USPS closures spark debate

I came across an interesting opinion piece in the Des Moines Register, stating that the closure of several regional USPS offices in small-town Iowa would cause major problems to rural residents.

True, the USPS is hemorrhaging money and needs to downsize its substantial structure in order to even
have a chance. Last year alone, the USPS reported losses of $8.51 billion in net income. To counter that, the USPS has said it will close about 2,000 of its branches within the next two years.

Before you get all bent out of shape about that, consider that the USPS has several offices that haven’t been operationally in over a year, with some having not been operated in three decades.

But it seems closing a substantial number of such unnecessary locations has angered some people to the point that they’re writing in with ways to improve the USPS. Here are some of the top suggestions:

End Saturday Delivery

Shorten Post Office Hours

Put a Postmaster in charge of several small post offices

While these suggestions would likely cost many USPS workers their jobs, these suggestions could save the USPS money to continue operating. But in today’s logistics world, the USPS has fallen behind FedEx and UPS, and needs to start implementing some smart changes to stay afloat.

One such report has the USPS launching regional parcel service for e-commerce mailers.

That’s a start, but the USPS is going to have to implement more continuous improvement strategies to keep up with the UPS and FedEx.

Otherwise, the USPS might be closing a lot more than a measly 2,000 locations.