U.S. Postal Service

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has defined e-commerce initiatives to include products and services that: (1) require the use of the Internet; and (2) generate revenues for USPS from user charges or license fees. It has identified seven e-commerce initiatives intended to facilitate the movement of messages, merchandise, and money. For example, USPS has introduced PosteCS, an Internet-based global document delivery system. The Stamps Online initiative allows purchase of stamps and other philatelic products. USPS introduced its eBillPay initiative, an electronic bill presentment and payment service, in April 2000. In the development stage, USPS is working on an electronic mailbox, which could link electronic and physical addresses. GAO found, however, that USPS provided inconsistent information on the status of its initiatives, did not always adhere to its process requirements, and its financial data were inaccurate and incomplete. USPS believes that it has broad statutory authority to offer e-commerce products and service. The Postal Inspection Service, which is responsible for enforcing postal laws, has authority and responsibility to investigate violations of law that involve USPS e-commerce products and services. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: U.S. Postal Service: Electronic Commerce and Legal Matters by Bernard L. Ungar, Director of Government Business Operations Issues, before the Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. GAO/T-GGD-00-195, Sept. 7 (13 pages).

GAO noted that: (1) since the beginning of 2000, USPS has taken a number of steps to develop and implement its e-commerce activities; (2) some key actions included developing a definition of its e-commerce initiatives, identifying its e-commerce and related initiatives, outlining its overall goals and strategies, establishing expected performance, and providing some information on results to date; (3) how USPS defines its e-commerce activities is fundamental when determining what USPS is doing in the e-commerce area; (4) USPS defined its e-commerce initiatives to include products and services that: (a) require the use of the Internet; and (b) generate revenues for USPS from user charges of license fees; (5) USPS defines its e-commerce initiatives as a subset of its broader eBusiness activities that involve the use of new technology; (6) USPS identified seven e-commerce initiatives that were either planned or implemented as of September 2000; (7) these seven initiatives are generally intended to facilitate the movement of messages, merchandise, and money; (8) USPS outlined the purpose and direction for its eBusiness and e-commerce areas and stated that its overall goal is to use the best technology, including the Internet, to provide customers with expanded universal access and choices on how they do business with USPS; (9) USPS also explained that the criteria for these initiatives are that they be universally available, designed to fulfill customer and marketplace needs, offer customers voluntary choices, be secure and private, provide financial benefits to customers and USPS, and be consistent with the USPS' mission; (10) USPS identified eight strategies for accomplishing its eBusiness goal and its related e-commerce goal; (11) examples of these strategies were using the Internet as a cost-effective channel, providing security and privacy for customers, minimizing USPS investments and risks, and pursuing partnerships and alliances with industry; (12) in May 2000, USPS established a management process for reviewing and approving e-commerce initiatives that is different from the review and approval process for other new products; (13) the e-commerce review process was designed to result in quicker approval of initiatives than USPS' review and approval process for new products; (14) the new process requires a business proposal and plan, a public affairs/communication plan, periodic monitoring, and approval by top management or USPS' Board of Governors; and (15) some e-commerce initiatives were launched before the new process was introduced.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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