International postal operators and airlines are ahead of target in reducing paperwork for airmail shipments and are now setting more ambitious goals, according to the International Post
Corporation (IPC).Under the IPC’s Future of Mail by Air (FoMbA) initiative, 16% of all the mail exchanged betweenpostal operators and airlines on 127 routes worldwide has gone from paper delivery bills toelectronic data exchange in only one year. This surpasses the 10% target set for 2010 by sixpercentage points.
Having exceeded their 2010 target so emphatically, participants have agreed upon a challenging35% target by March 2012, IPC announced. The new target was sealed during discussions at the recent2011 IATA World Cargo Symposium.
The FoMbA is driving the substitution of time-consuming, error-prone manual handling of deliverybills with the automated processing of electronic data exchanged between airlines and postaloperators, generating substantial efficiencies for all parties. FoMbA systems are developed inhouse by IPC to improve business processes and increase reliability, enhance visibility and provideelectronic audit trails for posts and airlines alike, ultimately reducing operating costs.
Commenting on the results, Ross Hinds, IPC’s Director of Operations and Technology, said: “Theresults demonstrate how posts and airlines are both benefitting from greater collaboration,translating into postal operators becoming lower cost customers for airlines, and airlines highquality service suppliers to posts.”
