Get to know your PCC

The Postal Customer Council (PCC) program began more than 45 years ago with the formation of local user councils. These councils worked to improve communication between local postal customers and local postal managers. In 1971, the name was changed to Postal Customer Council (PCC).[i] Today there are 155 PCCs across the country with tens of thousands of active members. BCC Software is an active participant in the PCC program. Each year we send experts to speak at various PCCs across the country and utilize our own local PCC as one way to train our employees. Participating in your local PCC is a great way to stay informed and to get to know your local mailing community, including mailers, service providers, vendors, and USPS employees. If you have not already, we encourage you to get to know your PCC.

Your local PCC is a postal-sponsored organization that is managed by a board of directors from both Postal and Industry. Publication 286 states that the mission of each local PCC must include[ii]:

• Promote local cooperation and support and to foster a close working relationship between the U.S. Postal Service and all businesses that use the mail to communicate and interact with their customers;
• Share information and facilitate the exchange of ideas about new and existing Postal Service products, programs, services, and procedures that affect all businesses that use the mail; and
• Help PCC industry members and their organizations grow and develop professionally through focused educational programs.

Your local PCC continually works to develop education and training seminars that interest business mailers of all sizes. PCC’s are great resources to use if you want to get your new employees up to speed quickly on the basics of mail and at a very low cost. Local PCCs offer classes and even facilitate USPS tours to help gain perspective at how mail flows through a facility. PCC’s are also a great resources for veteran mailers to stay current on the ever changing postal system. Top executives from the USPS and the industry can be found each year speaking in person at local PCC events.

The most important and sometimes overlooked part of being part of your local PCC is the benefits you gain by meeting people that are truly interested in keeping mail relevant. This networking allows you to learn best practices that are used in the real world to help improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and profitability of your business. Getting to know the great people that are responsible for keeping you mail moving can also really help when you need a problem with your local mail solved quickly.

BCC encourages our customers to actively participate in their local PCC. It’s a great way to meet people and stay current on relevant issues that affect your business. If you are not already a PCC member, use this link to locate your local PCC and see what you are missing out on: http://about.usps.com/postal-customer-council/find-pcc-resources.htm

[i] http://www.hvpcc.org/historypcc.html
[ii] https://about.usps.com/publications/pub286.pdf