Deputy U. S. Postmaster General Stroman and DME Direct Mail Executive Zientarski Keynote EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK

Deputy U.S. Postmaster General Ron Stroman and DME Senior Managing Partner Scott Zientarski highlighted the vital partnership between the mailing industry, its suppliers, and the United States Postal Service (Postal Service or USPS) as co-keynoters of EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK on the eve of GRAPH EXPO 2011.

Both stressed the urgency for a new and sustainable USPS business model that can adapt to the rapidly changing communications marketplace to be put in place now. And each shared their respective roles in adjusting to the paradigm shift from paper-based to electronic communication and commerce.

Conference kick-off

Zientarski kicked off the conference by talking from his unique perspective on the future of print. Based in Daytona Beach, FL, DME is a direct-mail marketing company and true print leader that grew from a three-person startup into a $100 million firm.

Zientarski’s comments focused on how printing companies need to adapt to a changing print landscape that requires a focus on ROI and the ability to integrate print with electronic communication technology to maximize marketing spend.

Deputy PMG Stroman complemented Zientarski’s remarks by relating U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe’s leadership in addressing the current USPS financial crisis, as well as the PMG’s longer-term vision for right-sizing and making more efficient and sustainable the Postal Service of the future.

Short-term measures include making immediate operational changes that are in the current purview of Postal Service management, such as curtailing USPS payments to certain federal employee retirement accounts, and moving forward with plans to close unprofitable post offices.

On Capitol Hill

Longer-term structural changes, such as reducing the frequency of mail delivery from six to five days a week, and giving arbitrators the ability to take the fiscal health of the Postal Service into account during labor/management contract negotiations, will require additional grants of authority by Congress.

To that end, bills to address this need for change have been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Also in this regard, NPES is an active participant in the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, a broad-based mailing industry legislative effort comprised of more than 30 associations and corporations, which is engaged with the Postal Service, labor unions, Congress, the Obama Administration, and other stakeholder groups in advancing postal reform legislation.

Additional topics

Other topics covered during Executive Outlook included:

• “Being a Marketing Services Provider — What Does That Mean and How Do You Do It?”

• “The Profit Leaders—What Differentiates Them From the Rest of the Pack?”

• “Disrupting the Future—Uncommon Wisdom for Navigating Print’s Challenging Marketplace”

• “Embracing and Integrating Digital Communication Technologies with the Print Mix”

• “Truth from the Trenches—What Innovative Printers Are Doing to Grow in the Challenging Environment of Print Today”

The Executive Outlook Conference was sponsored by Manroland and Xerox. For additional details on these presentations, see the article on page 14. For more information contact NPES Vice President William K. Smythe, at 703/264-7220, e-mail: ksmythe@npes.org, or NPES Government Affairs Director Mark J. Nuzzaco at phone: 703/264-7235, e-mail: mnuzzaco@npes.org.