USPS looking to improve operations at North Charleston processing facility
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The United States Postal Service (USPS) is looking at improving mail and delivery operations at its North Charleston processing facility.
The postal service is conducting evaluations of current operations and potential uses of the local facility as part of an investment strategy to upgrade and improve postal processing, transportation, and delivery networks.
Officials say a facility review will inform the best allocation of resources and strategies to improve customer service and achieve significant cost savings through operational precision and efficiency.
Business mail entry, Post Office, station, and branch retail services are not expected to change, and delivery services will be unaffected throughout the review. Neither the closure of the facility nor layoffs are expected.
“The initial results of the facility review support the business case for keeping the Charleston, SC facility open and modernizing the facility as a Local Processing Center (LPC),” said USPS officials. “The Charleston SC LPC will be a critical node to the unified movement of mail and packages across the regional processing and transportation ecosystem.”
According to Kanickewa Johnson, USPS Strategic Communications Specialist for South Carolina, the facility will offer expanded and streamlined package processing capabilities in the local market and new workplace amenities for USPS employees.
It’s part of a $40 billion investment aimed at improving the country’s aging postal network.
Some mail processing operations may be transferred to the Columbia area. Johnson said that would mean a significant percentage of mail collected locally will travel across the wider USPS transportation and processing network over larger distances to reach their final destinations more efficiently.
Mail and packages destined for outside the local area may receive better service and be more cost-effectively distributed by aggregating it with mail and packages from other areas going to the same places that will likewise utilize the wider postal network.
The postal service will hold a public meeting on Monday, March 11 where they will share initial results of the study and allow members of the community to provide feedback. That meeting will take place at the Charleston County Public Library (68 Calhoun Street) at 6:00 p.m.
A summary of that report will also be posted on about.usps.com roughly one week before the meeting. Community members can submit written comments online through March 26.
