A new report issued by the Office of Inspector General of the United States Postal Service outlined a vision for the organization to capitalize on existing infrastructure through non-postal offerings.

One of these non-postal opportunities, phrased as “continuity shipping,” is automated shipment and return of merchandise or e-commerce fulfillment. Currently, the Postal Service is not allowed to provide non-postal services under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. This is designed to offset government-supported advantages provided to the Postal Service in order to maintain a reliable U.S. postal system. As digital and electronic communication continues to replace letters the Postal Service struggles to find new sources of revenue. Two bills in the house and the senate were aimed at lifting the restriction on non-postal services given that these initiatives met certain criteria or had limited disruption on small businesses. Both have stalled but are expected to continue in the future.

Joined by IWLA Washington Representative Pat O’Connor and IWLA Treasurer Mark DeFabis, president of Integrated Distribution Services, the purpose of the meeting is to educate the Postal Service on several inaccuracies about the third-party warehousing industry that frame their position in the report.

IWLA is staying ahead of this issue and will fight for a level playing field if non-postal service opportunities become a new source of revenue for the Postal Service. Stay tuned for more updates.