UPU unveil 25th summit location
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the Qatar government have signed an agreement to formalise the hosting of the 25th Universal Postal Congress in the Qatari capital, Doha, in 2012.
Read MoreTag: Q-Post
Q-Post and QNB in postal services deal
Q-Post will provide comprehensive postal services to the bank.
Read MoreUPU gears up for large RFID pilot
A test involving the postal systems in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates demonstrated RFID’s suitability for measuring the performance of mail delivery services.
Read MoreRegional postal heads review progress of inter-GCC express mail service 'Gulf Express'
Postal heads from Arab countries meeting in Qatar for the 21st postal high committee meeting gave the green signal for the implementation of Gulf Express, an improved express mail service for GCC countries.
The officials, who included under-secretaries of postal ministries and directors-general of posts, reviewed the business plan submitted by the Riyadh-based newly appointed manager of the project and asked for an operational plan.
The meeting also decided that the Gulf countries will henceforth take part in international stamp exhibitions under the name of the ‘GCC Countries Group’, in an effort to promote Arab solidarity and philatelic excellence.
Among the other topics was a review of the proposed pan-GCC logistics company owned by GCC postal organizations.
Read MoreQatar post pilots Motorola's RFID solution to measure the quality of postal services
RFID technology was evaluated by Qatar Post as part of a wider initiative to measure the quality of postal services throughout the Middle East. Motorola radio frequency identification (RFID) readers and other technology suppliers, were part of the trial in a joint project with Emirates Post and Saudi Post.
Qatar Post, which is member of UPU Quality of Service Project Group Steering Committee, recently concluded a successful trial in the Arab region (22 Countries) during which it deployed and tested both passive and semi-active RFID systems. The project was initiated to evaluate various RFID technologies as a way to measure the postal quality across the three countries. This unique trial could pave the way for the use of cost-effective RFID technologies to track mail around the world.
Motorola XR480 fixed RFID readers were installed along with other antennas in mail processing centers across Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia to track anonymous test envelopes containing RFID tags. This created a simulated environment of how mail moves through the postal system and help authorities better understand the time and route that mail takes on its journey from collection to delivery.
This trial will allow and help Qatar Post to make both short-term and long-term decisions about its future business. On a day-to-day basis, Qatar Post will be able to identify delays in the delivery process and make adjustments accordingly. On a long-term basis, it can evaluate the average route of a letter and assess whether it is following the most efficient course, altering routing accordingly. It also allows Qatar Post to see where any potential errors in its delivery processes might occur, so that these can be corrected before they impact customers or incur extra charges.
This unique trial also could ultimately lead to the adoption of RFID by postal companies around the world, providing them with a measurement matrix for international deliveries as post moves from one national carrier to another. This trial will not only be important for the Arab region but will help the remaining countries` members to prove the success of RFID as a method to monitor post, reduce costs and provide better services for customers.
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