June 12, 2009

Intelligent Mail^® Services Weekly Update

PostalOne!^® Patch Release 20.0.1 – We deployed PostalOne! release 20.0.1 on June 7. This release resolved several issues that were raised during testing of Full-Service capabilities. We modified the validation of software as it relates to Firm Bundles and Customer Supplier Agreements. The release notes can be accessed at PostalOne! 20.0.1 Release Notes. 

PostalOne! Patch Release 20.1 – We will deploy a software upgrade for Full-Service on July 19.  We explain the functions supported in this upgrade in PostalOne! Version 20.1 Pre-Release Notes on RIBBS™, under “Intelligent Mail Services,” then “Guides”.

PostalOne! Patch Release 21 – We will deploy a software upgrade for Full-Service on August 16, in PostalOne! Release 21. We will provide the functionality supported in this patch in the weekly update next week. 

PostalOne! Patch Release 22 – We will deploy a software upgrade for Full-Service in November to support the lower price for Full-Service and enhanced Mail.XML^® capabilities. On RIBBS we updated the Postal Service Mail.dat^® Technical Specification, the Postal Service Mail.XML Technical Specification to reflect the November changes. The revised Postal Service Mail.XML Technical Specification includes drafts of the Web Services Definition Language (WSDL) files and error codes for the new Mail.XML messages supported in the November release. A final version of the Mail.XML specification will be published on June 26.

Full-Service ACS™ – Mailers using the Full-Service Intelligent Mail option will receive address correction at no charge. This address correction information is provisioned via downloadable reports or via an electronic exchange method using Mail.XML. The specifications for the downloadable reports are available in the User Access to Electronic Mailing Information and Reports Guide and the specifications for the electronic exchange format using Mail.XML are available in the Postal Service Mail.XML Technical Specification. We have discovered issues with the software that generates the Full-Service downloadable address correction reports. This is being fixed in an upcoming patch, but no later than the August 16 patch. The User Access to Electronic Mailing Information and Reports Guide has been updated to demonstrate what data elements are provided by the software today and how the data elements will be provisioned in the upcoming patch.

Intelligent Mail Container Barcodes (IMcb™) – Mailers using the Full-Service option must meet the Intelligent Mail Container Barcode Specifications and the mail preparation standards that can be found in DMM^® 708.6.6.  These specifications require that the barcode be 21 characters long, include a valid Mailer ID, a unique serial number, and customers must use the GS1-128 specification to print. Barcodes that do not meet specifications will not be read and the mailer will not receive the container visibility scan information.

Submitting Mail.dat 9-1 files – Any mailer submitting Mail.dat 9-1 files must first test file submission in the Test Environment for Mailers (TEM)regardless of whether the mailer will participate in the Intelligent Mail Full-Service option. Reference the Intelligent Mail Full-Service Checklist  to access a checklist for testing the Full-Service option.

Assistance – Please call the PostalOne! Help Desk at 1-800-522-9085 if you have any questions or problems accessing the Business Customer Gateway or your accounts, or submitting electronic documentation.