IPC UNEX Results 2001 – Europe’s letter mail maintains a high-quality delivery

P:LIBRARYPostalIPC 2001 UNEX Results.pdf

PRESS RELEASE
Date of Release: 8 March 2002
External Quality of Service Monitoring,
Improving the Quality of International Mail – UNEX Results Full Year 2001
Europe’s letter mail maintains a high-quality delivery performance
International Post Corporation (IPC) members maintained their high-quality delivery performance for international letters last year, despite disruptions to air transport and security alerts following the events of September 11.
During 2001, an average of 92 per cent of European air mail letters reached their final destination within three days of posting. According to quality of service monitoring results just released by IPC’s UNEX system, more Postal operators are now meeting EU targets on mail streams where few, or no direct transport links are available. During 2001, over three-quarters of the 306 country-to-country streams monitored by UNEX were achieving at least 85 per cent
of deliveries within three days, compared with just one-third in 1994 when monitoring began, and one half in 1997.
Postal operators enhanced their reliability levels further last year as well. Virtually all letters (98.4 per cent) arrived at their destination within five days of posting, a performance level above the EU target to deliver 97 per cent of cross-border mail within five days.
Postal operators sustained their quality of service despite significant disruptions to international mail. Airlines such as Sabena and Swissair in Europe ceased operating, and heightened security measures worldwide following the September 11 terrorist attacks, and anthrax in the mail, required operational changes at short notice.
Commenting on the 2001 results, Georges Clermont, President and Chief Executive Officer of IPC said: “IPC member Postal operators continue to cooperate to maintain these extremely high levels of service quality. For just the price of a stamp, businesses and citizens throughout Europe can have confidence in a speedy, reliable and universal postal service. “
“With our members, we at IPC have developed systems to monitor international mail delivery performance, to integrate postal networks, and to track mail through the various stages of international mail processing. Therefore, Postal operators now have the tools to take remedial action when their international operations are interrupted unexpectedly.”
Mr Clermont continued: “One such tool is the early warning and information-sharing service provided to IPC members by our Performance Centre. In the days following September 11, when flights to the United States were suspended, the Performance Centre became the prime communications medium for sharing real-time information between North American and European members about a unique and changing transport situation. The result was that delays to the mail were kept to the minimum.”

For more information please contact:
Georges Clermont, President and Chief Executive Officer
or
Gene Columbo, Director, Market and Quality
IPC Unipost,
Rue de la Fusée 100,
B-1130 Brussels,
BELGIUM
tel.+32 2 724 72 11,
fax. +32 2 724 72 32
e-mail gene.columbo@ipc.be.
Please visit also our site at www.ipc.be
Note to editors:
1. The International Post Corporation (IPC) is a cooperative association of 22 national Postal
operators from major countries. IPC supports its members by facilitating improvement in
international postal services.
IPC’s members are: An Post in Ireland; Canada Post, Consignia in the United Kingdom,
Correos y Telégrafos SA in Spain, CTT Correios de Portugal SA, the Department of Postal
Services in Cyprus, De Post/La Poste in Belgium, Deutsche Post AG in Germany, Finland
Post Corporation, Hellenic Post ELTA in Greece, Magyar Posta in Hungary, Iceland Post,
La Poste in France, Norway Post, Österreichische Post AG in Austria, Post Denmark,
Poste Italiane SpA in Italy, Posten AB in Sweden, Postes et Télécommunications in
Luxembourg, Swiss Post, TPG NV in the Netherlands, and the United States Postal
Service.