{"id":17598,"date":"2016-11-18T12:32:59","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T17:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/"},"modified":"2016-11-18T12:33:49","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T17:33:49","slug":"usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/","title":{"rendered":"USPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates"},"content":{"rendered":"

The increasing connectivity is facilitating the logistics world keep up with the growing demand of consumer\u2019s expectations of real-time information on delivered goods at a low price.\u00a0 Although it is not often we would think to look towards a public entity for cutting edge business practices, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is an exemption to this widely held belief.\u00a0 With the increasing use of amazon and other online business, there has been a growing burden on the package delivery companies to keep up with demand.\u00a0 In addition, these package delivery companies need to improve their operations in order to improve profitability since the USPS took a loss of approximately 5 billion dollars in both 2014 and 2015. [5]<\/p>\n

The United States Postal Service has certain government requirements to service all us residences, despite geographic location, at a constant price and level of service.\u00a0 Some of these customers may be unprofitable customers for the agency to serve, but that is part of their charter as a government entity. \u00a0The agency has been developing plans to use technology to reduce costs and increase revenues to remain competitive while still keeping true to their value proposition of serving all residents with an equitable price and high level of service.<\/p>\n

One of the core expectations of the USPS is fast, reliable service to anywhere in the united states in a stated time frame, typically 1-5 days depending on the service level.\u00a0 In order to meet customer expectations, the business must have enough trucks performing routes daily to deliver packages, which drives their variable cost up (pun intended!).\u00a0 In order to pacify this dynamic tension, the USPS is implementing two initiatives that take advantage of real time sensors; optimizing the size and weight of packages loaded onto a given truck and using real-time traffic information to optimize the route.\u00a0 USPS estimates that these two initiatives together will reduce costs by $120 million a year.\u00a0 [2]<\/p>\n

In addition to improving the routing of the vehicles, USPS is evaluating a real-time predictive maintenance system (See Figure A for an example illustration [4]) that could save 70 million dollars a year in maintenance costs [2].\u00a0 This system would reduce the long term costs of operating the vehicles by proactively doing maintenance at the signal of a failure, before it is a costly catastrophic failure that renders the vehicle inoperable on the side of the road.\u00a0 Plus, by having fewer surprise maintenance problems, labor could be reduced by scheduling repairs during normal working ours rather than having emergency repair shops, which would level load the work for this cost center.\u00a0 In addition to lower costs, this aligns with providing high quality service to customers because there will be fewer trucks breaking down en route, which in turn fail to deliver packages on time to customers [2].<\/p>\n

Figure A<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"delete-this\"<\/a><\/p>\n

USPS is not only looking to reduce costs \u2013 they are looking to improve user experiences and provide more value to ever demanding customers.\u00a0 With the increase in food delivery services, USPS is evaluating putting in temperature control drop boxes in high population areas to open up a new delivery method for fresh groceries or temperature sensitive medicine.\u00a0 With the decreasing cost of sensors, USPS can reliably and cost effectively implement this new functionality if there is customer demand for it.<\/p>\n

One area where this organization has opportunity to improve its service level is in return package pickup.\u00a0 With so many consumers buying clothing online with retailers offering free return shipping, the number of returned shipments is up 15% from the prior year [1].\u00a0 USPS can capture this business by providing a frictionless system for consumers to return the product in a physical drop box or near their home.\u00a0 Using low cost sensors in the drop boxes, USPS can detect the weight and size of the product, signaling a pickup is required with specific package information.\u00a0 This is just one of the many things USPS should consider to remain relevant and effective in an industry where the demands are only growing.<\/p>\n

Word Count: 669<\/p>\n

Source<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Chao, Loretta. \u201cThe Rising Cost of Free Returns\u201d The Wall Street Journal. October 9th<\/sup>, 2015. http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-rising-cost-of-free-returns-1444398695<\/a> November 17, 2016<\/li>\n
  2. Miskanic, Randy. \u201cThe Internet of Postal Things\u201d Office of Inspector General of the United States Postal Service. August 3, 2015. https:\/\/www.uspsoig.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/document-library-files\/2015\/rarc-wp-15-013_0.pdf<\/a> November 17, 2016<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cNext generation mailbox undergoes testing,\u201d Postalnews.com, January 20, 2015, http:\/\/postalnews.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/20\/next-generation-mailbox-undergoes-testing\/<\/a> November 17, 2016<\/li>\n
  4. Hilton, \u201cIoT and Predictive Maintenance,\u201d Bosch ConnectedWorld Blog, February 15, 2013, http:\/\/blog.bosch-si.com\/categories\/manufacturing\/2013\/02\/iot-and-predictive-maintenance\/<\/a> November 17, 2016<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cUnited States Postal Service 2014 Annual Report to Congress\u201d United States Postal Service. 2014. http:\/\/www.prc.gov\/Docs\/91\/91029\/FY14.17_Annual-Report-Comp-Stmnt.pdf<\/a> November 17, 2016<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    USPS uses technology to stay competitive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2419,"featured_media":17604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-17598","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/digitization-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nUSPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"USPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"USPS uses technology to stay competitive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-18T17:33:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usps-motivational-poster_o_2215149-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"471\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/\",\"name\":\"USPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usps-motivational-poster_o_2215149-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-18T17:32:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-18T17:33:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usps-motivational-poster_o_2215149-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usps-motivational-poster_o_2215149-2.jpg\",\"width\":471,\"height\":200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"USPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"USPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"USPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"USPS uses technology to stay competitive","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","article_modified_time":"2016-11-18T17:33:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":471,"height":200,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usps-motivational-poster_o_2215149-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/","name":"USPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usps-motivational-poster_o_2215149-2.jpg","datePublished":"2016-11-18T17:32:59+00:00","dateModified":"2016-11-18T17:33:49+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usps-motivational-poster_o_2215149-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usps-motivational-poster_o_2215149-2.jpg","width":471,"height":200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usps-the-government-agency-that-innovates\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"USPS \u2013 The Government Agency that Innovates"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/17598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/17598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}