April 2003

MERLIN Will Be Watching Soon
Newly improved MERLIN software may soon be scrutinizing mail piece design and barcode compliance in your area soon. MERLIN testing was begun in several areas of the country years ago and soon MERLIN will be ready for national deployment. Are you ready? 

MERLIN is the acronym for the postal service's Mail Evaluation Readability Lookup INstrument. It is designed to verify many aspects of business mail such as claimed postage discounts, proper barcodes, proper sorting and proper piece counts for both letter and flat mail. Your mail is checked against standards set forth in the Domestic Mail Manual.

Don't wait until MERLIN is deployed in your area to find out you have a problem. Poor piece design and non-compliant barcodes will result in substantial postage increases. Call CCI to get the information you need and have your piece tested.

Send Your Thanks But Not By Mail
Citing security concerns and transportation constraints, the US Department of Defense last year cancelled the program that allowed war supporters to send mail addresses to "Any Service Member." Instead, the USPS and DoD have asked that family and supporters follow a set of guidelines when mailing service members. The main rule being that mail must be addressed to specific personnel with name, unit, APO/FPO and include a return address. 

To send your well wishes to military service personnel the DoD asks supporters to visit www.defendamerica.mil and clicking the "Support Our Troops" icon. CCI has included a direct link on our web site at http://www.mailCCI.com/links.asp.

For specific guidelines and restrictions for mail to troops stationed abroad, call 1-800-ASK-USPS.

Special Note: APO is the acronym for Army Post Office, a post office, either in New York or San Francisco, that serves the Army and/or Air Force. APO and many other USPS acronyms are explained at http://www.mailcci.com/acronym.asp.

News Poll
Send your vote to mailto:webmaster@mailcci.com or vote online. Visit http://www.mailCCI.com and in the Interactive menu choose Today's Survey.

Has the war in Iraq inspired any changes in the copy or design of your mail piece?

____ Yes
____ No

We'll post the poll results here in next month's e-newsletter.
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Results of last month's poll: 

How do you think war will effect consumer spending?

33% Increased spending
30% Decreased spending
37% No effect

See the results of other surveys CCI has conducted online at http://www.mailcci.com/data/surveys.asp.

www.mailCCI.com
Our next installment of Employee Spotlights features Wanda Zimmerman. Adding to the value of all services CCI offers is our ability to locate, track and report client's inventory. She integrates efficient shipping and receiving, proprietary warehousing and inventory software, dedicated and knowledgeable staff, and extensive logistics resources into seamless solutions for you.

Meet Warehouse & Fulfillment Manager, Wanda Zimmerman at http://www.mailCCI.com/direct_mail_employees/wandaz.asp.