Swiss Post has adjusted prices for several selected products to reinforce its customer focuswith regard to the respective services and to improve its cost-effectiveness and
competitiveness.As part of the changes to come into effect on 1 April 2012, the Swiss postal operator willeither increase or decrease various additional services, international shipping offerings andrecipient services. Most of the services affected are provided by Swiss Post in competition withthird parties. Prices for individual letters (A and B Mail) and domestic parcels will remain thesame.
Some adjustments will specifically affect services for private customers offering them anadditional “Track & Trace” service for A Mail letters under 50g. For an extra fee, customerscan track a consignment from the moment it is mailed at the counter through to delivery. Until now,this has only been possible for registered letters and for parcels.
In addition, Swiss Post plans to standardise the prices for its additional services including“registered mail”, “personal delivery” and “return receipt” for both domestic and internationalconsignments. The “cash on delivery” service will become more expensive and will only be offeredfor “registered” mail.
Within the product porfolio for business customers, the additional service “Signature” will alsobecome more expensive. On the other hand, the introduction of an additional price zone will lead toreduced prices for international parcels and URGENT Business courier items. ECONOMY bulk lettermailings to Germany will become significantly cheaper and thus more competitive. Sales-baseddiscounts for bulk letter mailings will be adjusted accordingly.
CO2 neutral shipments (“pro clima”) will also become cheaper for both private and businesscustomers. After selecting the sustainable compensation projects in spring 2012, Swiss Post willinform customers about the valid prices on the “CO2 compensation market”.
As a new service option, services associated with the receipt of mail (recipient services forprivate and business customers) will also be available over the internet in future. This allowsmail recipients to manage their forwarding orders, powers of attorney, P.O. box services andsub-addresses independently online around the clock, or receive advice and support at the postoffice counter. Depending on the type of service, customers will either pay a “counter price” or acomparatively reduced “online price”.
Through price adjustments, Swiss Post also aims to cover costs of some currently loss-makingrecipient services. The low-priced forwarding orders will be designed in a way better reflectingthe actual costs by bringing them into line with the duration of the order and the number of adultsper household. This will result in price increases or reductions, depending on the duration of theorder.
In the international comparison, prices still remain quite low, Swiss Post stressed.
