ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230046
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
The U.S. Postal Service wants to bring the joys of direct-mail marketing to the rest of the world.
After a year of testing with Japan, the post office will announce its Global Package Link next week, providing what it calls a ``seamless'' service to eight foreign countries.
``We want to make it as easy for U.S. businesses to do business in another country as in another state,'' James Grubiak, vice president for international business, said Thursday.
While half of the mail carried in the United States is business-related, that figure is only 10 to 15 percent in most other countries, he said, creating the potential for extensive growth.
In the first phase, his office has helped such marketers as L.L. Bean, Land's End and Nieman Marcus launch or increase their catalog sales in Japan, Grubiak said.
The next step, he said, will be expanding the service to add Canada, Mexico, China, Brazil, Chile, Germany and Great Britain. Other countries will be added in the future, he said.
Currently, the program is aimed at large marketers, and rates are discounted based on volume. But Grubiak said that as the system grows it will be expanded to serve smaller companies.
``We will have a door-to-door service, not a shore-to-shore service,'' he said of the project.
The post office will collect mail - advertising, catalogs and packages - from participating companies. It will assist in preparing customs and tax forms and haul the mail to the foreign country, where delivery will be handled by a cooperating carrier such as Britain's Parcel Force.
The system is designed to work both ways, and Grubiak said foreign marketers will also have the opportunity to offer sales in the United States.
The post office has conducted market research in the participating countries and will offer this data to firms that want to sell there, he said.
In addition, it is setting up a system to e-mail parcel content data to foreign customs offices in advance.
With this advance notification, customs officials can single out any package they want to inspect while quickly passing along the rest for prompt delivery, he said.
Global Package Link is part of an effort by the post office to expand its international services. It has extended Global Express Mail to 27 countries in the last few years and is currently experimenting with an e-mail system between the United States and Germany.
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