Technology Workgroups

The Technology Workgroups for 2010 are focused on innovation. They will give you the chance to see and hear first hand new innovation and technology development for the postal industry.

Overview
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Day 1

Wednesday 6th October
13:40 - 17:00 - Automation solutions

Moderator - Eddy Thans, CEO, Primevision, Netherlands

Innovation in automation

Matthew Lennon, manager business and product management, Pitney Bowes, USA

When you leverage the latest technology to integrate processes, you gain the flexibility to quickly take advantage of new opportunities as they emerge within the dynamic European postal environment. Learn about the latest innovations in sorting automation - including revolutionary in-line functionality designed to streamline your processes. With these advances, you can eliminate the need for costly and time-consuming off-line processes as you gain the ability to offer more services to your customers.

Deploying the world's first multiple OCR parcel platform

Bo Marott Hansen, business information manager, Post Danmark, Denmark

Mark A Ryder, head of marketing, Prime Vision, Netherlands

The use of multiple OCRs in processing mail is a proven method of increasing automation performance; in fact some postal programs utilise up to eight 'enrichment devices' to aid identification of addresses and other attributes of the mailpiece. Scale that up to parcel OCR systems and the state-of-the-art solution combines a single high-performance OCR combined with barcoding, EDI and video coding. Until 2010 that is - this is the year that Post Denmark redefined the state of the art in parcel automation.

Maximising the efficiency of mail sorting: a case study from PIN Berlin

Wilfried Hahn, general manager, Bowe Bell + Howell, Germany

Kaz Jaszczak, director product planning and operations, Parascript, USA

This session will demonstrate how private post mailers can capitalise on maximum-efficiency mail processing for commercial mail sorting on letters, flats and mixed-mail sorting within one mailstream, as evidenced by the example of a leading German mailer. The presentation will focus on PIN Berlin's successful implementation of Bowe Bell + Howell and Parascript's integrated mail-processing solution. The implementation resulted in a significant reduction of first-pass rejects and over 30% savings per item over video encoding, on even the most illegibly printed and handwritten addressed mailpieces, using the latest address recognition and interpretation technology. Due to the higher depth of coding, the combined solution additionally enabled walk sequence sorting into smaller merged blocks, street snippets instead to individual households, in order to cut processing time. Attendees will learn how they can reduce the time, cost and labour associated with mail processing, increase customer satisfaction with faster processing times, and maintain a low degree of investment risk.

Multi-size sorting with cross-belt technology

Maurizio Del Canto, product manager, Elsag Datamat, Italy

Cross-belt is the preferred handling technology for ensuring optimum handling of all postal objects. The Multisorting Suite of Elsag Datamat is an innovative series of cross-belt sorters to handle different types of objects, with different sizes (from small envelopes and packets, to parcels, baggage and trays) in an integrated way. The MPHS (Multisorting Parcel Handling System) is the specific proposal for postal services and couriers that includes a series of innovations and improvements that position the product as one of the most advanced, high-performance propositions in its category.

Open-source OCR technologies in mail sorting

Jussi Pakkanen, head of OCR research, Syslore, Finland

Syslore is presenting the first address-reading software in the postal industry that combines the best proprietary address-recognition technologies with open-source OCR systems. By combining Syslore's proprietary address-recognition technologies with the power and diversity of open-source development, innovation can leap ahead. For posts, this brings the cost savings and flexibility needed in the rapidly changing postal market.

Q&A

15:10 - 15:40 Break

Hybrid and fully scalable ident solutions for better results

Martin Voss, strategic industry manager for CEP and postal industries, SICK, Germany

The presentation will examine the efficiency benefits that can be derived from hybrid and fully scalable identification solutions. These systems combine laser and vision technologies for automated sorting processes in the express and parcels sector. It will describe improved identification performance, volume measurement legal for trade and double object detection. The presentation will also provide proposals for flexible investment strategies and improved ROIs.

How to use modern sorting to achieve improvements in productivity, capacity and overall economy.

Soren Boll, international sales manager, Crisplant, Denmark

Ronny Groetvedt, property manager, Tollpost Globe, Norway

Tollpost Globe in Norway handles more than 60,000 parcels a day and has an annual turnover of NOK 2.4 billion (US$430 million). With business growing steadily, the company reached a position where it needed a modern sorting system that would help it achieve improvements in productivity, capacity and overall economy. It also required greater flexibility for small parcels. With Tollpost Globe focusing on environmentally friendly products and logistics, a Crisplant system was installed as the main sortation system. Today, Tollpost's department for operations estimates that overall productivity at the sorting centre has improved by 25%.

Latest developments in loop sorter technology

Martijn van der Lande, general manager parcel and postal, Vanderlande Industries, The Netherlands

How to select a 3D volume measuring system

Klaus Michael Bucher, director sales & marketing, Vitronic, Germany

Volume measurement combined with camera-based reading technology and scales provide courier companies with automated invoicing, revenue recovery, optimised loading, etc. But how to select the appropriate volume measuring system? Vitronic provides answers.

Q&A

Day 2

Thursday 7th October
10:00 - 11:30 - Hybrid mail

The latest update on the hybrid mail market, shared experience of hybrid mail users and the latest technology innovations available. Speakers include:

Moderator - Jacob Johnsen, hybrid mail consultant, Ipostes, Morocco

Will hybrid mail take off now?

Jacob Johnsen, hybrid mail consultant, Ipostes, Morocco

After years of steady growth it seems that market evolution and technological possibilities are finally coming together. Jacob Johnsen explains where and why this has propelled extraordinary developments and boosted the use of hybrid mail.

Opportunities in hybrid mail - a technology review

Friedhard Emmel, key-account manager, Scalaris, Germany

What is hybrid mail? What is the benefit for the end customer? Where is the benefit for the operator? What technologies exist today? What should be an operator's initial step towards hybrid mail?

Current trends in the German hybrid mail market

Peter Lackner, managing director, Pawisda International, Germany

The current status of hybrid mail activities in Germany and the new role of emerging online letter activities such as Deutsche Post's Online Letter and T-Systems/1& 1 DM-Mail. Pawisda's role as the service provider for hybrid mail solutions and future developments.

Q&A

11:30 - 12:00 Break

Thursday 7th October
12:00 - 13:00 - Mobile technology

Computing tools for the workforce on the road: what's the weakest link?

Keith Bernhardt, director of product management, LXE, Belgium

For the workforce on the road, the successful execution of each assignment in their daily to-do list is vital. Any inaccurate delivery, any late intervention, any incorrect assessment of the situation, any wrong decision made in the field can cause a devastating setback. Transportation, route accounting and parcel delivery are some of the jobs that require computing tools combining mission-critical features and connectivity with outdoor operation in demanding environments. But what's the weakest link today? The human factor or the technology? There are a host of tools available to 'mobilise' a worker; however, while these devices meet the base requirements needed to send a worker onto the road, they fail to anticipate how a poorly designed device can actually impede productivity and customer satisfaction on a transactional level. This presentation will introduce technology innovations and put them into the mobile worker's perspective, creating a winning combination.

Where is mobile and PDA devices heading?

Niels Clausen, regional sales director, Datalogic Mobile, Sweden

Looking briefly at the historical and current typical use of PDA within the postal, courier and parcel industries, Datalogic Mobile will present what is expected of the PDA today and in the near future. As in the postal, courier and parcel industries, technologies have changed, giving us all many possibilities and options, but also the risk of unforeseen problems and added cost. What are the essential tools and strategies that support successful use of PDAs today?

Partnership and development of new applications

Jacob Holm, Nordic area manager, Datalogic Scanning, Sweden

Swedish Post required one device to read all the barcodes on Swedish letters. In response, and in close cooperation with Delfi Technologies and Swedish Post, Datalogic Scanning developed special barcode scanners to do the job. The project's success was based on cooperation between all parties: manufacturer, system integrator, and end user.

Q&A

13:00 - 14:00 Lunch

Thursday 7th October
14:00 - 15:00 - Innovations for logistics

Moderator - Daniel Dombach, director EMEA industry solutions - manufacturing, T&L, Motorola, Germany

Usability improvements for international shipping

Harry Whitehouse, chief development officer, DYMO Endicia, USA

International fulfilment has always imposed substantial challenges to the shipper. And, with increasing security concerns, posts are becoming more wary of what kind of materials are moving through their operational systems. Providing complete information on international shipments - generally through customs forms - has historically been a time-consuming task for all but the most professional shippers. Internet postage vendors such as Endicia have worked closely with the US Postal Service to create integrated shipping/customs labels that can be quickly produced by mailers. All the information captured at print time is forwarded electronically to the US Postal Service and other agencies. The integrated forms allow the user to optionally specify the HTS ID for each product. The forms include a postage payment IBI barcode, a tracking barcode and a pre-printed 'round-stamp' to meet aviation security requirements. In summary, these recent advancements have eliminated a major pain point for international shippers.

Continuous improvement in the courier space: a case study presented jointly by FedEx and Motorola

Matthew Berardi, managing director, operations technology, FedEx, USA

Mike Maris, senior director - transportation, distribution & logistics, Motorola, USA

During this session the audience will learn how two industry leaders have continued to partner to improve not only the tools currently used in the courier space, but also those processes that enable them to achieve 'Best-in-Class'.

Q&A

15:00 - 15:30 Break

Thursday 7th October
15:30 - 17:00 - Developments in RFID

Moderator - Richard Wishart, managing director, Delivery Management, UK

Commercial opportunities for standardised serialised identification

Richard Wishart, managing director, Delivery Management, UK

ISO licence plate 'item identifiers' uniquely identify the passive RFID tags used to measure mail quality. The speaker will explain the ISO licence plate concept and how it opens up new commercial markets for postal operators. The ability to handle 'open indicia' standards needs to be a key element in the business strategy of any parcel or mail carrier, and should be mandated by any e-commerce company or mail producer.

Process monitoring inside sorting centres with RFID

Bo Helmer Larsen, area manager, Lyngsoe Systems, Denmark

Postal sorting centres are fully optimised machines, but bottlenecks and delays are everyday situations. We will present a simple tool to give instant results to get visibility over selected processes.

Using RFID in the postal and courier business

Samuli Stromberg, vice president marketing, UPM Raflatac, Finland

The main benefits of RFID come from improvements in item tracking during sorting and delivery. As RFID does not require a direct line of sight for data to be read and transferred, postal items can be routed without worry about their physical orientation. Furthermore, RFID reduces the time needed for processing mailbags and boxes, as tags can be tracked automatically when they move through various points in the processing cycle, and multiple items can be read simultaneously without compromising accuracy. In this session we will show you how this works in practice and what are the gains.

UHF-RFID opportunities in the postal sector

Lluis Ventura, operations manager, AIDA CENTRE, Spain

The application of passive UHF-RFID technology in the postal environment is, at this moment, at a good level of maturity. First experiences began six years ago with roll-cage traceability and quality of service control measurements, with successful big projects (such as Correos in Spain or the Global GMS from UPU) showing high levels of performance in such environments, significantly reducing running costs in comparison with other technologies. At this point in time, the deep knowledge and continuous improvements of UHF-RFID technology makes possible the use of this technology in a variety of applications such as asset traceability, quality of service control, proccess optimisation, and more intensive applications.

Q&A

Day 3

Friday 8th October
10:00 - 11:30 - Planning and optimisation

Moderator - Mike Maris, senior director - transportation, distribution & logistics, Motorola, USA

Salvage treasures! Lost a box? Truck queuing? Jammed or deserted loading bays?

Eva Savelsberg, head of intermodal solutions, INFORM, Germany

An intelligent yard-management system that enables real-time information and control, leading to maximised throughput and an evenly distributed workload.

Using optimisation software to create dynamic routes for efficient parcel delivery

Serge Galarneau, director routing, GIRO, Canada

Creating new parcel delivery routes on a daily basis can be more efficient than using delivery sequences based on fixed territories. GIRO will explain how new routes can be produced simply and efficiently every day using a route optimisation server.

Automatic planning and optimisation of the transport process - case study with Posten Sweden

Thorbjoern Schmidt-Jacobsen, market director, Transvision, Denmark

Transvision Postal Planner is a powerful vehicle route scheduling system for operational planning and execution; master route and district optimisation; and what-if simulations. It enables improved service levels and substantial cost savings.

Mobile weighing: saving time, space and money

Jacob Blom, business development manager, RAVAS Europe, The Netherlands

Mobile weighing systems are scales integrated in hand pallet trucks, electric pallet trucks, stackers, order picking trucks, reach trucks and forklift trucks. With mobile scales you weigh during transport, so you save time, space and manpower. You weigh where you want, so you are flexible in your logistics. A mobile scale pays for itself within a short period of time. In this presentation you will discover how you can make your logistics cheaper and more efficient, using mobile scales as a tool; how you can generate management information and control the quality of your products and services; and how you can increase client satisfaction. Ravas has over 500 mobile weighing systems sold to various national postal companies in the EU for fast and efficient handling of incoming bulk shipments like catalogues and bank mailings. With Ravas you weigh, record and transport it all at the same time.

Q&A

11:30 - 12:30 Lunch