Problem Statement: A Bank wanted to develop a risk-based fraud detection platform that could predict and identify fraudulent credit card transactions in real-time.

Problem Statement: A route sequencing pilot program showed significant savings for The US Department of Energy. Route sequencing had not been reviewed in more than a decade, and there was a need to provide a robust, dynamic solution that leveraged all available data to maintain the most efficient routes.

Problem Statement: The USPS encounters millions of failed first attempt deliveries per year. At an estimated loss of $3 each, these failed first attempts cost USPS hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Adding to the complication, USPS is not allowed to contact customers who have not opted-in for communication. There was a need to support delivery decisions driven by AI and pattern development.

Problem Statement: The US postal ecosystem required a futuristic digital supply chain to enable efficiencies, cut costs, provide end-to-end traceability and allow for development of new digital products and services for consumers. The project would fall under the guise of Idealliance, the non-profit that owns all data specifications that enable business transactions between the parties within the US mailing and parcel ecosystem. Ideallance needed a company that understood both sides of the equation, i.e., the commercial industry (mailers, shippers, consolidators, e-tailers, marketplaces, logistics companies) and the USPS to develop a first and last-mile plan of a future digital supply chain specification.

Problem Statement: For decades, rural mail routes were static. The routes included a stop at each address, whether or not any parcels or mail were to be delivered that day. Carriers frequently drove long out-and-back trips to reach an address that had nothing to deliver. This was a significant strain on fuel and labor costs for USPS, which sought a solution to create more efficient rural routes that could change daily, based on need. Additionally, siloed data within the USPS system kept mail and parcel manifests separate, creating another layer of complication.

Problem Statement: The commercial mail channel was plagued with costly manual processes that created many opportunities for human error and provided no real-time data that could be used to hone the system. Paper-driven postage, verification acceptance, entry and induction processes were cumbersome and provided little visibility about the customers, products and services that USPS works with every day.

Problem Statement: Congress passed a law requiring independent reporting of Service Performance measurement and digital incentives from the USPS to the Commercial mailing industry.

Problem Statement: The old system USPS used to communicate and implement the complex rules that govern more than 45 postal/parcel products in a nationwide system was both cumbersome and costly, with a price tag in the tens of millions of dollars annually. The Postal Service needed a new, data-backed system to push out information about biannual pricing changes, as well as new products and services. The old system required writing complex software code with each release, which led to delays, cost overruns and other inconveniences.

Problem Statement: SG360, a multi-site commercial mail company, sought a partner to help their executives better allocate capital during a period of expansion. The company desired a deeper understanding of their operations across all facilities and operations to identify potential cost savings and to develop a long-term strategy for growth opportunities.

Problem Statement: Large commercial carriers that use USPS for last-mile delivery consumed valuable time and resources when requesting appointments with USPS facilities. Each carrier, including FedEx, UPS and other logistics companies, used manual data entry to book dock time at each of the 250 intake facilities across the country, leading to high operational costs for USPS. Additionally, since the system was manual, there was no provision for electronic induction tracking, which was a key service performance indicator for USPS.

Problem Statement: RR Donnelley used legacy systems including manual processes that required expensive human labor, lacked induction visibility and made real-time early-late reporting to clients nearly impossible. There was also no direct linkage from TMS to pool management, and induction appointments were scheduled manually. Additionally, RR Donnelley wanted to identify the most cost-effective points of induction based on tariffs, cost per mile and LTL trucking costs.

Problem Statement: The rise of successful USPS B2B partners like http://Stamps.com and Indicia, among others, allows new avenues for some consumers to either mistakenly or deliberately underpay for parcels. Due to the sheer volume of parcels USPS handles per day, it’s not possible to verify the proper postage was paid for each shipment. These underpayments represented more than $225 million in lost revenue for the USPS, which sought a solution to curb underpayments.

Problem Statement: South West Distribution, the largest distributor of The Washington Post, suffered for years with a legacy accounting system that had too many incomplete workflows that created reporting issues for AR and AP, ad had extensive labor costs. The old system didn’t meet the needs of the business on any level, and wasn’t scalable or easy to use. Labor costs, as well as reporting issues for A/R and A/P were a risk to the business.

Problem Statement: Morocco Post sought to become the eCommerce hub for West Africa. They required an expert consulting partner to assess their existing facilities and workflows, and to determine the needs of the other countries the new eCommerce hub would ultimately serve.

Problem Statement: Canada Post Corporation (CPC) sought a digital strategy for a new mail visibility and digital marketing platform. The new program would need to help CPC’s commercial customers reach their customers in new ways with targeted marketing and allow for future digital product offerings. The system needed to capture and communicate scan data in real time and integrate the new digital marketing platform with existing structures. Due to the critical nature of mail delivery, there could be no interruption in service to CPC customers during the rollout of the program, so interdependencies and risks needed to be managed upfront.

Problem Statement: Ever-increasing volume at USPS locations led to long lines and costly staffing decisions for the postal service. USPS needed to add a self-service option for both commercial customers at its Business Mail Entry Delivery Units and retail customers at regular Post Offices.

Problem Statement: USPS constantly rolls out new products and services, but did not have an effective tool to review existing products and services for efficiency, customer experience and cost.

Problem Statement: Without digital access to the millions of US households it serves, USPS was at a disadvantage as the internet revolution siphoned off marketing dollars previously dedicated to the physical mail industry. USPS needed a digital strategy to create new services and products to compete in the digital world.

Problem Statement: By law, USPS cannot maintain any personally identifying information about the households and businesses it serves, nor can it share details of addresses with third parties. However, the need to generate new revenue through digital products required an intelligent address platform that would comply with legal requirements, but also allow new digital marketing products and services to hit the market. Additionally, USPS spent nearly $5 billion a year for changes of address when someone moves, and sought to reduce that cost as well.

Problem Statement: Large marketers, mailers and consolidators who use USPS did not have a centralized, web-based platform to manage their production mail streams. This caused mailers to spend more money and time when managing their various tasks.

Problem Statement: The opioid crisis in Canada, which killed thousands each year, was fueled by illegal drug shipments that arrived from China, and street violence was exacerbated by illegal arms shipments from the United States. Canada Border Security Agency sought a way to detect and inspect packages deemed the most likely to contain contraband, and intercept illegal shipments proactively.

Problem Statement: The Department of Education needed to replace an obsolete system that was used to process FAFSA applications. The old system and code required re-engineering and integration.

Problem Statement: New federal guidelines required Department of Education to move their data to open platforms, which required moving all content management applications to Drupal. Drupal was relatively new at the time, and presented a host of security issues to be addressed as part of any solution.

Problem Statement:Two external companies managed the USPS marketing database for several years, and the agency sought to bring the management back under their own control. That proved difficult due to technical and documentation-related challenges.

Problem Statement: USPS sought to transform their commercial channel, but their paper-driven processes and lack of electronic data meant their system lacked the efficiency, transparency and automation opportunities to succeed. They needed a completely new system built from the ground-up with data management at the forefront.

Problem Statement: Commercial mailers get a discount for transporting their presort letters closer to the ZIP Code where the final delivery occurs, putting the long-haul transportation cost on the mailer, not USPS. However, some unscrupulous commercial mailers exploited vulnerabilities in the USPS induction system by telling the system they were dropping the mail at an induction point near the final delivery area, but would in reality drop the mail at a facility that was only a short drive from the printer. This shifted the unpaid long-haul transportation burden back to the USPS — to the tune of $1.6 billion per year. USPS did not have a data-driven, risk-based program to provide the Office of Inspector General (OIG) the information they needed to detect and counteract this fraud.

Problem Statement: USPS sought a digital transformation solution that would allow the agency to measure organizational performance and specific KPIs. The goals included cutting costs, improving delivery service, improving the customer experience and developing new products.

Problem Statement: The commercial mail channel was plagued with costly manual processes that created many opportunities for human error and provided no real-time data that could be used to hone the system. Paper-driven postage, verification acceptance, entry and induction processes were cumbersome and provided little visibility about the customers, products and services that USPS works with every day.

Problem Statement: USPS constantly updates their parcel product offerings, but did not have a way to clearly identify which products and services were the most profitable, and what new products would be well-received by customers. The old system caused negative and confusing customer experiences and was also expensive to maintain.

Problem Statement: Morocco Post sought to become the eCommerce hub for West Africa. They required an expert consulting partner to assess their existing facilities and workflows, and to determine the needs of the other countries the new eCommerce hub would ultimately serve.

Problem Statement: USPS suffered millions in lost revenue due to gaps in the verification process for the last-mile delivery program. Shippers who use USPS for their last-mile deliveries often paid late, or underpaid for the service. USPS trusted Assurety to develop predictive analytics support to identify and target shippers who abuse the program and recover postage.

Problem Statement: Commercial printing and mailing house R.R. Donnelly faced extensive labor costs due to their lack of visibility into their induction system and inability to produce early/late reporting for their clients. Plus, their transport management system (TMS), pool management and induction appointment systems were all in siloed databases and there was no way to coordinate between departments, creating operational inefficiencies.

Problem Statement: Commercial printer Vertis Communications (now part of the Quad/Graphics family) looked to Assurety to develop a solution that would allow them to report mailings to their clients. Vertis’s clients, including nationwide insurance and banking institutions, require proactive, real-time notification by Vertis of early or late deliveries. Lack of integration between SAP and USPS B2B interfaces caused time-sensitive mail delivery notifications for early or late delivery to be provided after the fact.

Problem Statement: South West Distribution, the largest distributor for The Washington Post, teamed up with Assurety to reimagine their accounting system. South West was plagued with a legacy accounting system that had too many incomplete workflows, manual processes, and reporting issues for both accounts receivable and accounts payable. That strained the accounting staff and slowed reporting.

Problem Statement: Because it was labor intensive and costly to manage the process manually, many of Assurety’s clients desired optimization of their multi-stop transportation systems. Assurety listened to their clients and got to work designing a solution.

Problem Statement: Congress passed a law requiring USPS to develop an independent service quality measurement system and share its reports with the commercial mailing and shipping industry.

Problem Statement: USPS maintained only a single database with user information from a single source of sales data. The postal system sought a completely new system with deeper insights into customers that also allowed for marketing campaign management.

Problem Statement: USPS delivers to millions of homes and businesses each day, but had no way to reach these customers outside of their physical mailbox. Each month USPS was losing more direct mail revenue to digital campaigns. Despite their incredible trove of data about addresses, the postal service had no way to pair that information with customer data including shopping habits, preferences and social media information. In order to stay competitive, USPS needed a digital platform to reach new customers.

Problem Statement: The USPS encounters millions of failed first attempt deliveries per year. At an estimated loss of $3 each, these failed first attempts cost USPS hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Adding to the complication, USPS is not allowed to contact customers who have not opted-in for communication. There was a need to support delivery decisions driven by AI and pattern development.

Problem Statement: A sports equipment retailer experienced high costs and lack of control associated with manual inventory management. And, fraud was difficult to detect in real time, leading to shrinkage issues. The retailer’s consultant, Business Builders International, partnered with Assurety to create a more efficient, automated inventory management system.

Problem Statement: Emory University School of Medicine had difficulty with transparency and reporting due to siloed modules in their ERP. They sought a solution that combined data from all sources into one system that could be used by all departments.

Problem Statement: The IT department of the Emory University School of Medicine required immediate changes to the school’s ERP, as the original vendor wasn’t responsive to system needs, putting admissions efforts in jeopardy.

Problem Statement: South West Distribution, the largest distributor of The Washington Post, suffered for years with a legacy accounting system that had too many incomplete workflows that created reporting issues for AR and AP, ad had extensive labor costs. The old system didn’t meet the needs of the business on any level, and wasn’t scalable or easy to use. Labor costs, as well as reporting issues for A/R and A/P were a risk to the business.

Problem Statement: MBS (Mortgage Banking System), the oldest financial institution that supports the US mortgage industry, suffered with a legacy banking system that included more than 83 software versions, which made software management and security a costly nightmare. MBS needed a modern, scalable system that could be deployed with minimal interruptions to ongoing business.

Problem Statement: USPS sought to switch banking vendors for online credit card transactions accepted through their eCommerce site, Welcome | USPS . With regulatory and internal security rules changes, the new system needed to be more secure and have a separate architecture. Their bank wanted to develop a risk-based fraud detection technology platform that could predict and identify fraudulent credit card transactions.

Problem Statement: iRhythm Technologies relies on reverse logistics for ZIO, their single-use ambulatory cardiac monitoring system. Slower than expected transit times became an issue, as doctors and patients eagerly awaited test results. The company expected to add at least one new intake facility to improve transit times.

Problem Statement: During the George W. Bush administration, Congress passed a law requiring USPS to gather data and track average delivery times, and to create incentives for the mailing industry to either invest more work-share or pay additional fees to maintain USPS cashflow.