Pitney Bowes Inc. Statement on National Academy of Public Administration’s Review of the “Hybrid Public-Private Postal Service” Concept Paper
In a report released today, the National Academy of Public
Administration (NAPA) reviewed the potential for a “Hybrid
Public-Private Postal Service” that was outlined in a concept paper
earlier this year by a coalition of four long time postal policy
leaders. The Academy report on the paper by John Nolan, George Gould, Ed
Gleiman and Ed Hudgins provides a helpful analysis of one very promising
long term option to secure affordable and universal postal delivery
service in the U.S. The panel indicated that several reforms to the
Postal Service are needed, but that this concept is worthy of
consideration as a part of a comprehensive reform package.
We agree with the NAPA panel that the public wants--and our economy
desperately needs--a healthy, universal, affordable and reliable postal
system. Hundreds of thousands of jobs and almost a trillion dollars in
commerce depend on it.
Like the panel, Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) believes that the financial
relief and operational flexibility requested by the US Postal Service
are critical to its short term stability. We also believe that
significant structural reform such as the “final mile” delivery model
proposed by the authors of the concept paper should be considered as
part of any postal reform package by Congress, and provides a promising
way to help ensure the long term future of affordable universal mail
delivery service in the U.S.
The “final mile delivery” model proposed in the white paper has the
potential not only to protect, but also to strengthen, the nation’s only
universal door-to-door delivery service by unleashing the creative
energy of American business to find significant opportunities to
increase mail volume, control costs and enhance services for rural,
suburban and urban areas.
By concentrating on its strength in delivery, and charging only for that
service, the Postal Service will encourage increased use of commercial
providers to collect, transport and sort the mail, create a private
sector market for mail use, and encourage development of new products
and services that can help sustain universal delivery service well into
the future.
We are confident that, when coupled with the reforms requested by the
Postal Service, the long term structural changes outlined in the hybrid
public-private postal system concept paper reviewed by the National
Academy of Public Administration would go a long way toward ensuring a
healthy future for the Postal Service and the mailing industry it
supports.
Pitney Bowes is a strong proponent of policy research to help protect
and improve our nation’s postal system. The policy review by the
National Academy of Public Administration was made possible, in part, by
a contribution from Pitney Bowes.
About Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes provides technology solutions for small,
mid-size and large firms that help them connect with customers to build
loyalty and grow revenue. The company’s solutions for financial
services, insurance,
healthcare,
telecommunications,
legal,
public
sector and retail
organizations are delivered on open platforms to best organize, analyze
and apply both public and proprietary data to two-way customer
communications. Pitney Bowes is the only firm that includes direct mail,
transactional mail, call centers and in-store technologies in its
solution mix along with digital channels such as the Web, email, live
chat and mobile applications. Pitney Bowes has approximately USD$5
billion in annual revenues and 27,000 employees worldwide. Pitney Bowes:
Every connection is a new opportunity™. www.pb.com
