BALTIMORE, Nov. 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Government Systems division has been awarded the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS) 2003 Quality Supplier Award for successfully implementing a host of productivity and quality enhancements to automated mail-sorter systems used at Postal Service facilities across the U.S.
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Northrop Grumman received the award for exceptional performance on the Feeder Enhanced Destacking Retrofit, which is a modification to the company's Advanced Flats Sorting Machine (AFSM 100). Northrop Grumman has a contract from the USPS to modify the 1,637 AFSM 100 feeder systems at postal facilities nationwide to increase productivity, and enable thicker mail to be processed while minimizing mail damage.
The AFSM 100 system enables the automatic processing and bar code sorting of such items as magazines, brochures and flat envelopes.
"Together, we have changed and reconfigured the way we manage supply management," said Keith Strange, vice president of supply management for the U.S. Postal Service. "You have helped us reduce our costs, and every year we are becoming an even better team. We're becoming more creative and more innovative and, together, we're finding newer and smarter ways to improve the services and products you provide."
Northrop Grumman's partnership with the USPS began in the late 1980's with the introduction of remote barcoding for Postal Service letter automation programs.
"We share this award with our partner, the USPS, which was an integral part of our team," said Vicki Spira, vice president of the company's Automation & Information Systems business unit, who accepted the award on behalf of Northrop Grumman employees. "The success of the feeder retrofit and supply chain management savings comes from our ability to work together to define and manage requirements upfront, to reduce cycle times and streamline production and supplier processes."
"The partnership between Northrop Grumman and the USPS grew as we continued to invest in strategic postal technologies, including the integration and deployment of the AFSM 100 mail sorter system," Spira added.
In 2001, Northrop Grumman acquired Solystic, a leading postal technology company in France, enabling Northrop Grumman to expand its postal technologies worldwide. The company continues to participate in efforts to automate flats mail by leveraging European technology in support of USPS productivity and quality initiatives.
The Automation & Information Systems business unit is part of the Government Systems division of Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector. Headquartered in Baltimore, the sector is a world leader in the integration, design, development and manufacture of defense electronics and systems including airborne radar, navigation systems, electronic countermeasures, precision weapons, airspace management systems, communications systems, space systems, marine and naval systems, government systems and logistics services.
LEARN MORE ABOUT US: Northrop Grumman news releases, product information, photos and video clips are available on the Internet at: http://www.northropgrumman.com. Information specific to the Electronic Systems sector is available at: http://www.es.northropgrumman.com/index.html
