DA Systems supports RM Sameday “aggressive” growth plans

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DA Systems supports Royal Mail Sameday “aggressive” growth plans

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Royal Mail’s same day delivery business has given the thumbs up to its new courier software platform.

The Advanced Courier Interface (ACI) and NX mobile data suites from UK software company DA Systems first went live back in October 2012, with implementation taking only a month.

Royal Mail Sameday has now confirmed the system is working well.

The new system combines a booking and despatch system with integrated mobile track and trace capability.

Buckinghamshire-based DA said the technology also means improved management of client movements, along with a “powerful” monitoring and reporting functionality.

The system also had to integrate easily with complex third party ordering systems including those of large online retailers, the software firm explained.

Royal Mail Sameday, which specialises in rapid delivery of items ranging from a single document to a pallet, needed a scalable solution to support its “aggressive” medium-term growth plans, DA said.

“Royal Mail Sameday is an excellent customer win for DA Systems,” said DA Systems managing director David Upton. “This contract is one of the 11 new contract wins we have secured in a six month period.”

Mike Marjoram, general manager at Royal Mail Sameday said: “We were really impressed with DA Systems. Their credibility and expertise in the courier industry, coupled with their proven mobile data capability and commitment to meeting our challenging implementation deadlines gave us total confidence.”

Dixons

Royal Mail was announced last week as providing new same day delivery services for UK electronics retail giants Currys and PC World.

Services will be available 362 days a year, including Sundays, with next day delivery also available for orders placed before midnight.

The offering comes at a premium £14.99 price for same day, with next day delivery starting at £4.99.

Currys and PC World owner Dixons Retail plc said the new delivery services will launch in Greater London and other select areas with the aim of expanding to other areas of the country “in the short term”. The retailers have 1,100 stores across the UK.

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Royal Mail’s proposals to introduce its own version of QR codes for mailing could provide a significant boost to the direct mail industry, according to a well-known mailing and fulfilment expert

Royal Mail is investing £70m in barcodes which will be added to letters so that companies can track their mail through the postal network.

The initiative will allow businesses to track bulk mail consignments through to delivery. It means business customers will know when mail will be delivered. Previously this information had only been available through higher cost tracking services.

Terry Sorfleet, managing director of South Yorkshire mailing and fulfilment house Cambertown, believes the introduction of Royal Mail’s ‘Enterprise Intelligent Barcodes’ will transform the way marketers can use direct mail, as well as generating better delivery outcomes for those sending mail.

Sorfleet said: “Royal Mail’s proposals offer a superb opportunity for both marketers and any customers sending mail. The Enterprise Intelligent Barcodes (EIBs) will not only contain the address details but will also be used to track each piece of mail through the Royal Mail system to the delivery office. It will enable Royal Mail to report when letters were dispatched and delivered which in turn helps customers who are trying to track mail.

“The proposals also state that half of the barcode content will be free space for companies like ours, and our customers, to use. It means we will be able to work with marketers to make the most of that space and find innovative ways of ensuring direct mail can be logged, analysed and evaluated as effectively as electronic mail.

“For instance, we could use the free barcode space to provide an offer code which was only accessed by customers scanning the EIB. As each code could be unique, we could track exactly who interacted with our customer as a result of their direct mailing – the direct mail equivalent of monitoring click through.”

The scheme, which will launch in early 2014, will enable large mail users to improve their efficiency and customer service by staffing back-end operations, such as call centres, based on the exact date customers receive business mail.