® MTAC WG #135 Transportation Management Systems (TMS) Combined Data Limitations August 2010

® Leadership  Industry Sponsors ● Debbie Cooper ● Ernie Rojas  USPS Sponsors ● Tom Day ● Pritha Mehra  Work Group Leaders ● Industry: Dan O’Brien (FDR) ● USPS: Diane Smith

® Issues  Full Service requires electronic documentation showing data linkage between trays and containers  Transportation Management Systems are not capable of tracking trays to create containers and supporting electronic documentation  Transportation Management Systems are not designed to network with each other to support the creation of containers across multiple TMS’

® Objectives  Determine potential updates to Transportation Management Systems that will optimize the participating First Class Mailers’ ability to leverage the use of TMS to comply with Full Service Requirements  Enhance overall data collection capabilities to the benefit of both the industry and the Postal Service

® Scenarios Proposed scenarios for creating process flows, prioritized by number of system types deployed ● Single Automated System (With or without sortation) ● Multiple Automated Systems (With or without sortation) ● Single Desktop System ● Multiple Desktop Systems ● Single Semi-Automated System ● Multiple Semi-Automated System Consideration must also be made for mailers with more than one vendor system type per facility

® Status  Systems will use a modification of the existing “Sorter Table” in TMS systems, in conjunction with CSA separations, to populate a Mailer-maintained “database” of separations that the TMS’ will use to build pallets with corresponding e- documentation.  Requirements being written for all scenarios outlined on previous slide  Will be written to include both logical and physical nesting solutions  Mailers will be able to choose between two networking options:  Separate “host” computer that acts as centralized hub for all processing activity, or;  Designated one of existing systems to act as hub for all processing activity  TMS modification to be able to print Container Barcodes and Pallet Placards

® Status, continued  Confirmed that if the TMS is automatically tracking and building containers as trays are being scanned to a particular destination/container, a second scan at the time the tray is being loaded onto the container will NOT be required in order to qualify as a physical container  Pursuing discussions with USPS Engineering and Network Operations to determine if there is available space on D&R tags for mailer-specified human-readable information  Exploring whether TMS can be used to scan Standard Mail for purposes of Electronic Documentation

® Going Forward Topics expected to be covered in the coming months:  Finalize Requirements for release  Continue discussions with USPS Engineering regarding mailer-specified codes on D&R tags  Determine plan for addressing workgroup findings  Continue discussing other modifications to TMS that would assist in meeting Full-Service requirements