The USPS has enacted many programs and policies to satisfy mail tracking needs in the 21st century. A key part of this is the use of the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb) scans. USPS Informed Visibility Mail Tracking and Reporting (IV-MTR)takes this to a new level.
The USPS rolled out this service in 2018. The tool supports all types of mail tracking, including transactional communications.
What Is USPS Informed Visibility?
The objective of Informed Visibility was to fill the gaps in mail tracking through the mail stream. Prior to its launch, IMb scanning provided this information. That part of the process doesn’t change, but it has limitations. It can only track individual pieces, flats, bundles, handling units, and containers as they are scanned.
This service is available for commercial printers tracking barcoded letters, flats, bundles, handling units (trays, tubs, and sacks), and containers.
Informed Visibility enables the use of actual scans as well as assumed and logical event handling to locate where containers and letters are in the mail stream in real time.
- Assumed events: These events track nested mail based on container, handling unit, and bundle handling. USPS will scan the IMb and container barcodes. The individual scan will be inferred based on eDoc information with the container.
- Logical delivery events: These events provide insight into the mail’s location without a physical scan. There are trigger criteria for these, varying based on the delivery scenario. For example, a mail carrier has a hand-held device that sends location information. When the person moves into a specific area that matches mail pieces, the notification of its delivery follows.
In short, IV-MTR leverages:
- GPS tracking information from carrier scans
- Full-Service Intelligent Mail to create assumed handling events
- Business rules to create logical handling events, such as delivery.
How Does Informed Visibility Work?
The process includes these steps:
- The USPS scans a mail item upon delivery to a facility, loading it into the tracking system.
- Once in the system, it’s trackable in real-time, from sorting machines to trucks to delivery. There are three statuses: Sent, In Transit, and Delivered.
- Mail reaches its destination, and the postal carrier scans the item, sending an alert to the mailer.
The Benefits of Informed Visibility Mail Tracking in Transactional Mail
Transactional print and mail companies already use the IMb and proprietary approaches to tracking mail from drop off to delivery. Typically, their customers can find this information through a secure online portal.
Informed Visibility Mail Tracking and Reporting ensures greater accuracy in this workflow. It’s critical for any business that sends transactional mail to ensure its delivery. Sometimes, laws dictate the timeframe of certain communications.
Companies also value the ability to follow mail as proof of delivery of bills, invoices, or other time-sensitive letters.
Adding this layer of tracking also delivers insights into processing or delivery issues. Users can learn the exact location of the bottlenecks occurring.
Learn More About Tracking Transactional Mail
Informed Visibility is one tool in the tracking ecosystem. There are many more that enable real-time monitoring and accuracy. Check out these posts for more information:
