Russian Post has delivered a record number of small packages from abroad in time for New Year’sEve after speeding up handling of large volumes of international shipments.
On 29-30 December 2011 alone, over 100 tonnes of small parcels arrived from abroad in Moscow.This figure is more than twice the boldest forecasts for the pre-holiday period, Russian Postclaimed. Russians traditionally exchange presents on New Year’s Eve which is the major festiveevent during the New Year’s holiday period that runs for the following 10 days.
To ensure timely handling and customs clearance of all incoming shipments, Russian Post hasredistributed the handling of international mail to unburden the overloaded International PostOffice (MMPO) in Moscow by transferring shipments from abroad to regional facilities. Every day,10-20 tonnes of international mail are transferred to the regions.
For handling and customs clearance of mail arriving at the airports of Moscow, the MMPOs ofBryansk, Samara and Pulkovo are used. Bryansk and Samara post offices are also used for mail comingvia land transport, with addition of the international offices in Orenburg and Novosibirsk.
Russian Post said that during 2011 it gradually implemented a range of measures to prepare forthe growing volumes of international mail in the pre-holiday period, also designed for renewing andexpanding its infrastructure of international postal exchange.
In 2011, the company opened and equipped four new MMPOs in Orenburg, Pulkovo, Vladikavkas andSheremetjevo (for EMS shipments). Currently, 14 International Post Offices are operating in Russia.During the last year, the total production area of all MMPOs increased by more than 55% or 7,000sqm.
For the implementation of the customs control procedures, the Russian postal operator purchased14 x-ray machines. The total number of Russian Post core staff involved in handling internationalmail shipments at MMPOs increased to 1850 employees over the past two years. In 2011, the companyhired additionally twice as many seasonal workers as in 2010.
As another measure to facilitate the handling of incoming mail from abroad, Russian Post reachedagreements with a range of international postal operators to deliver mail to the MMPOs located atthe closest proximity to the final recipients. As a result, the share of international mailshipments arriving at the country’s main International Post Office in Moscow decreased from 92% to75% over the last year which took some pressure off the infrastructure and increased the handlingspeed of international mail.
EMS Russian Post, the express subsidiary of the Russian postal operator, also prepared for thegrowing express shipment volumes during the pre-holiday period last year. This included hiringabout 100 additional workers, the launch of the first self-service parcel terminals in Moscow andrescheduling the opening times of its express centre in Moscow to round-the-clock operations. Manycustomers are actively using the new possibilities of picking up their shipments at the expresscentres and parcel terminals round the clock.
EMS Russian Post Director Evgenij Chechelnitsky commented: “The increased number of shipmentsduring the holiday period traditionally leads to growing pressure on the couriers. Independentlyusing express centres not only allows customers to receive their parcels faster but also at thelocation most convenient for them at a convenient time.”
