USPS made mail visible by merging sort codes into one barcode

POSTNET helped machines sort mail, but the postal network still had too many separate codes and too little end-to-end visibility. Sorting, tracking, address correction and extra services lived in different identifiers and reports.

USPS's Intelligent Mail barcode made the mailpiece itself carry more of the operating plan. PostalPro describes IMb as a single barcode combining POSTNET, PLANET and other data, used to sort and track letters, cards and flats.

In 2013 USPS retired POSTNET for automation discounts and required IMb on business mail seeking those rates. The annual report says unique barcoding and Full Service reporting gave USPS 100% visibility into that mailstream and helped field managers find bottlenecks before service failed.

Make every mailpiece self-describing

It replaced multiple marks with one code, reducing ambiguity at machine speed.

It turned each letter into a traceable unit, not just an addressed object.

The rate rule aligned mailers' incentives with the network's need for cleaner data.

When a network is too large to inspect manually, encode identity and intent into every moving unit.

USPS reported Full Service adoption rising in FY2013, including Presorted First-Class Mail moving from 62% to 72%. The same report tied IMb data to diagnostic tools for cycle time, mail flow and service performance.