Deutsche Post offers cross border track and trace service
Deutsche Post has announced that it is offering a new service for German e-commerce vendors which allows them to track their international merchandise through the use of RFID tags. The company says that the service – called called Ländernachweis (advice of country) – has been “specially tailored” to meet the needs of the “booming” cross border e-commerce market.
Both the sender and recipient can view the shipping status of the item via Deutsche Post’s track and trace portal. The RFID tags can either be placed on or inside items.
In a statement issued today (30 November) Deutsche Post said that the service is “designed specifically to cater to the needs of business customers and small-scale senders”.
According to Deutsche Post: “While these customers can already use Einschreiben International (international registered items) to send higher-value goods, they often have other requirements when it comes to the international shipping of less expensive mid-sized to large items. Every single step in the shipping process need not be registered for these letter items, and key locations suffice for identifying their whereabouts. Ländernachweis closes this service gap and complements the diverse e-commerce portfolio of Deutsche Post DHL.”
Deutsche Post added: “The new product offers comprehensible and cost-effective “tracking events” that give senders and customers a clearer picture of the status of their items.
“The letters are scanned at the international mail centre – the transshipment hub for all letters leaving Germany – and then at the international parcel center of the destination country. Depending on the destination, the letter will be scanned once again at customs, as is the case in Switzerland and the USA.”
E-commerce vendors based in Germany can currently use the Ländernachweis service for items being despatched to 16 countries. Within the EU, these include: Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, the UK, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Hungary. Outside of the EU, the service is available for items being sent to Switzerland and the USA. Other countries will follow shortly.
The Ländernachweis RFID tags come in sets of 20 and 50 (€19.00 /€45.00 including VAT) and can only be purchased online from the Deutsche Post’s eFiliale electronic retail outlet.
For customers with higher shipping volumes, Deutsche Post also offers writeable labels with integrated RFID tags: The labels can be integrated effortlessly into customer shipping processes and facilitate the straightforward addressing of items for dispatch.
Further information about the Ländernachweis additional service can be found online at www.deutschepost.de/brief-international/laendernachweis.
