UPS, and FedEx handle packages the same way the Post Office does. When you are working, and sorting packages by hand, you have to throw them at their respective bins, or roll on containers, in smaller Post Offices. Once we had to read every address, and sort them to their destination, by hand. Today the USPS uses:
•The Postal Service is the world leader in optical character recognition technology with machines reading nearly 98 percent of all hand-addressed letter mail and 99.5 percent of machine printed mail.
•The Postal Service uses more than 8,500 pieces of automated processing equipment to sort nearly half the world’s mail.
•The Postal Service has one of the largest material handling systems in the world for moving mail. There are over 200 miles of conveyors within postal processing facilities.
•Tray Sorting Machines sort more than 18 million trays per day through the conveyor systems.
•The Postal Service has the largest gantry robotic fleet in the world that uses 174 robotics systems to move 314,000 mail trays per day.
•The Flats Sequencing System (FSS) sorts “flat mail” (large envelopes, magazines, etc.) in carrier walk sequence at 12,000 pieces per hour.
•The Advanced Facer Canceller System (AFCS) positions letter mail and cancels stamps at 36,000 pieces per hour.
•The Delivery Barcode Sorter (DBCS) reads the barcode on letters and sorts them at 36,000 pieces per hour.
•The Automated Flat Sorting Machine (AFSM) sorts flat mail at 17,000 pieces per hour.
•The Automated Package Processing System (APPS) sorts packages and bundles of mail at 9,500 pieces per hour.
•The Automated Parcel and Bundle Sorter (APBS) sorts packages and bundles of mail at 6,000 pieces per hour.
•The Mail Transport Equipment Ordering system was introduced in 2012. MTEOR standardizes the ordering process for mail transport equipment (MTE), allowing mailers to order MTE online and improving equipment management efficiency.
•Intelligent Mail increases the value of mail for both the Postal Service and its customers. The Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) identifies individual pieces of mail, trays, sacks and containers of mail, and tracks them through the processing system.
•All packages with tracking barcodes are scanned throughout the postal system. In the past year, the APBSs have been upgraded with improved camera technology and increased barcode read rates.