Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 4, 1993 TAG: 9303040144
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From staff and wire reports
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
ZIP GOES THE DISCOUNT
Bulk mailers that deliver their mail to post offices already bar-coded and sorted by 9-digit ZIP code will have to start using an 11-digit code by March 21 or lose their discounts of up to 1 1/2 cents per piece of mail.The Postal Service notified businesses and organizations of the change this week.
Large-volume mailers, including Orvis in Roanoke, said Wednesday they are prepared for the change. John Moticha, Orvis operations vice president, said catalogs are printed at various places across the country and that most mailing is from its Vermont headquarters.
The change, which has been in the works for four years, will allow machines to sort mail down to the delivery point on a letter carrier's route - saving each carrier about two hours a day in hand sorting.
Roanoke Postmaster Billy Martin said the additional coding should let the post office reduce the overtime hours of some employees who now work on a flexible schedule. He said it will not eliminate jobs.
"Right now we are short of people here and we are noticing an increase of automated mail," Martin said.
Postal officials said most large mailers are expected to comply quickly to retain their discounts.
The mailers had hoped to get even deeper discounts when the 11-digit requirement was put in place.
But the Postal Service board of governors on Tuesday stuck to its earlier decision not to change the existing discounts and proclaimed those would be lost by mailers who did not comply with the new requirement.
The discount is available on mailings of at least 500 pieces of first-class mail or 200 pieces of third-class mail sent at a time.
Roanoke postal officials said they expect more companies to seek the discount. A company that is now mailing 500 pieces at a time and putting 29 cents on each piece could save $57 per 1,000 pieces if the company were to go to the 11-digit bar code and presorting.
Patricia M. Gilbert, postal vice president for customer service support, said a survey of the 200 largest commercial mailing firms showed that all but three would be able to apply the new bar codes by the March 21 deadline.
Automated Mailing Systems, a Roanoke company employing 50 people in mailing operations, has been ready for longer bar codes for some time, said Deke Summers, a company spokesman.
"Most mailers are ready," he said. His firm handles about 250,000 pieces of mail a day.
Staff writers Sandra Brown Kelly and George Kegley contributed to this story.