The arrival of foreign competition and liberalisation of the national postal service may result in new postal codes

Liberalisation of postal services may be the demise of the nation’s 40-year-old postal codes as the system, devised and administered by Post Danmark, may undergo drastic reform in the upcoming liberalisation of the nation’s postal service.

One proponent of such a reform is Citymail, Post Danmark’s only competitor.

Jarle Trandokken, Norwegian state-owned Citymail’s Danish chief executive, said that the number of postal codes needed to be increased to encompass more addresses and making sorting easier.

To speed up the sorting process easier, Post Danmark invested in advanced sorting machines for scanning post, and Trandokken said it was unreasonable for new players on the market to have to make such substantial investments.

The Road and Transport Agency, the body responsible for inspection of the postal services, acknowledged that a postal liberalisation also came with considerations of reform in the area. However, Mogens Antonsen, a consultant with the agency said the present postal code system was not considered an obstacle.

In the mean time, Helge Israelsen, Post Danmark’s chief executive, said that he was unwilling to change the present postal system to accommodate Citymail’s objections.

The present postal codes were implemented in 1967. Larger cities have a number ending with two or three zeros and smaller towns, as far as possible, have a number ending with one zero.