostage Adjustment Factor is 1.05
Error Calculation:
% Mail Characteristic Piece Errors (Sampling)• A Mail Characteristic piece error is
logged when the pieces sampled do not qualify for Standard mail or non-profit rates, or when the processing category of the sampled piece on the device does not match what is claimed in the eDoc
To Investigate and Fix This Error:• Common root causes for Mail
Characteristic piece errors include:o eDoc specifications are not
consistent between the Mail.XML and the Mail.DAT files
Seamless Verifications
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% Mail Characteristic Piece Errors
Error Calculation:
% Barcode Quality Piece Errors (Sampling)• A barcode quality piece error is
logged when the sample scan had an unreadable barcode or had no barcode on an automation piece. The % Barcode Quality Piece Error is the total number of barcode quality validation errors as a percentage of the total number of piece samples
To Investigate and Fix This Error:• Common root causes for barcode
quality piece errors include:o Ensure all Mail Pieces contain
valid and legible barcodes
Seamless Verifications
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% Barcode Quality Piece Errors
Error Calculation:
Seamless Acceptance verification results are compared against the established Mailer Contact Threshold and Egregious threshold:
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VerificationMailer
Contact Threshold
Egregious Threshold
eDoc Census Sampling
Undocumented 0.3% 0.8% X X
Delivery Point 2% 5% X
Nesting/Sortation (MPE)
1% 3% X
Nesting/Sortation (eDoc)
2% 4% X
Nesting/Sortation (Sampling)
1.05* X
Mail Characteristic 1.05* X
Postage 1.05* X
Weight 1.05* X
Barcode Quality 1.05* X
Seamless Verifications
*Three postage adjustment factors, or PAFs—General (for sampling nesting/sortation errors, postage errors, and weight errors), Mail Characteristic and Barcode Quality—are applied to Seamless Acceptance sampling verifications.
Postage Assessment
Mailer Scorecard measures mail quality over a calendar month for Full-Service Intelligent Mail, Move/Update, eInduction, and Seamless Acceptance
Additional postage will be assessed when the total pieces in error exceed an established mail quality threshold
Mail Entry Postage Assessment Report displays the total number of Assessment errors
It is assessed to eDoc submitters (Mail Owner or Mail Preparer) Sent via system generated email to the mailer verification assessment
evaluator (VAE) The postage assessment process takes place the calendar month
following a mailing
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Postage Assessment Process
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Questions & Comments