The United States Postal Service (USPS) will partner with a supplier who has NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION AND WAREHOUSING CAPABILITIES to introduce a range of greeting card formats to be sold at postal retail locations. This initiative will:

• Determine retail sales opportunity of offering greeting cards in Post Offices

• Evaluate SKU level sales to optimize product mix for launch

• Evaluate merchandising solutions

o Flexibility of solutions for varied office configurations

o Aesthetically pleasing in USPS retail environment

o Meets USPS requirements (i.e., Safety & Heath Equipment Guidelines)

• Increase single-piece First Class Mail volume

• Provide added convenience to USPS customers

• Provide added support to USPS retail employees
The Postal Service will execute the Greeting Card test pilot in three (3) phases. Phase I will issue a RFP for the Greeting Card test, along with a Statement of Objective (SOO). SOO is defined as “a document that describes the basic, high-level objectives of the purchase, to allow potential suppliers the flexibility to develop cost-effective solutions and the opportunity to propose innovative alternatives to meet Postal Service objectives. “ Phase II is the actual Greeting Card Test Phase for the successful candidate. The Test will be performed in 1,500 Post Offices. The test phase is expected to run at least one (1) year, and is planned to start October 1, 2009. Phase III exercises the Option Period, which allows the supplier to update their proposals and write the final Statement of Work. USPS intends full implementation to approximately 15,000 Post Offices.

source: Fed Biz Opp