Fast Service at the Brazilian Post Office
The checkouts at the Brazilian Post Office outlets have been automated with Datalogic’s barcode readers. The aim of the automation system was to improve the quality and reliability of the service offered by the Post Office. The Brazilian Post Office has a network of services in 5,507 cities. with 82,000 employees, 12,200 postal outlets and a modern fleet of about 33,000 vehicles, transporting a volume of about 24.9 million pieces per day from north to south. In addition to the receipt and delivery of mail, the Post Office uses its network to supply various other services to the customers, including SEDEX express couriers, payment of bills, taxes, fines, and other kind of banking services. The contract to supply the Brazilian Post Office with an automated system was won by TRIX, Datalogic’s Quality Partner in Brazil, for presenting the best solution in terms of price/performance ratio. The TRIX solution involved hardware only – barcode readers, in addition to installation and assistance. The installation begun in April 2000 and Datalogic’s DLL5110-M1 bar code readers were chosen for their excellent performance with a minimal need for technical assistance, and the durability and adaptability of the product to the application. In addition to supplying the Datalogic bar code readers, TRIX also developed a flexible support to make their use even easier in a hand-free mode. A total of 3,250 DLL5110-M1 bar code readers have been installed in the postal outlets across Brazil up until now, and the number of readers installed in each automated office depends on the number of checkouts. Initially the bar code system was used only for certain postal products, such as express registered mail services with SEDEX. Later it was extended to payment control for bills of exchange, taxes and fines.
There were several reasons to changing to an automated system using bar codes and bar code readers. First, to obtain greater speed and reliability in the transmission of related data into the system; also to offer the possibility of tracking packages via the Internet from the moment they are handed-over for delivery (Track and Trace) and finally to guarantee payment control of services offered to the public in the Post Office outlets. Each package to be sent via express courier is given a sticker with a bar code. It is issued from the head office to be able to unmistakably identify each package, and is read immediately with the DLL5110-M1 reader connected to a PC to enter the data into the system. Every day all the packages to be sent are registered in this way and the relative data is transferred to the archive at the head office as daily movement data. The central system gathers, co-ordinates and controls the information coming from the various Post Offices. In this way each piece can be accurately followed and monitored from start to delivery. The bar code readers and an automatic identification system make the receipt of payment and services offered by the Post Office quicker and reliable. When the bar code on the invoice is read, the receipt of payment is immediately recorded on the central system. This system enables both the customers and the postal service operators to track and trace via Internet any piece to be delivered during the entire distribution process. It is also possible to keep a central control on payments that have been made. Furthermore, the readable data can be collected for statistical processing, for surveying the performance obtained and quickly resolving possible abnormalities. The modernization process in the Brazilian Post Office is still continuing with the automation systems, and the installation of the bar code readers is being extended to all postal outlets in the country.
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