As the newspaper industry changes, technology providers need to innovate and continue to support the needs of their valued clients. Today, the newspaper industry requires systems that can adapt to any of its distribution opportunities.
CarrierTrack® is a sophisticated real-time, geolocation-based delivery and auditing software system that can service the many distribution channels that the industry now requires for its operations: Daily Home Delivery, Weekly Newspaper Delivery, Single Copy Sales, Selective Market Coverage and Saturation Distribution. One of the latest trends in some markets that CarrierTrack® serves has been to convert distribution models to Home Delivery through the U.S. Postal Service. To take advantage of both USPS pricing matrices and, in an effort to strive for actual or near same day delivery, some newspapers have chosen this option.
Depending on the postal facility being used for delivery, it is crucial to determine the delivery deadline for that Delivery Destination Unit (DDU), Sectional Center Facility (SCF) or Network Distribution Center (NDC). Based on the flow of mail and packages being processed, each facility may establish its own deadline. Based on the configuration of the building housing the postal facility, the exact location to which the newspaper bundles or postal tubs should be delivered needs to be determined. An example would be that the product needs to be left on the receiving dock or under a covered area at a smaller postal location. Building a photobook of these locations and specific delivery areas is essential to accurately auditing future deliveries. This is where CarrierTrack® can be used to confirm that all deliveries have been made on time and where the USPS has authorized.
CarrierTrack®, besides offering other features such as live turn-by-turn directions for the delivery of a sequenced route list, can produce a daily audit. Each day, our clients receive a report from CarrierTrack® that documents the exact address, city, state, ZIP code, geolocation, job identification, route identification and the day delivery started or was completed.
The system permits a photograph to be taken of any location; that photograph then will be given an identifier and the report will include the photograph taken — at the exact time and date the delivery was made. These reports have been used many times to confront the Postal Service when it has blamed the newspaper for not making a timely delivery to the specified location. Unlike the Post Office’s delivery of each of your newspaper products, CarrierTrack® users are able to prove each delivery — every day of the year.
CarrierTrack® postal audit technology also can be used to generate photo-based reports for verifying Single Copy Sales and Home Delivery locations as requested by a client. The ability to verify delivery can be used by your customer service and advertising departments to confidently assure subscribers and advertisers that their issues have been resolved in an accurate and timely manner.
For information about CarrierTrack®, please contact:
Jerry Ballenger – jwb@carriertrack.com
Rick Epstein – rick@carriertrack.com
Website – carriertracktechnologies.com
