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Pitney Bowes Increases Address Data Accuracy With USPS-Certified Delivery Point Validation

DANBURY, Conn., Jun 20, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) has released Finalist(R) 7.4, a USPS-certified software solution designed to significantly improve the quality and deliverability of mailing addresses. Finalist version 7.4 can leverage the Delivery Point Validation database of 145 million USPS-confirmed delivery points in the United States to help businesses increase their mail delivery effectiveness.

According to a recent United States Postal Service report, $1.5 billion in postal costs are attributable annually to undeliverable as addressed mail due to poor customer data. About 5.4 billion pieces of mail are undeliverable, representing 3% of mail volume. In addition, while 98% of the mail volume today is bar-coded, over 23% of the mail still contains address errors/problems that can impact efficient delivery. (Source USPS).

The USPS updates the DPV database monthly to reduce undeliverable-as-addressed mail and offer significant savings to mailers in postage costs. The cost of correcting bad addresses manually can reach as high as $3 to $11 per mail piece.

Delivery Point Validation

DPV is an option that can be installed with Finalist to enhance address validation. DPV will accept the cleansed addresses from Finalist (that have matched the USPS ZIP+4 database) and answer "yes or no" the question "Is this a deliverable address" to enhance the mailer's ability to validate mailing addresses prior to sending the mail piece.

Without DPV, Finalist is capable of confirming whether addresses fall within the address ranges specified in ZIP+4 records. For example, "100 to 198 (even) MAPLE AVE" is a typical house number range listed in the ZIP+4 database, and any even house number in that range will validate and become CASS-certified, whether or not the address actually exists.

Finalist with DPV installed can confirm whether the individual address really exists. For example, only three addresses might actually exist in a given range like "100 to 198 (even)". Using Finalist with DPV, a mailer can validate the correct addresses they are mailing to and reject any other address in the range. In other words, with Finalist's DPV option installed, a mailer can also determine whether mail is actually delivered to the address.

"Finalist continues to set the industry standard for reducing returned mail, obtaining faster delivery through USPS automation handling, improving the delivery efficiency, reducing processing costs," said Lenore O'Connor, vice-president of Product Management, Pitney Bowes docSense. "With the economy mired in a slump and postage costs about to increase there has never been a better time to attack the problem of address quality and returned mail."

Pitney Bowes docSense* offers Finalist**, ForwardTrak(TM) and Mailers Choice(R) software to increase data quality and improve mail efficiency.

Pitney Bowes docSense will host a 60-minute Data Quality Web Seminar: "How To Take Control of Your Data." The Web Seminar will be held twice on Tuesday, June 25. Session A: 11:00 AM EST (10:00 CST, 8:00 PST) and Session B: 3:00 PM EST (2:00 CST, 12:00 PST).

More information can be obtained by visiting http://www.docsense.pb.com or by calling 1-877-5docsense. More information about the USPS 2002 CASS requirements can be obtained at the USPS Customer Support Center at 800-238-3150.

Pitney Bowes is a $4 billion global provider of informed mail and message management. Pitney Bowes docSense is a provider of premier solutions for the creation and distribution of efficient and effective documents in paper and digital form. For more information please visit http://www.pitneybowes.com

     Media Contact:
     Scott Gerschwer
     Manager, Media Relations
     Pitney Bowes docSense
     203-739-3163
     scott.gerschwer@pb.com

    * Pitney Bowes docSense is a non-exclusive licensee of the United States
      Postal Service.

    ** The price of the DPV option for Finalist is offered by Pitney Bowes
       docSense, and is not established, controlled, or approved by the United
       Stated Government.

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SOURCE Pitney Bowes

CONTACT:          Media - Scott Gerschwer, Manager, Media Relations of Pitney
                  Bowes docSense, +1-203-739-3163, scott.gerschwer@pb.com

URL:              http://www.pitneybowes.com
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