NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Yokosuka ready to serve postal customers this holiday season

Photo By Midoriko Morita | YOKOSUKA, Japan (Oct. 15, 2021) - Sailors supporting the Yokosuka Post Office as volunteers, assist with processing mail to provide extra manpower for NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Yokosuka's postal team during the peak season. The average volunteer can sort up to 1,000 packages per day, in support of 26,000 customers onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka.  

YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JAPAN

12.16.2021

Story by Brandon Taylor 

NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka

Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Yokosuka is in the middle of the peak mailing season, ready to provide postal services to its customers as the holidays approach.

As a result of COVID-19 and customer expectations, the holiday mail influx began earlier than usual compared to last year and postal operations onboard NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka are prepared for a season unlike any other.

“Our postal professionals have adapted to challenges associated with COVID-19 and continue to employ creative ways to get to ‘yes’ for our customers,” said Capt. Edward Pidgeon, NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka commanding officer. “As our second holiday season under this pandemic, nothing stands in the way of our commitment to our customers and their families.”

Onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY), the Yokosuka Post Office services a customer base of 26,000 personnel. To help meet the rise in demand over the holiday season, NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka has obtained support in the form of command volunteers, civilian volunteers, contractors, temporary employees and U.S. Navy Reservists. Yokosuka Post Office is now running on modified hours, opening 30 minutes sooner and closing an hour later. Customers will have more time to ship and pick up their packages. These adjustments also come with a modification of staffing and work schedules, ensuring that package shipping continues to run efficiently and that incoming mail is processed and made available throughout the day.

The Yokosuka Post Office launched the intelligent locker system (ILS) to the CFAY community earlier this year, allowing customers to retrieve select packages 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The ILS has a capacity of 252 parcels and automates the package retrieval procedure, allowing qualified consumers to get their items faster and freeing up Yokosuka Post Office workers to handle the ongoing holiday surge.

“At any given time, the ILS can store up to 252 packages,” said Daniel Miller, Yokosuka Post Office postal manager. “That’s 252 customers that won’t have to wait in line, so we encourage customers to retrieve their packages as soon as possible to free up space in the ILS so the entire community can get their packages faster.”

Onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo, NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka's second largest post office recently upgraded their facilities and will employ them to assist customers throughout this peak season. Earlier this year, the Sasebo Post Office acquired an additional warehouse, nearly doubling its storage capacity. As a result, the Sasebo Post Office staff can process mail more effectively, delivering mail to its 6,000 customers almost 40% faster than under their previous arrangement. Last year at this time, the Sasebo Post Office opened a third customer service window, thus increasing on-site, face-to-face customer service capacity. For a limited period, eight active duty Tomodachi Lodge volunteers will help the Sasebo Post Office, increasing the total number of postal workers on hand by 47%.

NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka also oversees Fleet Mail Center (FMC) Yokohama, the second largest postal activity outside the United States, which consolidates all incoming mail for Navy, Marine and Army installations throughout Japan. This season, it has doubled the number of deliveries to CFAY, Camp Zama and Naval Air Facility Atsugi, allowing its staff greater flexibility and spreading out the volume of incoming mail. Simultaneously, outgoing mail volume has surged by 25% since early December and FMC Yokohama has doubled its deliveries to Haneda and Narita International Airports, partnering with airlines to provide more routes to transport outgoing mail to the United States.

For sending out packages, NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka reminds customers that they can help streamline the mailing process by completing customs forms online or by using Click-n-Ship prior to coming to the post office for mailing. By using this option, lines and package processing times can be dramatically reduced. Customs forms can be filled out in advance at usps.com/international.

NAVSUP FLC Yokosuka is one of eight FLCs under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, NAVSUP employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP and the Navy Supply Corps conduct and enable supply chain, acquisition, operational logistics and Sailor & family care activities with our mission partners to generate readiness and sustain naval forces worldwide to prevent and decisively win wars. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.

• Date Taken: 12.16.2021
• Date Posted: 12.16.2021 22:11
• Story ID: 411396
• Location: YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP