Hybrid Mail Solutions

The Internet creates both threats and opportunities for postal service providers. Electronic communications may eventually reduce some conventional paper-based mail but also offers significant opportunities for improved customer service involving new hybrid mail solutions.

Traditional mail is typically produced (printed, folded and enveloped) by the mail generator and then physically lodged to the Postal Service Provider for physical distribution and delivery.


(Click on image for enlarged version)

Hybrid Mail is the electronic lodgement of mail from the mail generator’s computer directly to the Postal Service provider. The Postal Service provider is then able to use electronic means to have the mail piece sorted, routed and physically produced at a site closest to the delivery point. 

Hybrid Mail Benefits – for the Mail Generator

• Reduced mail production time and costs - No more printing, folding, inserting or enveloping!
• Elimination of mail collection, sorting and lodgement costs 
• Shorter delivery times due to direct lodgement with postal service provider and printing at centres closest to delivery points
• Enable both printed and electronic distribution in one process

Hybrid Mail Benefits – for the Postal Service Provider

• Ability to aggregate, sort, route and batch multiple jobs from numerous clients if desired
• Simplified reporting, accounting and billing
• Add value through such processes as:
  • Address validation, cleansing, sorting and barcoding
  • Processing address changes 
  • Segmenting the mail job to multiple print sites (distributed printing to minimise distribution costs and maximise delivery speed by printing at centres closest to delivery points)
  • Archiving
  • Electronic Output – fax, email, web, WAP, SMS, XML – become the “one-stop” shop for physical and electronic mail
   

A Hybrid Mail solution must be able to:

• Support numerous customers, lodging one or many documents
  
• Grow with the business by supporting multiple print production sites with both cut-sheet and continuous-form printing 
• Enable the lodgement of fully self-describing jobs, where the document and data can vary with each job, along with the ability to just lodge the variable data for a pre-defined job
• Enable lodgement to be either on an electronic medium such as magnetic tape, or via a secured electronic transmission method including email, Internet, leased line or dial up connection
• Guarantee data integrity, through the use of header and trailer records ensuring the data are completely received, are intact and have not been received before.
• Offer alternative payment options including account, pre-paid or credit card.

Overall, a hybrid mail solution must be flexible and powerful to cater for the Postal Service Provider’s requirements and extremely user friendly and secure for the mail generator.

Case Studies:

• Australia Post     (142KB)
• Czech Post         (48KB)

Note: Case studies are presented in PDF format

Demonstrations:

• XML demonstration
• Post Expo 2002 Hybrid Mail demo

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