Communicated by the FAST Team: FAST 14.3.0 Release on August 15, 2010 Attention FAST Customers: A FAST system release is scheduled for Sunday, August 15, 2010, from 4:00AM CDT to 8:00AM CDT. During this timeframe, you will not be able to access the FAST Online application and messages sent via Web Services will not be processed. FAST Release 14.3.0 deploys to the TEM on Monday, August 16, 2010. The FAST TEM Online application and Web Services will not be available from 8:00AM CDT to 12:00PM Read More

I’m excited to be participating in this kick off event for the WILDS Northeast Chapter.  Looking forward to some great networking opportunities.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. WILDS Invite You’re invited to go WILDS! The new Northeast Chapter of Women in Logistics & Delivery Services (WILDS) is hosting their kick-off event, September 1 at 2:30pm ET at MASS MoCA, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. The event begins with a private tour of this Read More

It's fun to personalize your own wedding favor gift boxes by decorating them yourself. Personalizing your own wedding favor boxes is great way to present favors in a way that matches the style of the wedding and the personality of the bride and groom. Why buy pre-made favor boxes when you can use your creativity and make something more unique? First, you’ll want to pick out they style of gift boxes you want, and buy them in bulk. What style of box depends on the look you want, and Read More

One of the Shipwire company directives is to provide a logistics and fulfillment platform that guarantees the shipment of your order in a timely and accurate manner. When it comes to accuracy in shipping, one of the big requirements is to get the right address on the package.  The cost of getting the address wrong ranges from horrible (lost business and angry buyers) to the less horrible (address correction charges on packages). And it is usually avoidable – here is how Shipwire Read More

Today Shipwire is releasing some serious new functionality for how we manage package inserts.  To say that insert handling is getting a face-lift is an understatement. An insert is something that gets put into the box with the product that is being ordered when it is shipped out of the warehouse.  If you have bought anything online, you have probably experienced an insert.  They can be a brochure or a piece of marketing collateral.  Popular marketing collateral that are types of inserts Read More

Associated Mail & Parcel Centers (AMPC) members pay dues to support the organization’s efforts to support their businesses. The money pays for a staff to develop benefits, programs, discounts, research, education, and advocacy for the members. Joining AMPC is easy. To help us support your industry and business, go to www.ampc.org and sign up. As reported here (http://shipp.in/g/1cf) on July 6th, 2010 the USPS requested a significant rate increase greatly Read More

The Civil Service Retirement Act created the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) in 1920 to “help Postal employees survive retirement.”   With the inability to anticipate the fact that some day they would may want to not work any more, many Postal employees worked until they died.  Which is what they must have meant by not being able to survive retirement.  In 1984 a new program called the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) was created to take the place of the Read More

We are pleased to announce the launch of Stamps.com Version 8.7 – a free upgrade for Stamps.com customers!  Here are some of the major new features included as part of PC Postage Version 8.7: International Shipping Insurance Available at the same discounted rates as domestic insurance, Stamps.com now offers insurance for international shipments up to $2500 in [...] Read More

Understanding Full Service roles for the USPS FAST Appointment management system Excellent, comprehensive article on this subject by Shariq Mirza, an expert with a great deal of experience in the Full Service Intelligent Mail Arena.  This article illustrates the complexities, choices, and requirements that must be met just to fulfill a small part of Full Service Intelligent Mail regulations. The complexities are made even greater as the world of drop ship appointments and FAST is Read More

When you log into the USPS Business Customer Gateway and access FAST, there is a helpful message board pop-up that comes up with timely information.   Users need to be aware of this, so that they allow for pop ups on this site, or they will miss out.  It is also a good idea to log in regularly, so you can see any info as it comes up. Current information posted: Subject: Springfield MA L&DC 010PM is Moving Message: The Springfield MA L&DC 010PM will be moving to the Springfield MA Read More

Today Shipwire is releasing some serious new functionality for how we manage inserts.  To say that insert handling is getting a face-lift is an understatement. An insert is something that gets put into the box with the product that is being ordered when it is shipped out of the warehouse.  If you have bought anything online, you have probably experienced an insert.  They can be a brochure or a piece of marketing collateral.  Popular marketing collateral that are types of inserts are Read More

Spinners fans recently set the world record for most people popping bubble wrap simultaneously. According to an article in Baseball Ink, Saturday July 17, 2010 at a Lowell Spinners baseball game in Lowell, Massachusetts, history was made when the World Record for most people popping bubble wrap simultaneously was set during the third inning of the game. The World Record was set to celebrate bubble wrap’s 50th birthday. As fans arrived at the stadium, they were given a 1×1 sheet of Read More

USPS OIG blog post on voting by mail.  Very interesting! Read More

Sen. Susan Collins: USPS Proposed Exigent Rate Increases Are Not Justified Under Law : PostalReporter News Blog. Read More

Have you done something to reduce shipping costs that made a difference? Would you like to share your success with thousands of people? I want to publish ideas that have been proven to be effective in helping parcel shippers save on shipping. If you have any tips, suggestions, or guidelines that you can provide, and would like to contribute to my 2,000 + readers, please submit your blog entry to mark.taylor@myshippingcoach.com. Here are my guidelines of how to write a tip that gets Read More