DANBURY,
Conn. June 20, 2002 -- Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI)
has released Finalist® 7.4, a USPS- certified
software solution designed to significantly improve
the quality and deliverability of mailing addresses.
Finalist version 7.4 can leverage the Delivery Point
Validation database of 145 million USPS-confirmed
delivery points in the United States to help businesses
increase their mail delivery effectiveness.
According
to a recent United States Postal Service report, $1.5
billion in postal costs are attributable annually
to undeliverable as addressed mail due to poor customer
data. About 5.4 billion pieces of mail are undeliverable,
representing 3% of mail volume. In addition, while
98% of the mail volume today is bar-coded, over 23%
of the mail still contains address errors/problems
that can impact efficient delivery. (Source USPS).
The
USPS updates the DPV database monthly to reduce undeliverable-as-addressed
mail and offer significant savings to mailers in postage
costs. The cost of correcting bad addresses manually
can reach as high as $3 to $11 per mail piece.
Delivery
Point Validation
DPV is an option that can be installed with Finalist
to enhance address validation. DPV will accept the
cleansed addresses from Finalist (that have matched
the USPS ZIP+4 database) and answer "yes or no" the
question "Is this a deliverable address" to enhance
the mailer's ability to validate mailing addresses
prior to sending the mail piece.
Without
DPV, Finalist is capable of confirming whether addresses
fall within the address ranges specified in ZIP+4
records. For example, "100 to 198 (even) MAPLE AVE"
is a typical house number range listed in the ZIP+4
database, and any even house number in that range
will validate and become CASS-certified, whether or
not the address actually exists.
Finalist
with DPV installed can confirm whether the individual
address really exists. For example, only three addresses
might actually exist in a given range like "100 to
198 (even)". Using Finalist with DPV, a mailer can
validate the correct addresses they are mailing to
and reject any other address in the range. In other
words, with Finalist's DPV option installed, a mailer
can also determine whether mail is actually delivered
to the address.
"Finalist
continues to set the industry standard for reducing
returned mail, obtaining faster delivery through USPS
automation handling, improving the delivery efficiency,
reducing processing costs," said Lenore O'Connor,
vice-president of Product Management, Pitney Bowes
docSense. "With the economy mired in a slump and postage
costs about to increase there has never been a better
time to attack the problem of address quality and
returned mail."
Pitney
Bowes docSense offers Finalist, ForwardTrak™
and Mailers Choice® software to increase data
quality and improve mail efficiency.
Pitney
Bowes docSense will host a 60-minute Data Quality
Web Seminar: "How To Take Control of Your Data." The
Web Seminar will be held twice on Tuesday, June 25.
Session A: 11:00 AM EST (10:00 CST, 8:00 PST) and
Session B: 3:00 PM EST (2:00 CST, 12:00 PST).
More
information can be obtained by visiting www.pbdmt.com
or by calling 1- 877-5docsense. More information about
the USPS 2002 CASS requirements can be obtained at
the USPS Customer Support Center at 800-238-3150.
Pitney
Bowes is a $4 billion global provider of informed
mail and message management. Pitney Bowes docSense
is a provider of premier solutions for the creation
and distribution of efficient and effective documents
in paper and digital form. For more information please
visit www.pitneybowes.com
Media
Contact:
Scott Gerschwer
Manager, Media Relations
203-739-3163
Scott.Gerschwer@pb.com
*Pitney
Bowes docSense is a non-exclusive licensee of the
United States Postal Service.
*The
price of the DPV option for Finalist is offered by
Pitney Bowes docSense, and is not established, controlled,
or approved by the United Stated Government. Pitney
Bowes Inc Announces docSense as Wholly-Owned Subsidiary
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