Centralized Reject Database for USPS Change of Address Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing change of address (COA) process for the USPS is inefficient, as only a small fraction of changes are handled online due to customer reluctance to pay a fee, and paper forms often result in scanning issues and data rejection, with no centralized database for rejected forms, leading to difficulties in error analysis and customer complaints.
Innovation Solution
A system that consolidates COA reject data to a central location, uses machine-readable identifiers like bar codes on printed forms to associate scanned data with online entries, and creates a database for rejected forms, allowing for improved handling and analysis of paper COA forms, eliminating the need for full OCR scanning and manual data entry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If paper COA forms are used instead of online submission, then customers can avoid paying the online fee, but scanning errors and data rejection increase
Solution Approach 1:
A centralized reject database serves as an intermediary between paper form submission and final processing. The database captures rejected forms with their error information, allowing for systematic analysis and correction without requiring full re-scanning of original documents.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of scanning entire paper forms which causes errors, the system creates simplified digital representations (copies) of rejected forms in a centralized database, storing only essential data elements and error information rather than complete image copies.
2Loss of information
If full OCR scanning of printed forms is performed, then complete data capture is achieved, but processing time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential data elements and error information from rejected COA forms, storing them in a centralized database. This extraction approach captures necessary information without requiring complete OCR scanning of entire forms, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining data completeness for correction purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of performing complete OCR scanning on all forms, the system applies partial scanning only to rejected forms to capture error information. This partial action approach processes only the necessary portions of documents that require correction, avoiding unnecessary full-scanning overhead.
3Adaptability or versatility
If rejected COA forms are distributed between different systems, then various error types can be handled, but centralized error analysis and customer complaint resolution become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges scattered reject data from multiple systems into a single centralized reject database. This consolidation maintains the ability to handle various error types while enabling unified error analysis and customer complaint resolution, reducing system complexity compared to distributed handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized reject database serves multiple functions: storing rejected forms, analyzing error patterns, resolving customer complaints, and improving overall processing. This universal database replaces multiple specialized systems, reducing integration complexity while maintaining versatile error handling capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention in one aspect consolidates COA reject data to a central location and provides reports and queries that allow analysis of this data and to answer customer complaints as to why their change was not processed. In another aspect the invention provides an improved process for handling of the printed or handwritten COA forms. A paper COA form is generated by hand or use of the USPS online COA system. The paper form includes indicia such as a bar code which aids in determining the contents of the form when it is scanned.