BALTIMORE, April 22, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Electronic Systems sector has begun pilot-testing a new Automated Mail Pickup service for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that is designed to streamline retrieval of undelivered parcels and improve customer convenience.
Under the pilot program, the company will install and test three systems at post offices in Germantown and Fort Washington, Md., and Fernandino Beach, Fla., near Jacksonville, in order to evaluate performance and consumer reaction for a period of several months.
The Automated Mail Pickup service comprises a vertical carousel with programmable segmented access doors, a 508-compliant touch-screen operating platform and an integrated bar-code scanning system supplied by Symbol Technologies, Inc. It allows customers to retrieve packages 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by scanning a USPS "attempted delivery" notice and swiping a credit card for name identification. The pilot-system carousel holds up to 300 parcels but can be scaled up to accommodate 800 pieces.
"Automated Mail Pickup service will go beyond just providing the obvious customer conveniences of shorter lines and expanded access hours," said Mitchell D. Mroz, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Automation and Information Systems Division. "We believe that this system will transform the way in which the Postal Service interacts with both its shipping clients and consumers."
After returning undelivered parcels to the postal facility, the USPS mail carrier loads them into the Automated Mail Pickup carousel. The carrier then scans each piece's bar code (which corresponds to the "attempted delivery" notice left at the customer's residence), scans its location in the carousel, and inserts the item into the machine.
Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Northrop Grumman's Automation and Information Systems Division has been providing automation design, equipment fabrication, field deployment, and logistics support to the USPS for more than 11 years. The division is part of the Electronic Systems sector, a world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of defense electronics systems, including airborne radar systems, navigation systems, electronic warfare systems, precision weapons, airspace management systems, air defense systems, communications systems, space systems, marine systems, oceanic and naval systems, logistics systems, and automation and information systems.
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