Postal industry Excellence celebrated at 2011 Postal Technology International Awards

The Postal Technology International Awards were last night presented at the annual POST-EXPO taking place over 27th, 28th & 29th September.  The awards, which are judged by some of the most influential figures in the industry  included categories for Supplier of the Year; Transport/Logistics Innovation of the Year; Environmental Achievement of the Year; Automation Technology of the Year; Delivery Innovation of the Year and Service Provider of the Year.

Tony Robinson, CEO of UKIP Media & Events, which publishes Postal Technology International magazine, says: “The awards have been a resounding success as it is vitally important to have a platform upon which to reward outstanding performance within this vast global industry.”

And the winners are……

AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY OF THE YEAR

Winner: Siemens CFC 3004

This year’s winner of Automation Technology of the Year, the Siemens’ CFC 3004, aims to speed up work at mail handling centres by pre-processing large format mail, which accounts for 10 to 15 percent of a country’s total mail volume. The CFC 3004 processes regular letters and also allows for the pre-processing of letter sizes up to C4. The CFC 3004 has a modular design, so customers can choose add-ons that best meet their needs. For example a weighing module for letters and flats weighing up to 300 grams can be added without any effect on the overall speed and performance of the system.

“The advantages of the CFC 3004 are obvious”, says Sonja Frantz, vice president of Siemens Postal Solutions’ product life management for the CFC 3004. There is a large decrease of manual processing, which means labour is automatic. Additionally the mail itself is handled more carefully with less damage.”

ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR

Winner: Itella Corporation

Itella provides daily mail services nationwide in Finland, and offers services related to marketing, financial process outsourcing and service logistics solutions in 15 countries. Itella is dedicated to information and product flow management, and the company supports its customers to minimise the carbon dioxide footprint of the entire value chain.

“Environmentally friendly is a term not to be used lightly,” says Hanna Kaustia, Itella’s environment and corporate responsibility director. “Our environmental programme concentrates on minimising the effect our operations have on the climate and reducing the emissions of our customers”.

As a means to take full responsibility for its carbon emissions, Itella has offered all of its mail and parcel services in Finland as carbon neutral since February 2011 – at no extra cost to the customer. They are the first in the world to do that.

TRANSPORT/LOGISTICS INNOVATION OF THE YEAR

Winner: Siemens’ Semi-Automatic Truck Unloading Device

This year’s winner of the Innovation of the Year is so new that it has not yet been released. Scheduled to be unveiled at Post-Expo in Stuttgart, Siemens’ new truck unloading device is a semi-automatic machine that enables fast and gentle parcel unloading. The device has won the award before being launched because of its fast and ergonomic truck unloading and is a unique and high-performance technology which is the first to be brought to the market.

“This technology accelerates unloading,” says Dr Torsten Tanz, product lifecycle manager at Siemens logistics and airport solutions department for the semi-automatic truck unloading device. “The semi-automatic moving platform positions next to the load for easy movements. A customer could double the amount of sorting it can do without opening up more wall space for more docks”

SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR

Winner:  Vanderlande Industries

Vanderlande Industries provides automated material handling systems and services. The company is active in the markets for baggage handling at airports, automated logistics processes in distribution centres and sorting solutions in parcel and postal facilities. The company implements material handling systems of all sizes, ranging from local sorting depots, airports and distribution centres to the world’s largest facilities.

Its systems and services focus on improving customers’ logistics processes and increasing their logistics performance throughout the entire lifecycle. The company strives for close cooperation with the customer, extending from initial analysis of the underlying business processes through to total lifetime support. It is this focus on its customers that has won Vanderlande Industries this year’s coveted Supplier of the Year award.

DELIVERY INNOVATION OF THE YEAR

Winner: Digital Stamps by Post Danmark

Post Danmark has won the Delivery Innovation of the Year award for its new digital stamp offering. Launched in April 2011, the digital stamp technology is simple: people in Danmark can send a text message via their mobile phones to Post Danmark, and then a few minutes later they receive a text message back that contains a unique nine–digit code. The customer writes the code on the corner of a blank envelope instead of a stamp. Post Danmark is the first postal organisation to introduce this service.

“The digital stamp is an extremely easy-to-use service that is available 24 hours a day,” says Eva Malene Hartmann, head of Post Danmark private customers. “The postage is billed on the customer’s mobile phone. Post Danmark can verify the postage via the nine-digit code and protect our revenue. The unique part for our customers is that the service is independent of time of the day and location – customers can get a stamp anytime and anywhere, as long as you have a mobile phone connection.

The digital stamp was launched as a text message service in April 2011, and in August 2011 it was launched as a postage app for the iPhone and Android. This allows the user to buy digital stamps without text messaging; they just use the app on their phone instead.

SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR

Winner: Swisspost

Service Provider of the Year winner Swiss Post has seen a rise in earnings and volumes, and in these difficult economic times, growth is an indicator of success.

In recent years Swiss Post has provided a top-quality service, and this is the key to the company’s success. In 2010, the company generated a group profit of CHF910 million (US$1.2 billion) – a growth of about 25 percent over the previous year. Last year it delivered between 97.2 percent and 98.5 percent of all letters and parcels to their recipients on time and by international standards this puts Swiss Post in a leading position.

Quelle: TOURQUE PR