This article is part of a series of articles that describe the USPS Full Service Intelligent Mail (IMb®) program where “Data is the King” and future implications and benefits of intelligent mail to the industry. The first article in the series provided context on changes in communications and their impact on industries and businesses in general and then focused on the data roles needed for the USPS FAST Full Service compliance.
For details on the first article, please refer here
“Saying goodbye to paper 8125/8017 forms” deals with one of the apparent and possible benefits of Full Service to the industry, i.e., removal of paper 8125 and 8017 forms from the verification and induction business processes. This removal of paper 8125/8017 could be accomplished for any type of mailing, i.e., Full service, basic service, auto, non-auto etc as long as basic electronic documentation requirements are followed, the pallets are bar-coded uniquely, and FAST appointments are created electronically with the content barcode data. This solution was first discussed in MTAC 93 several years ago and is getting attention and priority from mailers and the USPS in recent months. The program or concept is also known as “eInduction” or “eDropShip”.
What are paper 8125/8017 forms?
Anyone involved with drop shipping the mail to the USPS destination entry plants should be very familiar with the 8125 form. The form is a document used by the USPS to identify the mail, mailing entry discounts, number of containers, and other pertinent information about the mail in the shipment besides the fact that mail has been verified and paid for at the origin by the mailer and is to be inducted under a FAST appointment.
8017 forms are used for origin entered mailings and serve the same purpose as the 8125 forms, other than entry discounts.
Are all requirements for electronic 8125/8017 been defined?
The simple answer is no. The concepts have been discussed between the USPS and the industry for several years. The USPS will define the rules, requirements, and timelines as it focuses on this process to benefit the industry and the USPS by removing more paper from the business process wherever possible through improved communication technologies.
What are the concepts for the e8125/e8017 as defined and discussed by MTAC 93?
The concepts are simple. Every pallet, identified through a unique barcode, must be paid electronically, must be tied to an appointment, and the USPS must have enough qualification information on the pallet to verify entry facility against the discounts. If these high-level requirements are met, then the USPS for every pallet can create the e8125 or e8017 and send it to the SV (Surface Visibility) scanning devices for induction scanning at the time of entry at the USPS plants.
In return, the industry, for those pallets that meet the above criteria, can say goodbye to paper forms and get the visibility into StartTheClock.
Figure 1.0 – Simplified view of a pallet with electronic 8125 or 8017
Increased visibility and removal of paper from the process:
Single appointment tied to a single unique pallet with postage payment identified is released electronically to scanning devices; The appointment arrives on the scanning device and pallets are scanned
What are the generally understood Full Service requirements and what may be the possible eInduction (e8125/e8017) requirements?
| No | Requirements | Full Service | Possible e8125 requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uniquely barcode every piece with IMb |
x
|
|
| 2 | Uniquely barcode every handling unit (tray / sack) with IMtb |
x
|
|
| 3 | Uniquely barcode every Pallet with IMtb |
x
|
x
|
| 4 | Send eDocs(Qualification reports and postage statements via Mail.dat Or Mail.XML) for greater than 10K piece mailings |
x
|
x
|
| 5 | Make nesting information (piece to sack/tray and sact/tray to pallet) available as part of the eDocs |
x
|
|
| 6 | Make the By/For (who is the owner and who is the preparer) information available as part of the eDocs |
x
|
|
| 7 | Make the CSA information available as part of the eDocs |
x
|
|
| 8 | Create electronic appointments in the FAST system (link the pallet IMcbs to the appointments) |
x
|
x
|
| 9 | Make sure Mailer Ids (MIDs) identifying customers in the IMb in the eDocs are correct |
x
|
|
| 10 | Provide correct STIDs (Service type Ids) used in the IMb in eDocs |
x
|
How can investing time and money in Full Service help the industry to say goodbye to the paper forms?
“Data is the King.” The Full Service program creates opportunities for the industry to increase the efficiency, automation, and standardization of communication between parties within the supply chain. If you have invested in a presort software than you can meet the eDoc requirements for eInduction. If you have invested in a post-presort software then you can satisfy the appointment linkage to a pallet requirement for the eInduction process. The IDEAlliance specification-based software that supports Mail.dat and Mail.XML is the key. Not only you are removing the paper, but you are also cutting costs by automating business processes and lowering your labor costs. The ability to do things cheaper, faster, better is possible through continued move towards automation.
The timing issues with communication have been raised by many in the industry as a hurdle in meeting the Full service requirements, especially when it comes to working with logistics companies to link appointment data with containers.
This opportunity and vision of removing further paper and costs from the mailing processes should allow the industry to focus on resolving the communication and timing issues with the logistics companies; without that timely communication between supply chain parties (mailers, mail owners, preparers, logistics companies, and consolidators), the paper 8125s will be with us for a very long time.
About the author: Shariq (aka Sharick) Mirza is the President and CEO of Assurety Consulting Inc. and currently serves as the IDEAlliance Technical Director for the Mail.dat and Mail.XML specifications. Mr. Mirza has over 12 years of USPS compliance and BPM experience. He can be reached at [email protected] Assurety Consulting Inc. is the leading professional services company providing business consulting and mailing software solutions for the Full-Service and the mailing supply chain. For more information, visit the Assurety Consulting website at www.AssuretyConsulting.com or call 866-750-4924
Disclaimer: USPS, FAST, PostalOne! IMB, IMcb, ACS, Nixie are all trademarks of the United States Postal Service. IDEAlliance, Mail.dat and Mail.XML are all trademarks of the IDEAlliance. This is not a complete list of all USPS and IDEAlliance trademarks.
