Group 1 recently sent the documents listed below to the primary user contacts on a maintenance plan via mass fax, mail, or with your product shipment. You may find these and other documents at www.g1.com/support. (Please have your user ID and password handy.) For our Fax-on-Demand system (FOD), please call 301-918-0781 and select menu option 4 to retrieve the document number indicated below. For List Services, visit the Technical Support - List Services area of our Web site to subscribe at www.g1.com/support.

The following documents have recently been posted to the Pending Product Updates area of the Group 1 Support site. Once a Product Update becomes available, Group 1 will notify the primary user contact for that product via mass fax. You may find these and other documents at www.g1.com/support/. (Please have your user ID and password handy.)

. . . Important Reminder to Users of Canadian CODE-1 Plus - In May, Group 1 Software released Product Update C02 for Canadian CODE-1 Plus. The C02 patch corrected a regulatory issue of addresses in Etobicoke, ON, correcting from 'The West Mall' to 'The Westway'. As a regulatory issue, the C02 patch must be applied as soon as possible. It is also important for mailers to run their Statement of Accuracy again to ensure that their 'West Mall' addresses will be correct on their output mailing labels.

. . . There has been a change to Group 1's Support site, http://www.g1.com/support. To correct a sorting error in the Documentation, Software, Software Updates, and Databases sections, the format of the date has changed. The date is now displayed in International Date Format (YYYY/MM/DD).

. . . Group 1 is currently looking for BETA program participants for SortStream Canada 2.4.1 on the Windows and MVS platforms. If you are currently running either of these platforms and are interested in participating, please contact the BETA Hotline at 1-800-328-8180 or Shannon Gatley at shannon_gatley@g1.com.

With excellent attendance and nods of approval for the sessions and speakers, Horizons 2004 was a definite success. Hands-on product labs, new tracks and sessions gave customers many options for learning new information about Group 1 products or just refreshing what they already knew. Atlanta, Georgia was the place to be in July. The Group 1 party was a nice break from the sessions and learning; everyone relaxed, played games, and enjoyed the evening.

It's not too early to make plans for next summer. Don't miss out on another great conference sponsored by Group 1. Horizons 2005 will be held in Washington, D.C., at the Renaissance Hotel, from July 13 - 15, 2005.

MailStream Plus Special!

Attend one of our FREE instructor-led eLearning classes and find out what’s changed and what's the same! Classes will cover regulatory changes, processing changes, installation changes, PLANET Code processing, periodical processing changes, a job setup overview, Mail.dat highlights, and drop shipping highlights.

eLearning is LIVE online, instructor-led training. No travel means reduced expenses and no time away from the office. The class is delivered real-time, so you receive instant feedback to your questions and comments for a truly interactive learning experience. Classes are being offered on the following dates and times:

What's New in MSP 7.0.0 - Dispatcher 4	eLearning	August 17, 2004 from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
What's New in MSP 7.0.0 - Mainframe	eLearning	August 17, 2004 from 1:00 pm - 4:00 PM
What's New in MSP 7.0.0 - iSeries	eLearning	August 19, 2004 from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
What's New in MSP 7.0.0 - Open Systems	eLearning	August 19, 2004 from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

In addition to the classes mentioned above, Group 1 University is offering the following classes for our Sagent products:

Sagent Solutions	Irvine, CA	September 8 - 10, 2004
Sagent Solutions	Lanham, MD	September 14 - 16, 2004
Sagent Solutions	Downer's Grove, IL	October 12 - 14, 2004

For more information visit Group 1 University at http://www.g1.com/education.

Release Facilitates MERLIN Compliance and Supports Upcoming CASS Cycle

Group 1 Software recently announced the release of the latest version of its CODE-1 Plus address validation software solution. Utilized by over 1,500 organizations in North America, CODE-1 Plus validates, corrects, and standardizes customer address data. The latest version of CODE-1 Plus has been Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS)-certified on all supported platforms by the United States Postal Service (USPS) for the CASS Cycle I, effective September 18, 2004.

The USPS Mail Evaluation Readability Lookup INstrument (MERLIN) program verifies First-Class, Standard and Periodical mail for barcode quality, address accuracy, mail makeup and mailpiece characteristics. For many direct marketers, compliance with MERLIN has been a concern since the January 2004 announcement of a “zero tolerance policy” under which mailers could face substantial fines and penalties. Under the new policy, any ZIP+4 Code ending in 0000 or 9999 in the automation mailstream may result in penalties. Consequently, many mailers manually eliminated those mail pieces from their production runs. In some instances, mailers even resorted to adding staff to monitor the MERLIN compliance process and remove any questionable mail pieces. To improve MERLIN compliance, CODE-1 Plus suppresses from the automation mailstream 0000 ZIP+4 Codes, which are invalid, and gives users the option of suppressing 9999 ZIP+4 Codes, which can represent deliverable addresses.

"With the January announcement by the USPS, many mailers elected to eliminate all occurrences of 0000 and 9999 ZIP+4 Codes, even when these were valid assignments by CASS- certified software programs,” said James Schemmel, director of distribution at Communications Data Services, a long-time Group 1 customer located in Des Moines, Iowa. “Fortunately, with these enhancements to CODE-1 Plus, mailers may choose to sacrifice valid, qualified postal discounts earned by valid 9999 codes in exchange for a 'no penalty' peace of mind.”

“In order to optimize their mass mailing initiatives, our customers look to us to stay on top of the latest USPS initiatives and policies,” said Bob Bowen, CEO of Group 1 Software. “I am pleased that we've met our customers' needs in a timely fashion once again by making important modifications to CODE-1 Plus well in advance of the next CASS Cycle. These enhancements will make it easier for them to comply with the new CASS Cycle and the more rigorous MERLIN regulations.”

Local User Group meetings are a great place to exchange information, share your ideas with others and learn more about Group 1 products. Please check the listings below and attend the meeting that is most convenient for you.

Local User Group chapters are open to ALL Group 1 customers. Membership and registration are handled on a local level. Group 1 clients are invited and encouraged to join the group of their choice.

PHILADELPHIA AREA

Location:	UGI Utilities, Inc., 225 Morgantown Rd, Reading, PA
Date:	Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Time:	9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Topic:	A special eLearning class for MailStream Plus 7.0.0 will be presented by Tricia Fleck, Group 1 Software.
Contact:	Susan Miller - smmiller@ugi.com

Please click here for a summary of the May 19, 2004 meeting.

Back issues of NewsCast are being archived. Click previous issues to go the Newscast homepage to review any prior issues.

Below are some links that may be of interest to our customers:

Group 1's Web Page - http://www.g1.com. The Group 1 Software Web site provides customers with valuable information concerning different areas of the company. From this Web site, you can access education information, recent press releases, support, and much more useful information.

USPS Web Site Business Section - http://www.usps.com/smallbiz

The USPS Web Site - www.usps.gov. This Web site allows customers to check out the latest information regarding postage rates and fees, news and events in the postal community, locations of local post offices, and provides various other links. There is also a place where postal service customers can track the status of a package or access other online mailing forms.

Canada Post - http://www.canadapost.ca/splash.asp. This is the direct link to the Canada Post Web site. Follow this link to view a quick and free course in Canadian NDG sorting (http://www.canadapost.ca/business/ndg/default-e.asp).

USPS PostalOne - http://www.pilot.uspspostalone.com. This is the direct link to the USPS PostalOne Web site.

USPS Rapid Information Bulletin Board System - http://ribbs.usps.gov. This is the National Customer Support Center for the United States Postal Service. It provides you mail-service updates, current weather conditions, and other interesting facts pertaining to the Postal Service.

Postal Rate Commission - http://www.prc.gov. The Postal Rate Commission Web site provides information about the organization, its function and procedures, along with postal rates and fees. It also provides a location where you can voice your opinion to the Consumer Advocate.

Nonprofit Mailers - http://www.nonprofitmailers.org. The Alliance is the primary representative of nonprofit mailers before the Postal Rate Commission, at the United States Postal Service's (USPS) Headquarters, and on Capitol Hill.

Postcom - http://www.postcom.org. Postcom is the Association for Postal Commerce. Its Web site provides you with up-to-date information regarding what is going on in the "postal world." It includes links to other helpful sites, as well as a place to contact your US Senators or Representatives.

We welcome comments and suggestions regarding Newscast. Please send them to cc@g1.com. Please be sure to include "NEWSCAST" in your subject line. Please look for your next issue to arrive in your e-mail box on or near August 20, 2004.

Newscast - Volume 7, Issue 06
Date: August 9, 2004
Editor: Becki Dustin (cc@g1.com) Asst. Editor: Denny Derr
Phone: 1-800-367-6950

Copyright © Group 1 Software, Inc. 2004. All Rights Reserved.

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