Zip Code Improvements Decrease the Time to Deliver Mail

ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) codes were introduced in 1963. Through their character, Mr Zip, they tried to spread the word on the use of this new code that would help to ease the burden of delivering mail and create a more efficient force behind it.

With phrases like “Use ZIP code, the last word in mail” posted throughout post offices it was easy for citizens to get on the band wagon. “Use ZIP code” reminders were also printed in stamp booklets as yet another reminder.

1963 was not the first time that ZIP codes were introduced though. As early as 1943 some cities, such as Minneapolis were using codes. The addresses were written differently back then, but were sufficient for locating a specific location. In 1963, however, the USPS came out with the 5 digit ZIP code.

This new format was a more efficient and accurate way to identify an address and especially helped those sorting the mail to be able to do so much more quickly. In this new format the first three numbers indicate the sectional facility center, which is the location where the piece of mail is sorted, and then the last two numbers represent the post office.

To further help mail workers, the US Postal Service added the five plus four digit zip code. The extra 4 digits further specifies the address by narrowing the location down even further. This could be a city block, a specific high rise building, etc. These extra digits continue to help increase the speed and accuracy of mail sorting and delivery to help you get your mail sooner.

The barcode that you find printed on your envelope is called Postnet. This barcode uses varying sizes of bars to specify an address. With the use of these barcodes sorting has become more automated and doesn't require as much manual sorting to be done by hand. The sender can print the barcode themselves with a program such as Word Perfect®.

Promoting the ZIP code worked so well that children are automatically being taught their ZIP code with their whole address these days. The USPS is able to function better because these things are automatically being taught and placed on the envelopes.

Citizens can count on their mail being delivered quickly and they can most definitely count on it arriving in the correct place when they use the ZIP code. As advances are made and more organization created through programs such as the ZIP code the United States Postal Service is able to more efficiently serve the people of the United States.

What Can a Zip Code Database Do For Your Business?

Data integrity is an important part of business, including address verification, a tool to move information and delivery quickly and accurately from businessman to customer. Precise transactions move world-wide, caused by use of the mailer’s zip code directory, lessening or removing lost mailings, duplications, and partial-address uncertainty.

You can obtain a clean or "scrubbed" list within minutes with a web-based processing tool. This alone saves significant operational dollars. The website is secure, guaranteeing the privacy of each transaction. The software integrates effortlessly with the user’s own internet site or application and is fully scalable to any size business. Web service is ‘green’ - no paper, software, or packaging to deal with. You can use the service to process a list of addresses, to send out a mail campaign, even to verify addresses on a web service. As with all processes, efficiency is the key. Web-based verification is as efficient as it gets.

A web-based zip code directory service has many features. Among them, it standardizes address lists, placing them in steady format for simpler use. It locates the address and determines whether it is real and valid. It modifies zip codes, adds the plus-4 digits, and provides missing or partial zip code numbers. New zip code updates are applied when appropriate. It alerts you to missing apartment and suite numbers and private mailboxes, supplies carrier route details, and modifies or adds county data. It can also specify undeliverable addresses. Summary reports and PostNet barcodes can also be created by software to help manage your data.

There are obvious benefits to having your zip code database kept cleaned and updated. You will see an improvement in the amount of mailings delivered, generating a boost in response rates and a decrease in lost contacts with valuable customers or potential customers, thereby maximizing your customer service. Your operational budget will see savings from a decrease in handling, postage, and re-shipping fees and the elimination of returns and associated costs. A clean zip code list will identify bad addresses. Best of all, perhaps, packages will arrive on time, the first time. Customers will take notice.

Every business needs to maintain a strong, positive interface with its customer base. Secure, on time transactions, conducted without the frustrations of delay and confused mailings, will contribute to the very good reputation you are trying to build; and an up-to-date zip code list will help you establish that positive business relationship.

Overview of a Zip Code Database

Every location in the US and Canada is assigned a postal or zip code, which is compiled and gathered into a central zip code database. The data is organized in a row and column format for ease of use, with numerous unique fields of information giving the user endless ways to manipulate the demographic information contained within. There are many uses for such a directory. It functions as a strong ingredient of any marketing plan or update, and is a effective tool for building websites. When designing various marketing campaigns, having demographic data across geographical and locational boundaries is critical.

Information gained from analysis of such a database can also be used to target key populations. Combine this with a radius finder application for further target enhancement, and use the results to fine-tune a preliminary mailing, or for first-time exact product delivery. The zip code database is regularly updated online, so that it contains only current, complete information. Address correction is applied before mailing, resulting in higher response and deliverable rates. You can improve your profits even more with reduced customer service issues related to shipping errors. Cost savings also follow because there are no longer purchased software installation or maintenance costs, no hard copy manuals or packaging materials, or a need for printed updates. All of this contributes to the making of a much ‘greener’ operation as well.

When use of a zip code database is coupled with online access, one of the major barriers to using the zip technology - upfront cost - is done away with. Lists can be verified ‘on demand’ for a much lower cost. The whole process is faster and easier this way, not to mention cheaper, working smarter instead of harder.

The online database is totally secure, of course, and operates in ‘real time’ mode so that the information you need is available within minutes rather than hours or even days. One cannot overlook the benefit of dealing with a high-speed, low-cost remedy as opposed to the past, much slower, method. This is one technology that brings quick personal benefits. The market for accurate zip information is there - in fact, it’s huge. Thousands of corporations, from hospitals to educational institutions to industrial businesses of all kinds, depend on maintaining verified zip code list lists; and the demand continues to grow.

‘Mr Zip’ and the Zip Code Database

With ever-increasing pieces of mail to sort and deliver nearly a century ago, the United States Postal Service sought out a solution to bring some order to the process. They began requiring a two-digit number between city and state on the address line of letters and packages, which was a temporary fix; but the amount of mail kept expanding. Five-digit codes were introduced within twenty years and made mandatory four years later: the first three digits send each piece of mail to a central sorting facility, where it is sorted according to the last two digits and sent to the appropriate post office for delivery.

But there were problems, chief among them getting millions of letter-writers to actually write that string of numbers. Enter Mr. Zip, accompanied by Ethel Merman performing ‘Zip-a-dee-doo-dah’ and giving a friendly message to one and all. Surprisingly effective, achieving a 95% success rate, the cartoon Zip inspired and reminded the masses to use a zip code when mailing. It goes to show you the influence of a marketing campaign in such a simple format for everyone to understand and take pleasure in.

Now, picture yourself trying to manage an ever-growing amount of mail and routing it correctly to millions of frequently-changing addresses every day. A new need - current, correct addresses available now - arose. The first zip code directories were local, pencil-and-paper, affairs, ineffective, but the best thing available.

All that changed with the advent and growth of computers, until today there are vast amounts of data gathered in zip code databases nationally, internationally, for city and state levels and as part of every business or corporation. We can’t communicate without the location information they contain.

The national online zip code database constantly adds, updates, and verifies zip information for every person or business at every location in the country. Canada has a comparable setup; other countries have varying coverage. International corporations have them. To name just a sample, many businesses, hospitals, and educational institutes develop and use zip code directories.

The online processing of zip code data allows the system to fill in missing information on addresses, add new address information, and identify non-deliverable addresses, among other things. This first-time accurate delivery gets mail to the right place more quickly and saves millions of dollars each and every year in the process.

There are zip code maps of all sorts, zip code ‘finder’ software, zip code directories, and online zip code search engines. We’ve come a long way from the Pony Express rider riding hard to deliver his cargo!