Swiss Post will invest CHF 28 million (€23 million) to modernise its mail delivery through thelaunch of automatic letter sequencing enabling it to pre-sort the majority of letters automatically
down to the order of individual houses.Between autumn 2010 and spring 2011, Swiss Post tested various postal delivery optimisationmeasures in three regions of Central, Western and Eastern Switzerland. Trials of automatic lettersequencing proved particularly successful. Therefore, it will be rolled out nationwide over thenext two years.
Automatic sequencing enables items that are automatically processed to be pre-sorted at sortingcentres into the correct letterbox order for delivery rounds, eliminating the need for these itemsto be sorted again manually prior to delivery. Instead, carriers can simply take them straight outon their delivery rounds.
Swiss Post stressed that developments in electronic communications in particular are creatingmore pressure to improve internal processes as letter delivery is facing increasing competitionfrom other communication channels. “The introduction of automatic sequencing gives us more freedomto meet customers’ requirements for a cost-effective, modern and high-quality service.” The measurewill have no effect on delivery cut-off times, which will stay the same.
The automatic sequencing will be implemented primarily in cities and conurbations offering thegreatest potential due to the population density. Existing sorting systems in letter and logisticscentres will be converted to automatic sequencing by 2013. At the same time, Swiss Post willpurchase 15 additional systems investing a total of about CHF 28 million (€23 million) in thismodernisation project.
The introduction of the new technology will result in reduced labour costs which would equal 270full-time jobs being lost at Swiss Post. However, thanks to a gradual rollout over several years,jobs will be shed gradually through natural staff fluctuation. At the same time, Swiss Post agreedon other solutions for new career opportunities with its social partners. Therefore, no compulsoryredundancies will be necessary, the postal operator stressed.
