Technology & Operations Planning

For ICF International, "technology" means more than just computers and information infrastructure. It also includes production processes and equipment that makes things. ICF International works at many levels, from creating strategy for the next generation of equipment to making measurements on the plant floor, to bring efficiency to your operations. ICF International's key contributions are understanding technology together with its business implications and managing projects and programs to make a difference. ICF International has particular domain knowledge of the Postal Industry.

Technology and operations activities can be placed broadly in four categories:

• Strategy
  
• Program Management
  
• Technology and Market Assessment
  
• Process Improvement

Strategy Projects

We have provided planning at the highest level for several large programs for the U.S. Postal Service.

• In the future, individual mail pieces will be tracked as a customer service and for internal quality control. We managed a program to develop a strategy for tracking all unit loads (trays, sacks, rolling stock), evaluating enabling technologies such as advanced barcodes and Radio Frequency ID (RFID), and ensuring that implementation goes smoothly for both postal operations and postal customers.
  
  
• ICF International managed a program to develop the Integrated Processing Facility of the future. Imaginatively looking towards the possibility of a "lights out" facility, the team developed, built, and evaluated mail processing and transport equipment as well as methods that eliminated the need for a human to touch or move mail inside the processing plant.
  
  
• ICF International worked closely with the U.S. Postal Service to create a Corporate Automation Plan, which had the goals of:
  
  
  1. Installing equipment that improves the overall throughput of the distribution operations
  2. Making the mailbase more automation compatible
  3. Improving the usefulness and performance of in-place buildings, vehicles, and equipment
  4. Realizing the savings opportunities that result from these efforts

Program Management Projects

Program management means getting the job done. For example:

• We created a Business Center Problem Management System for the U.S. Postal Service to ensure that large mailers could get timely answers to their questions. The system was implemented quickly and economically using modified, commercially available customer service software products.
  
  
• We identified customer needs, then specified, built, and implemented a Network Operations Management System for the U.S. Postal Service. Now electronic workstations link logistics personnel with postal transportation databases, airline schedules, weather, and news.
  
  
• Working with our foreign partners, we structured a major procurement of automated mail processing equipment for Poste Italiane.
  
  
• A new Integrated Data System became so popular that its capacity had to be expanded quickly. ICF International managed the deployment of 300 servers nationwide, first establishing the goals, roles, and responsibilities of all stakeholders, then defining requirements, managing vendors, and even setting up training and help desks.
  
  
• We managed the program office efforts, software life cycle development, and customer relationship activities to develop, deploy, and support an Internet-enabled mail tracking and reporting system for mailer use from concept, through pilot, to incorporation into the U.S. Postal Service production environment.
  
  
• We identified and developed the requirements and system software, deployed hardware and networks, and supported the field pilot testing and training of a business mail verification and acceptance process that leverages the electronic linkages between the U.S. Postal Service and its largest business customers.

Technology and Market Assessment Projects

Technology assessment includes determining what technology is best for your application and also documenting the performance and shortcomings of a particular existing operation. Market assessment includes identifying and quantifying the market for a particular technology and also providing a broad look at particular industries and their likely development over the next several years. Often technologies and markets must be assessed together since the most dangerous competitive technology is that which redefines the market.

ICF International has recently:

• Evaluated the effectiveness of explosives detection equipment in a parcel environment
• Discovered an emerging $2 billion market for a new cargo inspection technology
• Provided a short list of acquisition targets to a manufacturer of precision instruments to enhance its software development capabilities
• Evaluated the technology and potential market and market share of a barcode scanner company
• Measured market acceptance of different color proofing technologies to determine the suitability of investing in a new product

Process Improvement Projects

ICF International also applies its program management skills to more limited engagements. For example:

• When expected benefits of new equipment did not fully materialize, we worked with the U.S. Postal Service to set up Process Improvement Teams to document actual process activities in plants and determine ways to make improvements. Scores improved dramatically after new methods were introduced to the field.
  
  
• Working with its overseas partners, we assisted Poste Italiane with the structure of its parcel operations, including facilities and equipment for processing and optimization of the distribution network.
  
  
• We worked with the U.S. Postal Service to expand the limits of mail that could be processed efficiently on a new sorting machine. We designed and carried out tests using hundreds of thousands of mail pieces. Mailers were able to get discounts for heavier pieces, and the manufacturer modified the equipment to improve performance with light pieces.
  
  
• We identified key metrics of plant material handling activities for the U.S. Postal Service, then recorded and analyzed a half million observations in several plants. We found that automated material handling technology would reduce work hours substantially and also discovered ways to optimize mail flows.
  
  
• Sharing its domain expertise with foreign partners, we assisted a major postal contractor in Bogota, Colombia, to improve its mail handling and distribution operations.
  
  
• We assisted a paper company that ran into difficulty when implementing Enterprise Resource Planning on its own. Working with the client in teams, we captured material costs and times for set-up and processing for different raw materials, resulting in increased plant productivity.
  
  
• A large winery developed a new, highly automated production line, but it did not work well. We identified and corrected problems in the major line components and their integration, then wrote operating procedures and trained personnel in proper set-up, operation, and maintenance procedures.
  
  
• A processor of tax bills wanted to improve productivity. ICF International analyzed the existing paper-based workflow and developed a phased approach to introduce imaging and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. We also developed requirements, identified the right technology, and developed a cost model to quantify the return on investment for each phase.