Postal Services Asset Management Solutions

With this RFID solution, the asset management of your postal service establishment can be done simply by having an employee walk through the store while holding a handheld computer with an RFID reader, which tracks the tagged assets.

What It Can Track

Our RFID system can track all postal service assets including:

• Packaging supplies such as boxes, envelopes and stamps
• Measurement equipment such as precision parcel weighing scales
• Processing equipment such as barcode scanners
• Store displays, such as stands and display shelving
• Cash registers and POS machines
• Moving supplies, such as trolleys, trays and utility carts
• Automobiles such as vans and trucks
• Office supplies, such as printers, copiers, fax machines, computers, tablets and more
• Parcel sorting machines
• All other assets your postal service facility may utilize

The Postal Services Industry

The postal services industry can be defined as a group of post offices and their subcontractors that coordinate the sending and receiving of mail domestically and internationally. Businesses in the postal services industry complete a variety of services including but not limited to and the collection and delivery of mail, documents and packages, operation of drop-off and collection amenities and the sorting and distribution of mail items. Parcels handled within the postal services industry are generally limited to small-sized parcels, differentiating the industry from the transportation industry.

Before the introduction of technology as a vice for communication, the postal services industry held a monopoly in the communications sector. In response to the increase in technology-based communications such as email and online banking, the postal services industry has seen an overall decline in the demand for their institutions. In the last 5 years, however, the postal services industry has seen some improvement in demand as a result of the introduction of e-commerce.

The postal system has a sophisticated and efficient method of getting mail and parcels from point A to point B. Once the item has been dropped into a post box or given directly to a post office, a mail handler will collect your item and will load it into their vehicle along with all the other mail and parcels collected from the post box or post office. The mail handler then takes all of the items to a processing center where items are organized by shape and size. A machine then reads the address and allocates the item a barcode coordinating with the designated address. If the machine is unable to read the address the item will need to be manually sorted by a worker in the facility.

The items are then moved on to further machines who via the barcode, read and allocate items based on their ZIP codes and are then transferred to the next facility within that region. At this location, machines again read and allocate items to specific areas for mail carriers to deliver. The parcels and mail are then transferred to the corresponding post offices and the items are allocated to carriers who then deliver the items to the address requested.

These automated machines were employed by USPS in the 1950’s and have since continued to become more technologically advanced allowing for greater efficiency and productivity in these processing and distribution centers. It is not unusual for the processing and distribution facilities to operate 24 hours a day due to a large amount of outbound mail and parcels. The postal service industry is also the third largest employer in the US however this could decrease as many activities are automated, resulting in capital labor substitution. Employment in this industry typically only requires a high school diploma or the equivalent and involves short on the job training with no experience required.

As the postal services industry is such an essential service and firms carrying out postal services have a large range of assets depending on the size of the facility, asset tracking is crucial in ensuring all the assets used on a daily basis are accounted for. It is important to keep track of assets such as stands and display shelving used to hold items for sale, barcode scanners used to process outbound parcels, cash registers and trolleys and utility carts, to ensure proper maintenance of these items, which essentially form a part of a postal firm’s operating expenses. There are also several smaller assets such as parcel packaging and stationery and within the institutions which could easily be misplaced, lost or stolen with the large number of people who pass through these facilities each day. In order to best combat this, an efficient and accurate asset tracking system should be employed as an investment into long-term loss-prevention.