While it isn’t new anymore, the USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) is advanced technology that combines two barcodes into one. Many companies offer it as part of a software solution, meaning you can do it from your business and reap all the benefits.
How Smart Is It?
The USPS uses information from the Intelligent Mail Barcode to route the mail appropriately and quickly. You can also use it as a search tool to determine where your items are within the stream. Likewise, you can use it to make sure everything is accurate and will have a better chance of making it to the recipient promptly.
Benefits
Primarily, the IMB is designed to help you determine how much cash you’ll need for mailing campaigns, as well as plan for staffing needs. Once you send out a lot of mailings, you’ll probably require more customer service reps, call center staffing, and more to handle the extra flow.
You may also find that you don’t spend as much on mailings because you’re not resending items as much. Plus, you can manage your lists and determine if they are accurate, as well.
The ultimate goal is to save money on the materials that you send. If you keep sending items that don’t get received by the recipient, you’re wasting money because they may be addressed incorrectly or not be a valid address.
What It Can Do
The USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode is designed to help you answer business-related questions, such as when did the post office process the item and when should it be delivered? Likewise, it can also help you determine how long it took for it to arrive and whether or not addresses were correct.
Plus, you can determine what was returned or what needed a correction because it wasn’t deliverable.
