WO2007041275A2

WO2007041275A2 - Systems and methods for freight transportation

Info

Publication number: WO2007041275A2
Application number: PCT/US2006/038018
Authority: WO
Inventors: James P. Cunningham
Original assignee: United States Postal Service
Priority date: 2005-09-30
Filing date: 2006-09-29
Publication date: 2007-04-12
Also published as: WO2007041275A3

Abstract

A freight transportation system and method includes a transportation vehicle configured to transport postal freight from loading stations to delivery stations. The postal freight includes customer mail and at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party items.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION

DESCRIPTION

Cross-Reference

[001] This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/722,058, filed September 30, 2005, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, including all figures and exhibits.

Technical Field

[002] The present disclosure is related to a transportation method and system for delivering items and, more particularly, a freight transportation system and method that uses freight vehicles for transporting items, including customer mail and at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party items.

Background

[003] Delivery services, such as mail carriers, may handle a number of items that may be classified as "miscellaneous items". These items may include items that are not delivered by mail carriers as customer mail. Customer mail includes articles such as, for example, letters, flat mail, bulk mail, parcels and other packages that are owned by mail carriers' customers and that are transported by the mail carriers on the mail carriers' transportation network for a postage fee charged to the mail carriers' customers. On the other hand, miscellaneous items are items that are transported by mail carriers but are not delivered to the mail carriers' customers. These items are owned by the mail carriers themselves and, therefore, the mail carriers do not receive any fee for their transportation. Thus, miscellaneous items include, for example, internal postal supplies, parts, and equipment used by personnel at the mail carriers' facilities, and mailing supplies provided by mail carriers to their customers. In addition, other items that may be handled by mail carriers but for no fee associated with their handling may be classified as miscellaneous items.

[004] Traditionally, mail carriers have not transported miscellaneous items using their own transportation system. Instead, mail carriers have contracted with other companies to move these miscellaneous items. Mail carriers use different types of contractual arrangements with these other companies to transport these miscellaneous items. These contractual arrangements may include terms wherein, for example, a mail carrier or the miscellaneous items supplier pays a transportation service provider to transport the items. In addition, other contractual arrangements may be made between the mail carrier and the miscellaneous items supplier where a transportation provider other than the mail carrier transports the miscellaneous items.

[005] However, the use of a separate transportation provider to move miscellaneous items used by the mail carriers has several disadvantages. Because the mail carriers do not transport the miscellaneous items themselves, they may not have much control over the transportation of these items. For example, in cases where the miscellaneous items supplier selects and pays the transportation service provider for the transportation of these miscellaneous items, the transportation charges invariably become an integral part of the overall item cost. Furthermore, mail carrier personnel that may contract with the miscellaneous items supplier or the transportation service provider (in cases where the mail carrier contracts directly with the transportation service provider) may not aggressively determine shipping costs, modes, and requirements at the time of contract ratification. These issues may lead to an increase in cost for the mail carrier to procure these miscellaneous items from the miscellaneous items supplier.

[006] The present disclosure addresses to overcoming one or more problems of the prior art miscellaneous items transportation system or problems associated with unutilized space in transportation vehicles of the transportation system.

SUMMARY

[007] Disclosed herein are transportation systems, methods, computer systems, and computer readable media useful for reallocating unutilized space on transportation vehicles owned or leased by a mail carrier to transport at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party mail. Excess space in transportation vehicles may be utilized by identifying miscellaneous items and/or third-party mail needing transportation. [008] The mail carrier may not have any miscellaneous items to ship in the excess space, there might be space left on the transportation vehicle even after loading the miscellaneous items, or it may be more economically feasible to sell the excess space to another mail carrier. While the mail carrier may not be able to utilize this excess space, other mail carriers (hereinafter "secondary mail carriers") may be able to utilize the excess space. Secondary mail carriers are not the primary users of the transportation vehicle but may have mail for which they are responsible and that needs to shipped on the same route as that traversed by the transportation vehicle. This mail is herein referred to as "third-party mail." Like customer mail, third-party mail may include letters, flat mail, bulk mail, parcels and other packages that are the responsibility of other mail carriers and that are transported by these other mail carriers for a fee. However, the difference is that while owners of customer mail pay a mail carrier a postage fee for the shipping of customer mail, secondary mail carriers may pay the mail carrier a rate based on standard freight shipping charges for transporting third-party mail. Thus, the underutilized space on these transportation vehicles may be a source of cost saving (by using the underutilized space to transport miscellaneous items) or a source of revenue (by utilizing the underutilized space to transport third-party mail) for the mail carrier.

[009] Accordingly, disclosed herein is a postal freight transportation system. In one embodiment, the system comprises a transportation vehicle having a payload area and configured to transport postal freight to a delivery station, a customer mail loading station, at least one of a miscellaneous item loading station and a third-party mail loading station, postal freight, a customer mail delivery station, and at least one of a miscellaneous item delivery station and a third-party mail delivery station. The postal freight includes customer mail and at least one of a miscellaneous item and third-party mail.

[010] Also disclosed herein are methods for transporting postal freight. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving customer mail onto a transportation vehicle having a payload area and configured to transport postal freight. The method also includes determining if there is excess space on the transportation vehicle. The method also includes receiving at least one of miscellaneous items onto the transportation vehicle and third-party mail into the transportation vehicle. The method further includes transporting the customer mail and at least one of the miscellaneous items and the third-party mail using the transportation vehicle.

[011] Further disclosed herein are computer systems and computer readable media for implementing the disclosed methods.

[012] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.

[013] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one embodiment of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRlPTiON OF THE DRAWINGS

[014] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a postal freight transportation system consistent with the present invention.

[015] Figure 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of a compartment in a transportation vehicle consistent with the present invention.

[016] Figure 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for postal freight transportation consistent with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[017] Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Although the description of the embodiments refers to mail carriers, it is to be understood that the invention is not so limited. Rather, the invention is applicable to other types of delivery service providers. I. Definitions

[018] In order to more clearly understand the invention, certain terms are defined as follows: [019] As used herein, the term "customer mail" refers to articles transported by a mail carrier utilizing the mail carrier's transportation network for a postage fee charged to the mail carriers' customers. The articles may include, for example, letters, flat mail, bulk mail, parcels, and other packages owned by the customers of the mail carrier.

[020] As used herein, the terms "miscellaneous items" or "miscellaneous item" refers to items owned by the mail carrier but not delivered to the mail carrier's customers. Moreover, the mail carrier does not generate postage fees from the transportation of "miscellaneous items." Exemplary miscellaneous items include internal postal supplies, parts, and equipment used by personnel at the mail carrier's facilities and mailing supplies provided or sold by the mail carrier to its customers. Miscellaneous items used by mail carrier personnel include, for example, computers, computer parts, office supplies, etc. In addition, other items, such as interoffice mail between the various facilities of the mail carrier, may also be part of the miscellaneous items transported by the mail carrier. Items provided or sold by the mail carrier to its customers include, for example, postal supplies, phone cards, and other such goods. These miscellaneous items need transportation and handling just like customer mail. For example, office supplies used by the mail carrier and postal supplies sold by the mail carrier have to be transported from the supplier of these items to one or more of the mail carrier's premises.

[021] As used herein, the term "third-party mail" refers to articles for which a secondary mail carrier is responsible for transporting from a pickup location to a delivery location. The secondary mail carrier contracts with the mail carrier to transport the third-party mail from at least a third-party mail loading station to a third- party mail delivery station for a rate other than postal fees. For example, the secondary mail carrier may pay a rate based on standard freight shipping charges. Exemplary third-party mail includes letters, flat mail, bulk mail, parcels, and other packages.

[022] As used herein, the term "postal freight" refers to customer mail, miscellaneous items, third-party mail, and a combination of any of the foregoing. H. Transportation System

[023] Fig. 1 provides a block diagram representation of an embodiment of a postal freight transportation system 10. Transportation system 10 comprises a customer mail loading station 20, a miscellaneous items loading station 30, a third- party mail loading station 34, a transportation vehicle 40, a customer mail delivery station 50, a miscellaneous items delivery station 60, and a third-party mail delivery station 64.

[024] In one embodiment, customer mail that is slotted for transportation on transportation vehicle 40 is loaded onto transportation vehicle 40 from customer mail loading station 20. In addition, if transportation vehicle 40 has space unutilized by the customer mail, then miscellaneous items that are destined to one or more destinations on the same route traversed by transportation vehicle 40 are loaded onto transportation vehicle 40. The miscellaneous items are received onto transportation vehicle 40 using miscellaneous items loading station 30. In addition, the mail carrier may sell any excess space leftover in transportation vehicle 40 to secondary mail carriers. This third-party mail is received onto transportation vehicle 40 using third-party mail loading station 34. Transportation vehicle 40 delivers customer mail, miscellaneous items, and third-party mail to customer mail delivery station 50, miscellaneous items delivery station 60, and third-party mail delivery station 64, respectively. Any portion of the combination of customer mail, miscellaneous items, and third-party mail that is being transported on transportation vehicle 40 may be known as "postal freight."

[025] As described above, a mail carrier's customers provide the mail carrier with customer mail that the mail carrier delivers to the customer mail's intended destination. In an exemplary embodiment, the mail carriers include, for example, the UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE™ ("USPS™"), Federal Express ("FEDEX™"), United Parcel Service ("UPS™") carriers, etc. In addition, a mail carrier may include any other company that provides the service of receiving, transporting, and delivering customer mail for a fee. Exemplary customers of mail carriers include individuals, small businesses, large businesses, and other entities that may have a need to send and/or receive goods.

[026] In another embodiment, customer mail is loaded onto a mail carrier's transportation vehicle using customer mail loading station 20. In yet another embodiment, customer mail is received onto a mail carrier's transportation vehicle. Customer mail loading station 20 may be located at the mail carrier's premises. For example, where the mail carrier is the USPS™ carrier, these premises may include, for example, a branch post office, a regional post office, or a Bulk Mailing Center ("BMC"). In a further embodiment, a BMC includes an office where mail from various post offices is collected before it is loaded onto a vehicle for delivery. In yet another embodiment, the customer mail loading station 20 is located at a customer's premises. In particular, this customer may include a business or an individual who has made arrangements with the mail carrier to have mail picked up from the customer's premises instead of the customer delivering the mail to the mail carrier's premises.

[027] Customer mail loading station 20 is configured to load customer mail onto a vehicle for mail delivery. Accordingly, customer mail loading station 20 includes equipment for loading the customer mail onto transportation vehicle 40. The type of equipment included in customer mail loading station 20 depends on the type of customer mail generally shipped from customer mail loading station 20. Thus, if heavy pieces of customer mail, such as, for example, packages weighing over seventy pounds, are to be shipped from customer mail loading station 20, then equipment, such as, for example, fork lifts, may be used at customer mail loading station 20 to load customer mail onto transportation vehicle 40. In addition, containers to store customer mail and other equipment that may be used to load customer mail onto transportation vehicle 40 may be included in customer mail loading station 20.

[028] In one embodiment, the transportation system may comprise a mail carrier that transports miscellaneous items that do not constitute customer mail. If transportation vehicle 40 has unutilized space, and if the miscellaneous item delivery station for the miscellaneous items is located on or substantially on the regularly scheduled route of transportation vehicle 40, then these miscellaneous items are transported on transportation vehicle 40 rather than on another carrier's transportation network. A miscellaneous item delivery station is located substantially on the regularly scheduled route when, for example, it is economically feasible to detour from the main transportation route to delivery the miscellaneous items to the miscellaneous item delivery station, or the delivery of customer mail to the customer delivery station is not negatively impacted. A computer program and related system may be used to keep track of available space in the carrier's transportation network to allow easy determination of when and where miscellaneous items can be transported.

[029] Thus, miscellaneous items may be loaded or received onto transportation vehicle 40 in addition to customer mail. Referring to Fig. 1 , the miscellaneous items are loaded from miscellaneous items loading station 30 onto transportation vehicle 40. Miscellaneous items loading station 30 may be located at the premises of the miscellaneous items suppliers. These suppliers include, for example, manufacturers or distributors of postal supplies sold by the mail carrier to the mail carrier's customers, manufacturers or distributors of supplies used by the personnel working at the mail carrier's premises, or other entities capable of supplying miscellaneous items for use by the mail carrier. In an exemplary embodiment, miscellaneous items loading station 30 is configured similar to customer mail loading station 20. Therefore, miscellaneous items loading station 30 includes equipment and facilities for loading miscellaneous items onto transportation vehicle 40.

[030] In addition, or alternatively, miscellaneous items may be loaded or received onto transportation vehicle 40 from the premises of the mail carrier; thus, the miscellaneous item loading station and the customer mail loading station may be the same station, or they may be stations located at different premises used by the mail carrier. Extra miscellaneous items already located on the mail carrier's premises may be reallocated to another site of the mail carrier. In this instance, extra miscellaneous items from a customer mail loading station are loaded onto unutilized space of the transportation vehicle 40 and deposited at a customer mail delivery station in need of such miscellaneous items. This may happen when miscellaneous items, such as, for example, interoffice mail for the mail carrier, are being sent from one office of the mail carrier to the other. As mentioned above, a difference between customer mail and miscellaneous items is that the mail carriers' customers buy the right to ship customer mail by paying a postage fee associated with the customer mail, whereas mail carriers ship miscellaneous items for no fee because mail carriers own the miscellaneous items.

[031] There may be instances when transportation vehicle 40 may have unutilized space, despite the shipping of miscellaneous items on it. This may occur, for example, when customer mail does not fill transportation vehicle 40 to capacity, and the combination of customer mail and miscellaneous items also does not fill transportation vehicle 40 to capacity. Alternatively, the mail carrier may not have miscellaneous items to ship on transportation vehicle 40 and, therefore, may be unable to utilize any excess space on transportation vehicle 40. In yet another embodiment, the revenue realized by the shipping third party items may exceed the cost savings associated with miscellaneous item delivery. The mail carrier may choose to generate revenues by allocating all or a portion of unutilized space on a transportation vehicle 40 for third party mail. Under these circumstances, in one embodiment, the mail carrier sells the unutilized space on transportation vehicle 40 to other secondary mail carriers. Once again, a computer program and related system may be used to keep track of such unutilized space. A computer program and related system may also be used to determine the advantageous combinations of customer mail, miscellaneous items, and third-party mail with respect to cost savings and revenues generated. In a further embodiment, computer readable media 44 may be utilized to aid in the identification of loading combinations and/or excess space.

[032] These other carriers may, thus, buy the excess space on transportation vehicle 40 to transport their third-party mail under standard freight shipping rates. This third-party mail may be transported on transportation vehicle 40, under standard freight shipping charges or other charges agreed upon by the mail carrier and the secondary mail carrier.

[033] In an exemplary embodiment, the secondary mail carriers that may buy unutilized space from a mail carrier include consolidators, third party logistic providers, highway contractors, and the mail carrier's competitors. Consolidators are entities that take advantage of workshare discounts to drop ship products to a destination mail center. Thus, a consolidator, whose scheduled trip destination is on the regularly scheduled route of transportation vehicle 40, may contract with the mail carrier to deliver the consolidator's mail to the scheduled destination using transportation vehicle 40. Furthermore, other entities that need their mail shipped on the same route as that of transportation vehicle 40 may purchase the excess space on transportation vehicle 40 from the mail carrier.

[034] The consolidator industry takes advantage of workshare discounts to drop ship to Bulk Mail Centers (BMCs), Sectional Center Facilities (SCFs), and the Destination Delivery Unit (DDUs) of the USPS™ carrier. Consolidators and the USPS™ carrier each have their own transportation information systems that feed into a hybrid Drop Shipment Appointment System ("DSAS"). The attraction of collaboration between the USPS™ and consolidators is that consolidators are a party of the supply chain and their third party items eventually becomes mail. Moreover, consolidators have a predictable output and are typically seeking to get their product to the same postal facility as the scheduled trip's destination. No deviations to an intermediate stop are necessarily required.

[035] Third party logistic providers ("3PLs") are asset-based logistic managers and have in-house information systems to manage their transportation networks and provide visibility for their product carried. Moreover, 3PLs do not necessarily own their own transportation vehicle fleet but instead execute contracts with national and regional carriers. Additionally, 3PLs have information platforms in which to manage its logistics business. Thus, 3PLs may be a source of third-party mail, or they may facilitate negotiations between the mail carrier and secondary mail carriers to transport third-party mail.

[036] Highway contractors are typically local or regional owners of fleets of transportation vehicles and are a source of third-party mail.

[037] In an exemplary embodiment, third-party mail is loaded onto transportation vehicle 40 using third-party mail loading station 34. Like customer mail loading station 20 and miscellaneous items loading station 30, third-party mail loading station 34 is configured with facilities and equipment for loading third-party mail onto transportation vehicle 40. In yet another embodiment, third-party mail is received onto transportation vehicle 40.

[038] In a further embodiment, transportation vehicle 40 has a payload area and is configured to transport customer mail and at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party mail. Transportation vehicle 40 is chosen in a manner such that it is suitable for delivering postal freight to its intended destination. Specifically, transportation vehicle 40 is chosen so that postal freight may be easily loaded, stored, and unloaded from it. For example, transportation vehicle 40 may have more than one door to allow access to different compartmentalized storage areas therein. An eighteen-wheel trailer, for example, may be configured as a side loader, a rear loader, or a combination of both. [039] Furthermore, the distance transportation vehicle 40 may generally cover for each trip may be taken into consideration while choosing transportation vehicle 40. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, eighteen-wheel trailers may be used to transport postal freight over distances greater than 200 miles, whereas smaller trucks may be used to transport postal freight for distances less than or equal to 200 miles.

[040] Because transportation vehicle 40 transports customer mail and at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party mail, the payload area of the transportation vehicle 40 may be dividable and equipped with a mechanism that divides the vehicle into different compartments in one embodiment. In one embodiment, each compartment stores a certain kind of postal freight. One compartment may be used to store customer mail, the other to store miscellaneous items, and yet another to store third-party mail. In yet another embodiment, each compartment stores postage freight according to whom is responsible for the freight. If a plurality of secondary mail carriers ship third-party mail on the mail carrier's transportation vehicle, the third-party mail of each secondary mail carrier may be stored in a separate compartment. The customer mail and any miscellaneous items may be stored in separate or the same compartment.

[041] Various types of mechanisms may be used to divide transportation vehicle 40. In one embodiment, a security curtain is used in transportation vehicle 40 to divide transportation vehicle 40 into two or more compartments. Fig. 2 provides a diagrammatic representation of a compartment 90 in transportation vehicle 40. Compartment 90 includes a security curtain 100. Security curtain 100 includes channel bars 110 and a shoring strap 120. Shoring strap 120 includes seal 130. Channel bars 110 are configured to provide a semipermanent frame to security curtain 100. Shoring straps 120 are used to close security curtain 100 in order to provide a separate compartment in transportation vehicle 40. Upon closure of security curtain 100, seal 130 is placed on shoring strap 120 to ensure that shoring strap 120 does not come undone. Access to compartment 90 that is covered by security curtain 100 may be obtained by breaking seal 130 on shoring strap 120 and swinging security curtain 100 to one side of transportation vehicle 40 and securing security curtain 100 to that side of transportation vehicle 40 until next use. [042] Security curtain 100 is made of material that is mounted on transportation vehicle 40 and is configurable to provide a semipermanent partition in transportation vehicle 40 in one embodiment. This material may include, for example, canvas, jute, tarpaulin, or any such material. Channel bars 110 are used to provide some rigidity and support to security curtain 100. In order to support and give form to security curtain 100, channel bars 110 may be made of metal, such as, for example, aluminum, copper, steel, or other such metals. Alternatively, channel bars 110 may be made of other material, such as, for example, plastic. Seal 130 is configured to secure shoring strap 120. Seal 130 may be designed so as to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing shoring strap 120. For example, seal 130 may be made tamper-proof, so that any prior attempt to break seal 130 may be visible to authorized personnel.

[043] In an embodiment, transportation vehicle 40 delivers customer mail, miscellaneous items, and third-party mail to customer mail delivery station 50, miscellaneous items delivery station 60, and third-party mail delivery station 64, respectively. Each of the above-mentioned delivery stations is configured to unload mail from transportation vehicle 40. Accordingly, customer mail delivery station 50, miscellaneous items delivery station 60, and third-party mail delivery station 64 include facilities and equipment to unload mail from transportation vehicle 40.

[044] The facilities may include, for example, a back dock. In an exemplary embodiment, customer mail delivery station 50, miscellaneous items delivery station 60, and third-party mail delivery station 64 are located on a regularly scheduled route of transportation vehicle 40. For example, if transportation vehicle 40 has a route from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D. C, to transport customer mail to Washington, D. C, miscellaneous items delivery station 60 may be located at the mail carrier's facility en route at New York City, New York, and third-party mail delivery station 64 may be located at the secondary mail carrier's facility at Baltimore, Maryland. In another embodiment, because the mail carrier is primarily responsible for customer mail and miscellaneous items, customer mail delivery station 50 and miscellaneous items delivery station 60 are located at one location. For example, if transportation vehicle 40 is transporting customer mail to the mail carrier's branch office in Washington, D. C, transportation vehicle 40 may also transport miscellaneous items needed by customer mail personnel in Washington

D.C.

III. Methods For Transporting Postal Freight

[045] Fig. 3 provides a flowchart 200 illustrating the steps of shipping postal freight on transportation vehicle 40 according to an exemplary disclosed embodiment. At step 202, a mail carrier accepts a piece of carrier mail from the customer for shipment. At this time, the mail carrier also accepts a postage fee from the customer for the shipment of this carrier mail. At step 204, the customer mail is received onto transportation vehicle 40. At step 210, a mail carrier may determine if there is excess space on transportation vehicle 40. If there is excess space on transportation vehicle 40, the mail carrier may determine if there are miscellaneous items to ship at step 215. The mail carrier may receive miscellaneous items onto transportation vehicle 40 at step 230. As mentioned above, no fee payment is associated with the loading and shipment of miscellaneous items. However, if there is no excess space on transportation vehicle 40, then the mail carrier may merely ship the customer mail that is loaded onto transportation vehicle 40 at step 220.

[046] Even after the mail carrier loads miscellaneous items onto transportation vehicle 40, there may still be excess space on transportation vehicle 40. Alternatively, the mail carrier may determine that it has no miscellaneous items to load onto transportation vehicle 40. In either case, the mail carrier may sell any resulting excess space to another mail carrier at step 250 for transportation of third- party mail. At step 252, the mail carrier may receive payment of a freight shipping fee for transportation of third-party mail. The mail carrier then receives and ships the third-party mail at step 260.

[047] The determination of excess space on transportation vehicle 40 may be made on the basis of the size of postal freight storage space in transportation vehicle 40 and the maximum allowable weight transportation vehicle 40 is configured to carry. Given the size of customer mail that may be loaded onto transportation vehicle 40 and the size of the postal freight storage space in transportation vehicle 40, a mail carrier may determine if excess space is available for transportation of miscellaneous items and/or third-party mail on transportation vehicle 40. Similarly, if the weight of the customer mail to be transported on transportation vehicle 40 is known, and if the maximum allowable weight that transportation vehicle 40 is configured to carry is known, then the mail carrier may determine the allowable weight of miscellaneous items and/or third-party mail that may be transported using transportation vehicle 40. The size of postal freight storage space and the weight limit on transportation vehicle 40 may be determined from the specification of transportation vehicle 40. This specification may be obtained from, for example, a user's manual. Some or all of the steps described in flowchart 200 may be done automatically or manually. A computer program and related system may be used to keep track of available space in the carrier's transportation network to allow easy determination of when and where miscellaneous and/or third party items can be transported.

IV. Computer Systems and Computer Readable Media

[048] Also disclosed herein are computer systems and computer readable media for implementing and facilitating the methods and systems disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a computer readable media and system is configured to identify unutilized space in a transportation vehicle within the transportation system. The computer readable media and system may further comprise performing a cost analysis associated with loading miscellaneous items and the revenue generated by loading third-party mail in the identified unutilized space, determining a cost effective combination of miscellaneous items and third-party mail, and generating an output signal to initiate loading of the cost effective combination of miscellaneous items and third-party mail into the unutilized space of the transportation vehicle.

V. Examples Example 1- Third Party Items:

[049] Long haul trips having less than 50% truck bed utilization were evaluated. Long haul trips were classified as non-stop trips having a trip length of more than four hours in each direction. Unutilized space was identified for loading with third-party mail for palletized loads. Moreover, for this example, the third-party mail excluded hazardous materials (HAZMAT), live animals, or anything proscribed from entering the mail stream for reasons other than size dimensions. In some trips, palletized third-party mail was first delivered to a customer mail loading station. In some trips, palletized third-party mail was loaded at a third-party loading station.

[050] The identified unutilized space was offered to third party logistic providers (3PLs) or to highway contractors. Market demand of 3PLs and highway contractors are driven by the economic business climate. It fluctuates by seasons in a different pattern than customer mail flows. 3PLs and highway contractors operated a five-day per week, two-tour operation with few distribution centers operating on a 24 hours a day/7 days a week schedule.

[051] Example 1 demonstrated that there was a negligible market demand for secondary mail carriers to bring their freight to a customer mail loading station. Indeed, the secondary mail carriers requested loading at third-party mail loading stations. The third-party mail market for weekends was also negligible relative to weekday demand. Further, a minimum number of pallet positions should be sold to offset to cost for route deviation to the third-party mail loading station and third-party mail delivery station, and it was determined that prescheduled movements providing a better revenue generating opportunity compared to the spot market.

[052] $800,000 in revenue was generated over a fourteen month period primarily from full truckload trips. The cost avoidance realized over $8.0 million in annualized savings due to 28 trips that were eliminated due to low utilization. Example 2- Miscellaneous Items:

[053] Internal freight pallets were previously transported from a material distribution center in Topeka, Kansas to a bulk mail center in Kansas City, Kansas via government bill of lading. Unutilized space in transportation vehicles was identified, and the internal freight pallets containing miscellaneous items were transported accordingly. No additional transportation vehicles were required, and the cost savings was annualized to $775,000.

[054] A miscellaneous item supplier distributed PRIORITY™ and EXPRESS MAIL™ packaging products to 16 bulk mail centers east of the Mississippi River. Direct 5-digit ZIP CODE™ government bill of lading pallets destined for postal facilities were identified and rerouted through the Cincinnati, Ohio bulk mail center using existing unutilized highway transportation or one-way rail from the miscellaneous item supplier's plant. Identification and use of unutilized space in transportation vehicles reduced planned annual transportation costs by $2.5 million.

[055] Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A postal transportation system comprising: postal freight comprising: customer mail; and at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party mail; a transportation vehicle having a payload area and configured to transport postal freight; a customer mail loading station; at least one of a miscellaneous item loading station and a third-party mail loading station; a customer mail delivery station; and at least one of a miscellaneous item delivery station and a third-party mail delivery station.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the miscellaneous item loading station and the customer mail loading station are the same station.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the miscellaneous item loading station is located at a miscellaneous item supplier's premises.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the miscellaneous items delivery station is one or more destinations on the same route traversed by the transportation vehicle.

5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the customer mail delivery station and the miscellaneous item delivery station are the same station.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the customer mail delivery station is located at the mail carrier's premises.

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the customer mail delivery station is located at a customer's location.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the transportation vehicle comprises a division separating the payload into a plurality of compartments, and wherein the compartments are configured to hold one of customer mail, miscellaneous items, or third-party mail.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the division comprises: a security curtain, a channel bar providing a frame for the curtain, and a shoring strap for closing the curtain.

10. The system according to claim 9, further comprising: a seal attached to the shoring strap, wherein the seal comprises: a secured configuration wherein the curtain prevents access to the compartment therein, an unsecured configuration wherein the curtain is movable to allow access to the compartment therein; and a tampered configuration wherein unauthorized tampering with the seal is indicated.

11. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising: computer-readable media including computer-executable code for causing a computer to perform a method for identifying a cost effective combination of miscellaneous items and third-party mail,

12. A method for transporting postal freight on a transportation vehicle, the method comprising: providing a transportation vehicle having a payload area and configured to transport postal freight; accepting a fee from a customer for shipment of customer mail; receiving the customer mail from a customer mail loading station onto the transportation vehicle; identifying unutilized space on the transportation vehicle; receiving at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party mail into the unutilized space of the transportation vehicle from at least one of a miscellaneous item loading station and a third-party loading station; transporting the postal freight using the transportation vehicle; and delivering the customer mail to a customer mail delivery station and the at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party mail to at least one of a miscellaneous item delivery station and a third- party mail delivery station.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein third-party mail is received onto the unutilized space of the transportation vehicle, further comprising: charging a shipping rate for shipment of the third-party mail.

14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: separating the unutilized space from the customer mail; wherein the at least one of miscellaneous items and third-party mail are loaded into the separated unutilized space.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step of separating comprises: providing a security curtain; providing stability to the curtain by placing one or more channel bars across the curtain; and securing the curtain to the transportation vehicle to prevent unauthorized access to the separated unutilized space.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein securing comprises: securing the curtain to the transportation vehicle with a shoring strap.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: sealing the shoring strap.

18. The method according to claim 14, comprising: receiving third-party mail provided by a plurality of secondary mail carriers; and storing the third-party mail for each secondary mail carrier in corresponding separated spaces.

19. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: performing an analysis of cost savings associated with loading miscellaneous items and the revenue generated by loading third-party mail; determining a cost effective combination of miscellaneous items and third-party mail; and generating an output signal to initiate loading of the cost effective combination of miscellaneous items and third-party mail into the unutilized space of the transportation vehicle.

20. The method according to claim 12, wherein the customer mail loading station and the miscellaneous item loading station are the same station.

21. The method according to claim 12, wherein the customer mail delivery station and the miscellaneous item delivery station are the same station.

22. A computer-readable computer medium including computer-executable code for causing a computer to perform a method for identifying a cost effective combination of miscellaneous items and third-party mail, the method comprising: performing an analysis of cost savings associated with loading miscellaneous items the revenue generated by loading third- party mail in the identified unutilized space, determining a cost effective combination of miscellaneous items and third-party mail; and generating an output signal to initiate loading of the cost effective combination of miscellaneous items and third-party mail into the unutilized space of the transportation vehicle.