UPS Mail Innovations is a joint venture that shares shipping service between UPS and US Postal Service, used by many large online retailers such as Amazon, EBay, Groupon, etc. This bulk discount rate option begins with UPS picking up the packages and sending them to a UPS processing facility which then forwards packages to the local USPS mailing depot where the final delivery confirmation will be delivered via the postal carrier. The UPS Mail Innovations label requires two barcodes, the Data Matrix barcode used by UPS and the IMpb tracking barcode used by the USPS.
When generating GS1 symbols, IDAutomation recommends testing the result with the Data Decoder App which parses out GS1 data to verify proper encoding.
UPS Mail Innovations (UPSMI) Index:
Mail Innovations Data Matrix Barcode
Generated by the IDAutomation Data Matrix Barcode Font and Encoder, the Mail Innovations Data Matrix Barcode includes the following required fields, where each field is to be separated by a tab per the standard outlined in the UPS Mail Innovations Guide to Labeling Supplement.
| Field Name | Alphanumeric or Numeric | Fixed or Variable Length | Character Count | Sample Data | Required |
| Message Version Number | N | V | up to 2 | “1” |  |
| Mail Manifest ID | N | F | 18 | “123456789123456789” | |
| Customer ID | N | F | 6 | “123456” | |
| Customer Cost Center | A | V | up to 30 | “123456ABCDE” | |
| Destination Line 1 | A | V | up to 35 | “123 Main Street” | |
| Destination Line 2 | A | V | up to 35 | “SUITE 123” | |
| Destination City | A | V | up to 30 | “SPRINGFIELD” | |
| Destination St/Prov | A | F | 2 | “IL” | |
| Destination Postal Code | A | V | up to 9 | “12345”, “A1B2C3” | |
| Destination Country Code | N | F | 3 | “123” | |
| Package ID | A | V | up to 30 | “123456ABCDE” | |
| USPS Weight | N | V | 2,4 (4 decimal places) | “1.1234”, “12.3456” | |
| Processing Category Code | N | V | 2,2 | “1,23” | |
| USPS Tracking Number | N | F | 34 | “4203000592612123456789123456789019” |
USPS IMpb Postal Barcode
The USPS Intelligent Mail packaging barcode or IMpb is generated with the GS1-128 barcode symbology found in the IDAutomation Code 128 Font Package and has the following required fields:
| Field Name | Character Length | Sample Data | Human Readable Required Beneath |
| Postal Code Application Identifier | 3 | “123” | |
| Destination Postal Code | 5 | “12345” | |
| Channel Application Identifier | 2 | “92” | |
| Service Type Code | 3 | “023” | |
| Mailer Identifier | 9 | “901096548” | |
| Sequential Package Identifier (UPS Code) | 3 | “574” | |
| Sequential Package Identifier (USPS #) | 8 | “00000011” | |
| Mod 10 Check Digit | 1 | “9” | |
Visit the UPS Mail Innovations website for additional specifications for the Commercial Mail Construct (CO2) for the USPS IMpb Tracking Number barcode.