Idealliance, NAPM, and PostCom set goals focused on the mail supply chain and long-term vitality of mail. 

Alexandria, Va. – A coalition of mailing industry non-profit trade associations today released its 2018-2020 Mail Supply Chain Strategic Plan, outlining key strategic goals and actions “to work towards the long-term vitality of mail and ensuring that the mail industry remains at the very center of communication and commerce in the United States and around the globe.”

The plan is the result of a year-long collaborative effort by members of coalition partners, Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom), Idealliance, and National Association of Presort Mailers (NAPM), together representing mail industry stakeholders who generate more than 100 billion pieces of mail annually.

“The plan grew out of discussions we had following publication of the U.S. Postal Service’s 2017-2021 five-year strategic plan,” says Idealliance President and Chief Executive Officer David Steinhardt. “We felt that it was time we provided the perspectives of the mail supply chain that is a key component of a competitive and profitable mail communication and commerce industry.”

The coalition’s plan recognizes that while mail supply chain businesses may vary greatly, they all depend on the distribution network of the U.S. Postal Service. It sets a framework emphasizing the interdependence of the supply chain members and the need for working collaboratively and improving communications to “achieve the best long-term results for each segment of the supply chain, business mailers, and end-use customers.”

“At the heart of this plan,” says NAPM Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Bob Galaher, “is the core belief that we are all in this together—mail owners, mail and print services providers, software developers, logistics suppliers, and the Postal Service—and we all benefit by cooperating to leverage the knowledge and experience of the entire mail supply chain to make it the most effective communication and delivery system possible.” 

The mission of the plan is to strengthen the end-to-end mail supply chain by improving its efficacy and ability to address the challenge of keeping mail a valued, reliable, and predictively cost-effective mode of communication and commerce. It was undertaken to:

1. Acknowledge significant challenges, changes, and trends impacting the mail supply chain;
2. Provide a vision for a more cohesive and competitive mail supply chain network; and
3. Establish goals and objectives to enable solution innovations and implementations in the dynamic and rapidly evolving communications and mail delivery networks.

“The $1.4 trillion mailing industry handles nearly 150 billion mail pieces each year and employs some seven-and-a-half million people,” says PostCom President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Plunkett. “It’s a huge industry that has been facing enormous challenges as mail volumes have declined significantly while demands on the Postal Service and its delivery network face growing costs. It is essential for everyone who depends on the industry to work together to meet these challenges.”

The 2018-2020 Mail Supply Chain Strategic Plan addresses the industry’s current challenges by advancing four main strategic goals that encompass 14 principles aimed at fostering a more tightly integrated industry supply chain and Postal Service to increase the value, efficiency, and sustainability of the mail. The four key goals outlined in the plan are:

1. Remain a trusted and valued supplier of communication and commerce.
2. Foster a competitive supply chain that ensures the most efficient and effective utilization of supply chain resources at every stage of creation, production, implementation, and distribution to improve mail’s results, affordability, and customer experience.
3. Increase mail’s competitive advantage through technology and innovation.
4. Establish a responsive, integrated, and sustainable supply chain for the future.

The 2018-2020 Mail Supply Chain Strategic Plan concludes by saying, “It is our hope that this strategic plan will spur tactical decisions about new and better ways to work, create innovative products and services, and develop process improvements to ensure the mailing industry continues to be a valued and essential source of commerce and communication. While the use of mail will change, the value of mail and a postal delivery network will always remain critical to binding our nation together and facilitating the economic growth of our country. In order to ensure this critical resource will be around for generations to come, we – the entire mail supply chain and Postal Service – must work ever more closely together to deliver the best possible service at the most affordable cost.”

To obtain a copy of the 2018-2020 Mail Supply Chain Strategic Plan, go to: https://www.idealliance.org/mail-supply-strategic-plan. For more information, contact Idealliance at (703) 837-1070 or www.idealliance.org; NAPM at (800) 500-6276 or www.presortmailer.org; or PostCom at (703) 524-0096 or www.postcom.org.