SHELTON, Conn., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Pitney Bowes TranScape (NYSE: PBI) today announced it has deployed its PBship(TM) software to Staples Inc. stores across the nation. PBship is a new product from Pitney Bowes and the first in a series of software applications designed to improve expedited letter and package shipping for large enterprises.

Staples Inc. will use the new letter and parcel shipment processing application at its in-store Ship Centers. The software will be hosted at Pitney Bowes' Network Operating Center. Using an application service provider (ASP) model, employees at Staples' customer service counters across the nation can access PBship through the Web. Since each store can access the software through a common Web site, deployment is accelerated and the total cost of ownership is reduced. Staples will roll out the Internet-based software to more than 950 Ship Centers in time for the holiday shipping season and to new stores as they are added.

"We analyzed a wide variety of shipping software products for the Staples Ship Centers," said Glenn Lisciotto, vice president of operations for Staples Ship Centers. "PBship was tailored specifically for the retail counter application and fit right in with our business processes. After testing the software, we were impressed with the customer service benefits, productivity improvements, business process controls, and cost management capabilities."

PBship's multifunctional software addresses the needs of managers, employees and customers. Specifically, PBship helps retail counter employees quickly compare shipping services to offer customers the most cost-effective alternative. It also prevents mistakes by providing new employees with a series of concrete shipping process guidelines. Managers benefit from PBship's administrative and reporting features that set-up and maintain records and generate valuable analysis at the local, regional and national levels. This results in reduced processing time; fewer addressing errors; accurate capture of added value fees and cost center allocations; and better control of expenses.

"PBship has been developed to provide unprecedented shipping management tools for enterprise customers in key vertical markets," said Steve Smith, president of Pitney Bowes' TranScape division. "We are extremely pleased that Staples chose to partner with us as we develop the retail version of the PBship platform. We are equally excited that PBship's Microsoft.Net architecture will power a new generation of scalable desktop and mail-center solutions for managing expedited document and package shipping."

About Staples Inc.

Staples Inc., (Nasdaq: SPLS), is a $9 billion provider of office supplies, furniture, technology and services to consumers and businesses of all sizes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Headquartered near Boston, Staples invented the office superstore concept and is the largest operator of office superstores in the world. The company has 50,000 employees who help customers slash the cost and hassle of running their businesses through more than 1,200 retail superstores, an e-commerce business, direct mail order operations under the brands of Staples and subsidiary Quill Corporation, and a national accounts contract business. More information about the company is available at http://www.staples.com .

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes is a $4.4 billion global provider and worldwide leader of integrated mail and messaging management solutions to meet the complex needs of its customers in businesses of all sizes. For additional information about Pitney Bowes, please visit our Website at http://www.pitneybowes.com . SOURCE Pitney Bowes Inc.

/NOTE TO EDITOR: PBship is a trademark of Pitney Bowes Inc. All other names are the trademark or registered trademark of their respective companies./

CONTACT: Vicki Javner of Pitney Bowes Inc., 612-885-7121, Vicki_Javner@tspb.com , or Celeste Gervais of Shandwick International, 952-346-6195, cgervais@shandwick.com , for Pitney Bowes Inc./