Prepress
BCC Software Adds Address Resolution Service to Slate of List-Enhancing Data Services
Thursday 17. January 2008 - ARS uses extensive private database information to "repair" addresses deemed undeliverable during CASS processing
BCC Software, a leading developer of high-performance solutions for professional mailers, has added a new offering to its array of list-enhancing BCC Data Services. Address Resolution Service (ARS) augments United States Postal Service DPV processing to make more fully deliverable addresses available to mailers, allowing them to boost overall mailing volumes without sacrificing postage discounts or delivery efficiency.
As a by-product of performing DPV on a mailing list, a percentage of address records are typically deemed undeliverable because of missing or incorrect data, after a comparison against USPS database information. Those records, if mailed, would not receive USPS automation postage discounts and could eventually be returned to the sender as Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) mail, or disposed of altogether by the Postal Service.
ARS processing compares DPV-designated undeliverable records to a wider variety of private name and address database sources. (Secondary address lines, including apartment and suite numbers, are also examined for possible appending or correction.) Complex matching algorithms allow ARS processing to restore (on average) approximately 30 percent of UAA addresses to deliverable status. The corrected records are then returned to the mailer with a new CASS report, to ensure mailpieces sent to those addresses will receive appropriate discounted postage rates.
“Were thrilled to bring Address Resolution Service processing to BCC Data Service customers,” said Mark Higgins, BCC Vice President of Marketing & Data Services. “The Postal Service decision to make DPV a required part of the CASS process definitely helps make mailings more efficient, but at a real cost to mailers looking to reach out to as many prospective recipients as possible. With ARS, mailers can contact more customers economically, and with the certainty that more pieces will actually reach their desired destinations. Its a true win-win.”
Address Resolution Service processing can be accessed with a few mouse clicks from within Mail Manager 2010, BCCs flagship presorting and list-management software product. A wizard-driven process collects the mailers desired list data and submits the records electronically for processing. ARS jobs feature next-day turnarounds, with any job received by BCC by no later than 5pm EST returned to the mailer at 9am the next business day.
The modest charge for this service quickly pays for itself in two ways: in postage savings, compared to the cost of repeatedly sending undeliverable mailpieces at non-automation rates; and in the added value of successfully reaching a wider audience of mailpiece recipients.