Much has happened since the postal service was created during the time of Thurn and Taxis. The traditional form of mail delivery between the southernmost and northernmost parts of Germany has undergone tremendous change in recent years. Today, letters quickly reach every part of the world thanks to modern logistics processes and technologies.
The process of mail delivery
The activities of postal companies are traditionally broken down into collection, sorting, transport and delivery.
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| Process of mail delivery |
When private customers think about the mail service, they imagine the collection of letters from mail boxes. But this practice applies to less than 20 percent of all letters. The major share is sent directly to post offices or sorting centers by senders. In many cases, this service is provided by so-called consolidators who pick up the shipments and deliver them to a postal company. They also offer other services such as printing, enveloping and addressing.
Sorting
In the place of origin of each mail shipment, the letters are sorted with the help of fast, highly automated equipment according to destination. There are four mail types based on format and weight. Germany has 82 mail sorting centers. The larger centers process more than 1 million letters a day. Here, three shifts frequently work almost around the clock. Letters with machine-readable addresses are read automatically and are coded for the mail-sorting equipment. Letters that cannot be automatically read or processed are handled manually. Once the transport has been completed or the destination reached, a second sorting process based on delivery basis or delivery route is performed.
Transport
After being sorted at the source, the mail is transported to the sorting location of the destination. Nationally, the transport usually is done by van or truck on the basis of a multi-stop or depot network. Internationally, it is done by plane. A notable exception is the European market: within Europe, even international mail transport is often performed in the form of road transport. In national delivery, the letters usually reach their target region overnight.
Delivery
Letters are delivered by carriers who are assigned routes or are made available to the recipient. For this purpose, a second sorting process to arrange the mail by delivery basis or delivery route is necessary. The deliveries are generally made with small vehicles or bicycles. In some countries and regions, mail is even delivered to customers by mail boat, moped or row boat. Delivery generates nearly 50 percent of total costs.
References
dhl - discover logistics
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