Address Quality 101 National Postal Forum March 20 – 23, 2016 Edward Wanta – Product Information Specialist United States Postal Service® Paula Stoskopf – Director of Marketing Farrington Transportation

What is a quality address? How address validation tools can help Overview What is a quality address? How address validation tools can help Address validation scenarios We will address (ha ha, get it!) the following topics. Keeping up with your customers

Great Addressing Is Important! Mmm, Perfecto! A quality address helps: Acquire customers Retain existing customers Increase response rate Keep postage costs in check Great Addressing affects important aspects of your customer relations. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Your customers first impression of you may be how you represent them on your mail piece. Don’t waste your first impression with a bad address. Accurate addressing can also reduce your postage costs.

Why Address Validation Matters Address Validation is one of the key components to your mailing process Addresses that do not validate are at risk of non-delivery Databases go “stale” over time without continually updating the information There are many reasons an address can fail. You need to ensure they are: Complete — Correct — Current Complete Correct Current Remember how important that first impression is. You may even fail to make any impression if your mail piece can not be delivered. In order to make a good first impression with your customers, you need to ensure your addressing is: Complete Correct Current

Can You Recognize a Bad Address? Can you recognize a bad address when you see one? This one is pretty easy. This letter was received by the USPS for delivery back in 2007. Can you believe we actually were able to deliver it? Most bad addresses won’t be this easy to identify. There are tools available to help identify deliverable addresses and to improve or remove bad addresses. (Click)

Can You Recognize A Bad Address? National Postal Forum May 2008, Anaheim CA Can You Recognize A Bad Address? Each year UAA costs the postal service $1.8 billion each year to process. Those costs are realized by everyone in with higher postage costs. What does UAA cost your company? You can use this information to make the case for using AQ tools. Outdated and incorrect information on business to consumer mail is a leading cause of UAA UAA is a HUGE cost for both the Postal Service & mailers Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) costs the USPS® more than $1.8 billion each year to process More than 6 billion pieces of Standard Mail® are disposed (recycled) of every year because of poor address quality Main reason: incorrect and outdated addressed on business-to-consumer mail.

Missing Apt or Ste Number Missing RR or Box Number Common Address Quality Problems Physical Address UAA ACME PRODUCTS 4759 WESTERN ST NEW YORK NY 10022-5279 This slide shows the most common issues causing Physical Address Quality problems and the relative magnitude of each in terms of millions of pieces of UAA mail annually. Missing Apt No./Suite No. Incorrect Number Incorrect Recipient Missing Number Missing Rural Rt. Or Box No. Incorrect Street Name These Personal Knowledge Required (PKR) mail pieces account for additional handling and additional expense for the USPS and our mailing customers. Why, {refer back to DPS 95% goal} these pieces are not “Deliverable As Addressed” and are rejected from our Automation processing equipment and may not make it into DPS mail. …So what can be done about this? Data Source: 2004 Christensen UAA Study (Click) 398 CARL BROWN 1414 LAKE ST APT CHICAGO IL 60614-1910 CARL SHULER 1414 LARK ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL 60614-1910 CARL SHULER LAKE ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL 60614-1910 CARL SHULER 1914 LAKE ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL 60614-1910 CARL SHULER PO BOX CHICAGO IL 60614-1910 CARL SHULER 1414 LAKE ST APT CHICAGO IL 60614-1905 Millions of Pieces 226 Millions of Pieces 134 56 48 47 Missing Apt or Ste Number Incorrect Number Incorrect Recipient Missing Number Missing RR or Box Number Incorrect Street Name Note to presenter: This is a build slide requiring you to click to add each new bar.

Address Quality Connection Complete Correct Current Angela and Chris These numbers are based on the first quarter of FY15.   AEC correction rate: 38% AECII correction rate: 51% AECII resolution rate: 85% These percentages can go up or down around 3-5% or more every quarter because of the various number of bad addresses we may receive at any time. CASS™, DPV®, DSF2®, LACS Link®, SuiteLink®, AEC II®, NCOALink®, ANKLink® and ACS™ are registered trademarks of the United States Postal Service®. 8

Address Quality Connection To achieve Total Address Quality think of the 3 Cs - Complete All address elements are complete & present Correct All address elements are correct Current All address elements are current Angela and Chris These numbers are based on the first quarter of FY15.   AEC correction rate: 38% AECII correction rate: 51% AECII resolution rate: 85% These percentages can go up or down around 3-5% or more every quarter because of the various number of bad addresses we may receive at any time. 9

Address Quality Foundation ACS TM Everyone can benefit from investing in Total Address Quality. A commitment to Total Address Quality is a great way to improve your bottom line. Are you utilizing any of these tools for your address lists? If you are not using these tools, and I don’t mean just pay the money to the postal service for getting the changes as the cost of doing business, I mean implement the changes into your lists… you will be throwing your money out the window. You will in essence be creating or adding to your UAA, undeliverable as addressed mail. Great AQ is a multi-step process to standardize, validate, and update your address database, or make your addresses Complete, Correct & Current. Let’s first discuss Standardizing your addresses. ANKLink® Update NCOALink® AEC / AEC II® Validate SuiteLink® LACSLink® DPV® CASS Certified Software TM Standardize 10

What is a Quality Address? National Postal Forum May 2008, Anaheim CA What is a Quality Address? A quality address is defined when: All necessary elements are complete and correct… Pre-directional Primary address number Street name Street suffix Post-directional Secondary identifier Secondary number City State ZIP + 4® code So what is a quality Address? The address has all of the necessary elements to promote the delivery of the mailpiece Basically standardize the addresses using addressing accuracy tools

What Is A Standardized Address? National Postal Forum May 2008, Anaheim CA What Is A Standardized Address? Address elements are printed on envelopes in standard format: Format all lines of the address with a uniform left margin Uppercase letters are preferred on all lines of the address block Fully spell out or abbreviate words using USPS® standard abbreviations www.usps.com ribbs.usps.gov Publication 28, Postal Addressing Standards

Address Standardization Does Help There are many CASS Certified™ tools; each is unique with different strengths Evaluate what’s available and choose which best fits your needs CASS Vendor List available on: https://ribbs.usps.gov/files/vendors/#index.txt

Products to Use to Achieve Quality Addressing ACS TM ANKLink® Update NCOALink® AEC / AEC II® Validate SuiteLink® LACSLink® DPV® CASS Certified Software TM Standardize 14

National Postal Forum May 2008, Anaheim CA LACSLink® Product Provides a database of municipality-introduced address changes The data is provided by USPS® through the LACSLink product Conversions come into the database from postal carriers and municipalities Updating the addresses using LACSLink data ensures deliverability and prevents further UAA mail LACSLink converts addresses that are changed by local governments such as rural route address style to street style conversions, renumbering changes, street name changes Basically the delivery point remains the same and the residents have not moved, but the official mailing address has been changed. LACSLink Provides Mailers An Automated Method Of Obtaining Updated Addresses Following Address Conversions Nearly 80% of rural route/box addresses used by mailers cannot be delivery point validated. (This jumped from 40% when CASS Cycle L was implemented) Once the address is standardized, an attempt is made to match the address against the LACSLink file. If the standardized address is a match to the old address information on the LACSLink file, the LACSLink system provides the up-to-date converted address to the mailer. Save money by not mailing to both old and new addresss. SuiteLink Improves business addressing by adding known secondary (suite) number to allow delivery sequencing Using a business name and an associated ZIP + 4® coded address that matches to a High-rise default, will return the appropriate suite number Licensing for this is covered under existing NCOALink® license agreement

Scenario: LACSLink® Conversion It reassigns rural addresses to a more friendly format that is more easily accessible by emergency services. Example: RR 2 Box 317 Beaver Falls, PA Becomes . . . 1444 Halas Ln Beaver Falls, PA 15010-6929 16

Scenario: LACSLink® Conversion LACSLink® also provides updated addresses when local municipalities expand an address range - usually because they have run out of numbers - and reassigns addresses within that area. Example: 47785 Forman Rd Polson, MT 59860 Becomes . . . 412634 Forman Rd Polson, MT 59860- 8368 My favorite LACS Conversion (would be) example: 1265 Highland Ave 17

Is 249 High St in ZIP Code™ 94301 a valid address? National Postal Forum May 2008, Anaheim CA DPV® Product Confirms the existence of a delivery point in AMS Identifies a commercial mail receiving agency Improves address assignments Helps identify vacancies Helps to reduce UAA DPV allows you to confirm whether or not each address on you mailing list is recognized as a valid delivery point by the USPS DPV Allows You To Confirm The Validity Of Address Information – Right Down To Apartment And Suite Number DPV Provides A “YES / NO” Response To An Inquiry Such As: “Is 6060 Primacy Pkwy Ste 101 in ZIP Code 38119 A Valid Address?” Is 249 High St in ZIP Code™ 94301 a valid address? Yes or No

Scenario: Precise Match With Valid DPV® CASS™ Return Code 31 A precise match is ideal Be aware that there are multiple scenarios that have a return code of 31, not all ideal

Scenario: Precise Match With Invalid DPV® CASS™ Return Code 31 This occurs when the address is within a valid ZIP + 4® range BUT the street number doesn’t exist Precise CASS match with invalid DPV cause return code 31, Address Exists fails

Scenario: Non Deliverable Address, Also – CASS™ Return Code 31 In cases where there is a known address in the system, but no mail is accepted Example: a warehouse with no mail receptacle Just because it shows up on the internet doesn’t mean it’s a deliverable address.

Scenario: Multiple Match, Insufficient Information, Return Code 22 This scenario occurs when there are address elements missing (such as Street versus Avenue) 22

Scenario: No Address Found Return Code 21 This scenario occurs when the address is not found and there is no city/state/ZIP Code™ match A CASS™ engine will try to match, but match may not be correct 23

SuiteLink® Product Improves address assignments to business addresses by adding known secondary (suite) numbers Provided a business name and an associated ZIP + 4® coded address matches to a high-rise default, the SuiteLink process will return the appropriate suite number when available Improves business addressing by adding known secondary (suite) numbers to allow delivery sequencing where it would otherwise not be possible. Given a business name and an associated ZIP+4 coded address that matches to a high-rise default, the SuiteLink process will return the appropriate suite number when available.

Scenario: Default Match Return Code 32 Address requires additional information for a precise match Notice the Suite column. Data is not contiguous in high rises.

National Postal Forum May 2008, Anaheim CA AEC & AECII® Service AEC provides a crucial “last resort” approach to stubborn addresses USPS® service to help correct addresses that CASS Certified™ software cannot fix AECII expands AEC processing Leverages Delivery Force Knowledge™ for addresses that AEC cannot correct AEC resolves many address deficiencies. It does not resolve move-related issues. Using enhanced computer logic, AEC improves the match rate by more than 30% (historically). It is a process to Correct Addresses Not Resolved by CASS-Certified Address Matching Programs For example 2109 MAINLAND AVE APT 3A s/b 2109 MARYLAND AVE APT 2A 2021 BASKEN CARMEL RD s/b 2021 BASCOMB Carmel Rd AEC II leverages Delivery Force Knowledge™ to correct “bad” addresses in mailer files Carriers typically know their customer’s address and can identify correction necessary Address corrected to a valid delivery point with ZIP + 4® code appended Indicator provided to identify when the address cannot be corrected There is an AEC calculator at https: //ribbs.usps.gov go to AEC and you will see the AEC calculation listed in the Important Links 26

AEC Processing Flow

AEC & AECII® ROI 1,000 records submitted to AEC - $23.00 National Postal Forum May 2008, Anaheim CA AEC & AECII® ROI 1,000 records submitted to AEC - $23.00 38% - 380 records resolved 620 records submitted to AEC II 85% - 527 records resolved - $168.64 907 records resolved - $191.64

Products to Use to Achieve Quality Addressing ACS TM ANKLink® Update NCOALink® AEC / AEC II® Validate SuiteLink® LACSLink® DPV® CASS Certified Software TM Standardize 29

Move Update = Mailpieces Fewer Forwarded Fewer Returned What is Move Update? Move Update describes the process of periodically matching a mailer’s address records with customer-filed Change-of-Address orders received and maintained by the Postal Service™ Move Update = Fewer Forwarded Fewer Returned Mailpieces 30 30

Who Must Use Move Update? First-Class Mail® Standard Mail® Parcel Select® Lightweight Addresses on mailpieces updated using an approved method within 95 days prior to the mailing date Mailpieces with exceptional or an alternative address format are not required to meet Move Update (mail is not forwarded) Or Current Resident Postal Customer 31 31

Move Update Methods ACS™ (Address Change Service) NCOALink® (National Change-of-Address) Pre-mail NCOALink processing system Physical mailpiece processing equipment system via NCOALink MPE Solutions Applicable ancillary service endorsements under DMM 507.1.5.1 or 507.1.5.3 NOTE: Except “Forwarding Service Requested.” Just printing the endorsement on the piece does not meet the requirement! Alternative Methods – Prior USPS Approval Required Legal Restraint 99 Percent Accuracy 32 32

Move Update Verification Traditionally, Move Update verification is sample‐based and measured on mailpieces verified through the MERLIN process. MERLIN verifies First-Class Mail®, Standard Mail®, and Periodicals mail against the standards set in the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) for: Postage – Sorting - Barcodes ****

[ ] - 30 % Failed COAS Total COAs x 7.3¢ x (pieces in mailing) Merlin Move Update Scoring Mailing with passing score of 70% (tolerance 30%) or higher will pass verification Mailing with score below 70% will fail verification if there are also more than 5 pieces with COAs not updated Only failed pieces above tolerance pay assessment If 40% of COAs not-updated Assessment applied to 10% (= 40 - 30) of mailing Assessment = $0.073 per piece at acceptance Both First-Class Mail® and Standard Mail® THIS IS THE MERLIN VERIFICATION NEW CENSUS PROCESS USING PIECE SCANS COMING THIS SUMMER [ Failed COAS Total COAs - 30 % ] x 7.3¢ x (pieces in mailing) 34

Move Update Cost Breakdown Mailing Size: 100,000 Postage Postage 5-Digit Auto ($0.266) $26,600 Assessment for failed percent above tolerance $0.073 per piece 40% of COAs not updated Pieces assessed: 10,000 (10% = 40 – 30 tolerance) Assessment: 10,000 x $0.073 = $730 + $26,600 = $27,330 80% of COAs not updated 50,000 (50% = 80 – 30 tolerance) Assessment: 50,000 x $0.073 = $3,650 + $26,600 = $30,250 Using prices filed March 12, 2014 for regular Standard Mail letters at the per piece prices. Did not have the May 31 Move Update charge. Final May 31 prices use $0.266 for Letters and the Move Update assessment is $0.073

Move Update in Transition Transition away from MERLIN The USPS® has begun using mail processing equipment scans and eDoc to measure Move Update quality For mailers who submit 75% or more of their eligible volume as Full-Service Move/Update error is logged on the Mailer Scorecard When the address on the mailpiece has not been updated due to a COA record where the more current of the COA Move Effective and COA Create date is between 95 days and 18 months of the postage statement finalization date ****

Move Update in Transition Mailers have an opportunity to review results and make any adjustments necessary to avoid additional postage assessment charges. Anything over the proposed .8% threshold will be assessed Implementation date TBD ****

Products to Use to Achieve Quality Addressing ACS TM ANKLink® Update NCOALink® AEC / AEC II® Validate SuiteLink® LACSLink® DPV® CASS Certified Software TM Standardize 38

NCOALink® Service A pre-mailing Move Update method leveraging USPS® provided data Data delivery from USPS to certified licensees Four levels of usage for certified licensees: End User Mailer (18 months of data updated monthly) Limited Service Provider (18 months of data updated weekly) Mail Processing Equipment (18 months of data updated weekly) Full-Service Provider (48 months of data updated weekly)

NCOALink® Service USPS® Change of Address Database Entirely separate from the AMS database Contains personal names and business names NCOALink® requires client software Pay service 40

NCOALink® Service Example of an NCOALink® result of a business address move Addresses with “no forward on file” are excluded from the database It is recommended that users compare their databases against NCOALink every 90 days The USPS® and the mailing industry spend about $1.4 billion on UAA mail annually. 41

Products to Use to Achieve Quality Addressing ACS TM ANKLink® Update NCOALink® AEC / AEC II® Validate SuiteLink® LACSLink® DPV® CASS Certified Software TM Standardize 42

ANKLink® Service A valuable add-on to NCOALink® Limited Service Providers and End User Mailers Provides an indicator that a move may have occurred in months 19 through 48 Does not contain the actual new address Allows for more value out of move update processing Only the flagged addresses need to be sent to a 48-month NCOALink Full-Service Provider

Products to Use to Achieve Quality Addressing ACS TM ANKLink® Update NCOALink® AEC / AEC II® Validate SuiteLink® LACSLink® DPV® CASS Certified Software TM Standardize 44

ACS™ Service ACS is a cost-effective post-mailing service that allows mailers to receive accurate change-of-address (COA) and other reasons for non-delivery electronically and reduce the number of manual (hardcopy) address notifications. Utilizing ACS can: Reduce manual address correction costs. Reduce labor-intensive address change functions by eliminating returned mail. Choose when to receive fulfillment of time-sensitive information on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. Retrieves COA information electronically via a secure Internet site to allow automated updating of mailing lists. Receives notifications related specifically to their address files.

ACS™ Service Participants include an identification code on mailpieces and receive the change-of-address data directly from the USPS® Example of a manual notice ACS participant code provided by Postal Service™ #BWNFXZT #P123456789 2572X 7 # JOHN E SMITH 916 N 5TH ST APT 3 SPRINGFIELD IL 62702-5288 ACS key line provided by the mailer for nixies

OneCode ACS® Typical Mailpiece Intelligent Mail® Barcode

ACS™ Service ACS has distinct implementation methods which offer several different options: OneCode ACS® Technical Guide contains information to participate in OneCode ACS. (uses IM® barcode) Traditional ACS Technical Guide contains information to participate in Traditional ACS. Full-Service ACS, which is currently provided as an additional benefit for mail that qualifies for Full-Service discount postage prices. (uses IM barcode) IMpb ACS Technical Guide contains information to participate in IMpb ACS. (uses IM package barcode)

Documentation From List Vendor CASS™ Report 3553 DPV® LACSLink® Total ZIP + 4® Coding CASS Summary Report AEC Summary Reports NCOALink® Summary Report 49

Form 3553 – Important Numbers 50

Form 3553 Other Information 51 51

Summary The quality of your address data directly affects the deliverability of your mail! USPS® provides an extensive suite of Address Quality products and services; check out ribbs.usps.gov. USPS is committed to continuous address hygiene improvements to enhance the value of mail. Small efforts can bring big results!

Did the address DPV Confirm? Y/N Bad address fixed/ZIP + 4® coded? 4 3 Code address via CASS CertifiedTM address matching software with DPV® and LACSLink® 1 2 Did the address DPV Confirm? Y/N Bad address fixed/ZIP + 4® coded? 4 3 Send bad addresses to AEC/AEC II® NO YES 6 Update movers (NCOALink) (pre mailing process) NO YES 5 Suppress bad addresses from mailing list 7 Apply ACSTM to mail piece (post mailing process) Mail 8 Update address list with new ACS information 9

Address Quality Connection The right combination sequence puts your addresses in order Angela and Chris These numbers are based on the first quarter of FY15.   AEC correction rate: 38% AECII correction rate: 51% AECII resolution rate: 85% These percentages can go up or down around 3-5% or more every quarter because of the various number of bad addresses we may receive at any time. When things align, great things happen! CASS™, DPV®, DSF2®, LACS Link®, SuiteLink®, AEC II®, NCOALink®, ANKLink® and ACS™ are registered trademarks of the United States Postal Service®. 54 54

Glossary DPV® – Identify inaccurate or incomplete addresses LACS – Locatable Address Conversion System. Automated process of obtaining new address when the address has been changed by the local planning authority or building management SuiteLink® – Improves address assignments to business addresses by adding known secondary (suite) numbers AEC – Address Element Correction. Corrects and standardizes address elements on the worst addresses not resolved by CASS™ NCOALink® – Aids mailers in identifying address changes before mail enters the mail stream ANK – Attempted Not Known. For NCOALink® limited service providers and end user mailers. ANKLink® is an enhancement to the existing 18 month NCOALink product. ANKLink provides an additional 30 months of COA information. ACS™ – Cost effective means of obtaining accurate change of address information UAA – Undeliverable-As-Addressed National Change of Address

National Customer Support Center For More Information ribbs.usps.gov National Customer Support Center Angela On the screen, you’ll see some key resources for you – If you need more information about any of the products or services we’ve talked about today – don’t hesitate to contact us!! I hope you’ve enjoyed the presentation today… Gained some new insights…. And are motivated to take that step, whether it’s your first step or the next step. (END) 1-800-238-3150 56 56

USPS® Co-Presentations Schedule Address Quality 101 Ed Wanta & Paula Stoskopf Period 5, 2:45 - 3:45 Rm. Bayou E Sunday Your Software is Talking, Are You Listening? Jim Wilson & Chris Lien Period 10, 4 - 5 Rm. Bayou E Monday Demystifying UAA Mail - Where Did It Come From? How Can We Fix It? Jim Wilson & Gary Seitz Period 17, 3:15 - 4:15 Rm. Bayou E Wednesday

Thank You! 58