Swiss Post has signed an agreement with the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn to deliverconfidential documents of employees through its hybrid solution “ePostSelect” and is planning to
introduce additional products at its post offices in the next few months.With ePostSelect, Deutsche Bahn can from now on send its employees working in various countriespay slips either digitally encrypted or by post. The digital transmission is made through IncaMail,its secure e-mail service. Employees of Deutsche Bahn who opt for their salary documents to bemailed digitally register free of charge with Swiss Post.
Offering both digital and physical mail dispatch, Swiss Post’s hybrid solution is being used byDeutsche Bahn for the first time. For the physical delivery, the documents are printed at theDocument Output Centre of Swiss Post Solutions, which developed the service package, in Bamberg,southern Germany.
For secure receipt of e-mails, any private e-mail account, such as GMX, web.de, Googlemail,etc., can be used around the world. With the pay slip sent in a conventional way, employees receivea time-limited activation code. Thereby, they can register for the eco- and resource-saving serviceand receive their pay slips and travel expense statements digitally in future. Nothing changes inthe use of the private e-mail address with the confidential documents arriving there safely.
Swiss Post stressed that ePostSelect differs from other solutions, for which a new e-mailaddress needs to be created and where recipients are required to use special platforms to accessthe confidential, digital mail.
ePostSelect integrates a dispatcher, which automatically directs the confidential data to thepreferred channel of receipt, meaning either hard copy or digital delivery. Companies can integratethe hybrid solution directly into their existing IT and ERP systems (resource planning) via printdata interfaces thus saving on postal charges and reducing logistical workload. In addition, SwissPost takes over the complete management from printing to mailing the physical letters anddocuments.
“Deutsche Bahn employs a large number of people around the world. Sending confidential documentsto staff based in various countries is a challenge. With the ePostSelect hybrid solution, the workcan be significantly reduced. Furthermore, the recipients can freely choose their preferred channelfor the receipt of the confidential mail – on hard copy or digitally,” Swiss Post said.
Meanwhile, as part of its product enhancement at post offices, Swiss Post will extend its focuson telecommunication items and PostFinance products by increasingly promoting them in a better andclearer way. The third-party products at post offices are very popular with customers generatingannual turnover of some CHF 500 million for Swiss Post and thereby making a considerable profitablecontribution to the loss-making post office network.
As part of the enhancement, the company will streamline its range of products offered at kiosks,for example, by removing sweets from its range. In contrast, it will make the PostFinance productsand telecommunication items more prominent with new interactive product carriers displaying thecorresponding information on a screen. The implementation will be effected gradually, with thefirst 170 post offices equipped with new devices by the end of November this year.
As for the telecommunication items, Swiss Post is expanding its range of Apple products and willbecome the Apple marketer with the biggest sales network in Switzerland. iPads and iPhones areavailable in 80 of the largest post offices. At medium-sized post offices, Apple products can beordered and will be sent to the customer’s home address. When customers purchase a mobiletelephone, Swiss Post will credit them up to CHF 350 for their old device.
PostFinance products will be promoted with a dedicated shelf providing complete information forcustomers, with a simpler and more comprehensive customer service. For example, they will be ableto directly arrange a meeting with their personal PostFinance adviser at the location of theirchoice.
