IG Calls on USPS to Consider Replacing Data Collection Model
Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The USPS inspector general has called on the postal chief financial officer and executive vice president to explore replacing the current In-Office Cost System (IOCS) data collection model.
It recommends coordinating with the Postal Regulatory Commission to in place an alternate system to determine mail-processing costs.
According to the IG, USPS spends about $70 million a year for manual data collection efforts to prepare its cost and revenue analysis report, which is a key component of agency's annual compliance report to the PRC. That includes $13 million a year to collect data for the statistical IOCS report which is used to attribute labor costs to products and services.
However, with additional system enhancements, the Postal Service could use data from mail processing systems to determine the mail-processing portion of labor costs for products and services, the IG said.
It said that with the proper system changes, USPS could obtain the census data necessary for mail processing cost determination, reducing dependence on manual data collection and providing savings, possibly up to $500,000.