No doubt you’ve been hearing a lot about e-commerce from the U.S. Postal Service.
Does it mean the USPS is preparing to enter the Internet service provider market? Does the USPS want to extend its monopoly to e-commerce transactions? Is it about to do something nefarious?
I can’t pretend to know what’s in the minds of postal executives when they make e-noises, but I’m sure the USPS has had its wings clipped frequently enough to keep Postmaster General Bill Henderson from the electronic wild blue yonder.
Even before he took over as postmaster general, Henderson had said the postal service’s strength lay in improving the value and utility of its core business services. His appointment, more than a year ago, of Norman Lorentz as his chief information technology officer was clear evidence of that.
Now that the USPS has resolved most of its Y2K issues, it can address the creation of a comprehensive information technology platform – or, as postal-techies have dubbed it, the “postal information platform.”
Just recently, the postal service sponsored an information technology summit with a diverse group of its customers to learn what IT issues it must address to survive the rough-and-tumble of the 21st century.
The USPS has to develop an information infrastructure that can dispatch all aspects of postal management. The service, and its customers, need and deserve as much.
Using electronic technology to improve the value and utility of its core services, the USPS must endear mail to American businesses. Its increasing investment in barcoding technology should provide a ready vehicle for such service improvements and enhancements.
The postal service’s main challenge, however, is time. In today’s world, Internet years resemble dog years. Time is running out, and the USPS has much to do to maintain a market-driven appeal.
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