Seamless Acceptance

Overview

Seamless Acceptance automates the entry and verification of commercial mailings by leveraging electronic documentation, Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMbs), and information collected from handheld sampling devices and mail processing equipment scans.  The USPS requires a mailer to participate in the Seamless Parallel program and remain below the Seamless Acceptance error thresholds for at least 30 days before they can move into full Seamless.

The USPS in January 2021 introduced a new Seamless Acceptance price incentive.  To be eligible for this discount, pieces must qualify for IMb Full-Service and the mailing CRID must be enrolled in Seamless Acceptance and be registered for the incentive.  More information can be found on the USPS' Postal Pro website at https://postalpro.usps.com/seamless-incentive. 

Seamless Acceptance, as well as Full-Service, Move Update, and eInduction are covered in detail in the USPS' Guide to Streamlined Mail – Letters and Flats – Publication 685.  NAPM recommends all mailers considering Seamless Acceptance becomes familiar with this USPS Publication. 

• USPS Pub 685 (Publication for Streamlined Mail Acceptance for Letters and Flats) 

Seamless Acceptance Parallel Process

Mailers considering a move into Seamless Acceptance are first put in a USPS “parallel” Seamless process. During the parallel process, both the USPS and the mailer can view results of automated Seamless verifications, but the mailer continues to be assessed using the traditional manual acceptance and verification processes. This allows the USPS and mailer time to evaluate and resolve mail quality issues, business processes, and any software issues. During Seamless Parallel mailers are not responsible for any Seamless Acceptance Postage Assessments – These are “informational” only on the USPS Mailer Scorecard the mailer should be checking. 

The USPS requires that mailers in Seamless parallel successfully maintain all mail quality measurements above the error threshold for at least one calendar month (NAPM recommends at least 90 days – see below guidance).

What’s the Difference between IMb Full-Service Verification and Seamless Acceptance Verifications?

There is no difference between IMb Full-Service and Seamless Acceptance e-Doc submitted Mailings. All e-Doc mailings are verified using the Seamless Acceptance automated verification process.    

Seamless Acceptance automates the verification process, streamlining entry verifications. The USPS notes that in Seamless Acceptance:

• The mailer’s eDoc will be validated to ensure it has met the Seamless participation criteria
• Postage statement will be automatically finalized by the system on the Postage Statement Mailing Date
• BME clerk will sample mail using the Full Service –Intelligent Mail Device (FS-IMD as flagged based on mailer’s sampling frequency) or using the emulator tool
• Clerk will perform Seamless sampling scans on each mailing
• 1 container, 3 Sacks/Trays/Bundles, and 30 mailpieces (10 pieces/Handling Unit)
• Mail Processing Equipment (MPE) scans will be collected as the mail is processed.
• Data gathered from the FS-IMD, MPE, and Surface Visibility (SV) scans will be compared to the eDoc to identify mail preparation errors.

All verifications become trend-based verification where mailers no longer have the option to rework the mail. The verification results and postage assessments are calculated on the quality of your total mailings for the entire month.

Additional Resources (available to all)

• NAPM Guidance (4/8/2024) on setting up email subscription to Mailer Scorecard data
• NAPM Seamless / IV reports Session held at 2021 Annual Conference
• NAPM July 8, 2020 Open Webinar:  The Road to Seamless (12 Months and Counting...)  MP4 File with audio and slides
• USPS' PostalPro web site section on Seamless Acceptance
• NAPM Mail Owner Scorecard Sample
• NAPM Training Video:  Mail Owner Scorecard Analysis -- Slides only
• NAPM Training Video:  Mail Owner Scorecard Analysis -- Video
• USPS List of Undocumented Descriptions (1/28/20)
• USPS Seamless Presentation, National Postal Forum 2019

Additional Resources (NAPM members only -- login required)

NAPM’s Guidance on Things to Consider

NAPM strongly advises its members to review and consider the Seamless Acceptance requirements, assessment process, and benefits of Seamless Acceptance.  NAPM stresses to its members that moving into full Seamless Acceptance is an important business decision.

NAPM’s Strategic Planning Committee continues to work closely with the USPS to resolve issues and make improvements to its Seamless Acceptance program. 

Based on discussions with our members who are approved Seamless mailers, NAPM strongly recommends that mailers consider business process changes necessary to successfully implement Seamless Acceptance on the mailer’s side, such as having employee skill sets to monitor online mail quality reports and perform data analysis, changing processes/practices to ensure constant monitoring occurs and root analyses can be performed quickly to make changes in production operations, etc. to avoid continuance of identified errors, and monitor/review automated invoicing and postage assessments and any necessary appeals process documentation.

NAPM since its conceptualization has supported the strategy and goals behind Seamless Acceptance in terms of supporting a different way of doing business, as long as that way provides significant benefits to the value of mail and the supply chain. As USPS initiatives and processes based on Informed Visibility and Enterprise Analytics mature, we think there are benefits to be gained if the USPS supports and enables them, such as:

• Timely continuous information flow back to the mailer to improve their mail quality processes,
• Identification of specific mailing defects to determine root cause and ownership,
• Objective mailing quality and compliance analysis, Identification of systemic quality defects – not just incidental production errors due to human mistakes or manufacturing glitches,
• Ability to identify mail production trends impacting manufacturing quality and make corrections in a timely matter to ensure the customer’s mail is able to get delivered to the right place and according to the service standards, and the mailer can avoid costly mail compliance assessments
• Continuous flow of mail into the USPS mail stream going to the right entry facility at the right time
• Quality improvements that subsequently reduce costs through development of greater efficiencies,
• Creating a simplified error resolution process for mailings presented with an error discovered after the edoc is uploaded.