97/67/EC - Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service

2020-07-08 - TC - Correction of two formats in rows "Item identifier" and "Additional barcode" in Table 1

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of domestic and cross-border Single Piece Priority Mail (SPPM), collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. It considers methods using representative end-to-end samples for all types of single piece priority mail services for addressed mail with defined transit-time service levels offered to the customer. This standard is applicable to the measurement of End-to-End priority mail services.
The standardized QoS-measurement method provides a uniform way for measuring the end-to-end transit time of postal items. Using a standardized measurement method will assure that the measurement will be done in an objective and equal way for all operators in accordance with the requirements of the Postal Directive 97/67/EC and its amendments.
This European Standard is mandatory and mainly used for performance measurement connected to requirements of the Universal Postal Service; domestic and international (UNEX).

This document will specify the interface between the e-merchant (any commercial customer sending parcels) and the first logistic operator, including both public and private carriers. For the application of this document, a cross border parcel is a parcel crossing a border into and within Europe.
The interface composed on two items:
- the physical label attached on the parcel: contents, sizes, minimum requirements to guarantee the quality and efficiency of the logistic process (sorting, delivery).
- the electronic exchanges between the sender and the logistic operator with the description of the data to be provided, the forma of the exchanges.
While designated operators of UPU have drawn up business requirements using proprietary standards and related data components, online merchants have developed open, not‐for‐profit standards for final delivery which are integrated into their existing supply chain management environment.
The document aims to specify the interface between the e‐merchant (any commercial customer sending parcels) and the first logistic operator composed by incorporating the 3 elements:
- physical label attached to the parcel with information for item identification;
- electronic exchanges between the sender and the logistic operator concerning parcels dispatch;
- data needed for various delivery chain parts, in particular final delivery to the recipient, in order to facilitate exchange between the item‐specific identifiers.
NOTE 1 The last element enables the growth of integrated, data‐driven systems which support highly efficient and customer‐driven cross‐border ecommerce. This reflects the current trend to B‐to‐B‐to‐C delivery solutions in the European and international cross border e‐commerce markets. Delivery from original source to final consumer can be split over more than one service provider.
NOTE 2 C‐to‐B‐to‐B‐to‐C solutions will be an extension, in particular when returns are specified. The “first C” would indicate that consumers wishing to return items, or induct items themselves, will be able to print labels following the fundamentals specified in this standard.
E‐merchant exchange data with logistic operators (i.e. the postal operators, but not limited to those designated to fulfil the rights and obligations of UPU member countries) to help, simplify and enable the consequential logistic and transactional tasks. The establishment of common definitions and electronic formats, safeguards the reliability and decreases the overall costs by avoiding software development costs, multiple printing equipment, over‐labelling during the process, and the manual sorting. reliability and decreases the overall costs by avoiding software development costs, multiple printing equipment, over‐labelling during the process, and the manual sorting.

This document will specify the interface between the e-merchant (any commercial customer sending parcels) and the first logistic operator, including both public and private carriers. For the application of this document, a cross border parcel is a parcel crossing a border into and within Europe.
The interface composed on two items:
- the physical label attached on the parcel: contents, sizes, minimum requirements to guarantee the quality and efficiency of the logistic process (sorting, delivery).
- the electronic exchanges between the sender and the logistic operator with the description of the data to be provided, the forma of the exchanges.
While designated operators of UPU have drawn up business requirements using proprietary standards and related data components, online merchants have developed open, not‐for‐profit standards for final delivery which are integrated into their existing supply chain management environment.
The document aims to specify the interface between the e‐merchant (any commercial customer sending parcels) and the first logistic operator composed by incorporating the 3 elements:
- physical label attached to the parcel with information for item identification;
- electronic exchanges between the sender and the logistic operator concerning parcels dispatch;
- data needed for various delivery chain parts, in particular final delivery to the recipient, in order to facilitate exchange between the item‐specific identifiers.
NOTE 1 The last element enables the growth of integrated, data‐driven systems which support highly efficient and customer‐driven cross‐border ecommerce. This reflects the current trend to B‐to‐B‐to‐C delivery solutions in the European and international cross border e‐commerce markets. Delivery from original source to final consumer can be split over more than one service provider.
NOTE 2 C‐to‐B‐to‐B‐to‐C solutions will be an extension, in particular when returns are specified. The “first C” would indicate that consumers wishing to return items, or induct items themselves, will be able to print labels following the fundamentals specified in this standard.
E‐merchant exchange data with logistic operators (i.e. the postal operators, but not limited to those designated to fulfil the rights and obligations of UPU member countries) to help, simplify and enable the consequential logistic and transactional tasks. The establishment of common definitions and electronic formats, safeguards the reliability and decreases the overall costs by avoiding software development costs, multiple printing equipment, over‐labelling during the process, and the manual sorting. reliability and decreases the overall costs by avoiding software development costs, multiple printing equipment, over‐labelling during the process, and the manual sorting.

This European Standard specifies complaints handling principles related to domestic and international postal services. It applies to both national and cross border services. The standard also gives guidance for compensation and redress procedures.
This European Standard may be applied to all types of postal service both Universal service and non-universal service and by all types of postal organizations. It defines various types of complaints and establishes a methodology for handling complaints in order to improve the service given to postal users. It also gives guidance for complaints handling processes to be set up by postal service providers in order to improve quality of service.
This European Standard provides guidelines beyond the requirements given in ISO 10002 and ISO 9001 in order to consider both the effectiveness and efficiency of a complaint handling process, and consequently the potential for improvement of the performance of an organization. When compared to ISO 9001, the objectives of customer satisfaction and product quality are extended to include the satisfaction of interested parties and the performance of the organization.
This European Standard is applicable to the processes of the organization and consequently the quality management principles on which it is based can be deployed throughout the organization.
It should be noted that the number of complaints received might not be related to the level of service given. A large number of complaints may on the contrary reflect the effectiveness of the postal operator's complaint handling process.

This document is a feasibility study that was carried out to explore the use of real mail data in measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece cross-border priority mail. In this document a description is given of the context, the way this study was carried out, the results of the study and the advice given to CEN/TC 331 Postal services and, finally, CEN and the European Commission.

A feasibility study to explore the use of real mail data in measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece crossborder priority mail.

ISO 19160-4:2017 defines key terms for postal addressing, postal address components and constraints on their use.
Specifically, ISO 19160-4:2017 defines postal address components organized into three hierarchical levels:
- elements, such as organization name or postcode, which have well-defined conceptual meaning and are not themselves made up of subordinate components, though they may be sub-divided for technical purposes;
- constructs, such as organization identification, which group elements into units form a logical portion of a postal address;
- segments, such as addressee specification, which group-related postal address constructs and/or postal address elements into units with a specific defined function.
ISO 19160-4:2017 also specifies a mechanism for creation of sub-elements, which correspond to either sub-divisions of element content, such as door type or door indicator or to multiple occurrences and locations of elements in an address, such as levels of administrative regions.
ISO 19160-4:2017 does not specify the length of any component nor the value range of any component.
Moreover, ISO 19160-4:2017 defines the codes to identify elements and sub-elements.
Further, ISO 19160-4:2017 specifies postal address rendering rules. This includes identification and ordering of output lines in a rendered address, conditions for selection of candidate lines, the order and concatenation of postal address components, required and optional components, parameters to contextualize address for rendering and the formatting of the components, subject to constraints on the space available for that task. Postal address rendering rules are represented in ISO 19160-4:2017 as a postal address template.
Finally, ISO 19160-4:2017 specifies language suitable for computer processing to formally express postal address templates.

This European Standard specifies a recommended procedure for the development of specifications for applications of digital postage marks (DPMs) – i.e. applications linked to the use of digital printing and image data capture technologies in the postal industry, most particularly for the evidencing of postage accounting and/or payment. It is not intended to prescribe or to recommend any particular architecture or design for such applications, only to specify the process through which such an architecture or design should be developed.
The document covers only requirements and considerations relating to applications that use digital postage marks, on individual postal items, as a means of communicating data (messages). The clause on design covers only the design of the digital postage marks themselves. It does not cover other aspects of design, including the possible use of other messages, transported by other means (e.g. statements of mailing), to provide for the communication of additional data, even though these might be just as important.

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit-time of domestic and cross-border bulk mail, collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. It considers methods using representative end-to-end samples for all types of bulk-mail services with defined transit-time service-levels as offered to the postal customer. It specifies a set of minimum requirements for the design of a quality-of-service measurement system for bulk mail, involving the selection and distribution of test mail sent by business senders and received by selected panellists.
This European Standard is applicable to the measurement of end-to-end priority and non-priority bulk-mail services. For the purpose of this standard, bulk mail services can include all types of addressed bulk mail including, but not limited to letter mail, direct mail, magazines and newspapers and encombrant-format mailings.
This European Standard relates to the measurement of bulk-mail services offered to businesses that have pick-ups at their offices or give their mail to postal service operators. If a third party agent acts for the postal operator, then the time the mail is handed over to the agent will form part of the measurement. Where a third party agent acts for the sending customer, the measurement will be from the point when mail is handed over to the postal operator.
This European Standard is of modular structure. It is designed to assess the service performance of postal operators for bulk mail services on the level of a single bulk mailing as defined by the postal customer or any aggregations thereof, including the performance of an individual customer / operator or the performance of a group of customers / operators or the performance at national level.
The standardized QoS measurement-method provides a uniform way for measuring the end-to-end transit time of postal items. Using a standardized measurement-method will ensure that the measurement will be done in an objective and equal way for all operators in accordance with the requirements of the Directive 97/67/EC and its amendments.
The end-to-end service measured may be provided by one operator or by a group of operators working either together in the same distribution chain or parallel in different distribution chains. The method for end-to-end measurement specified in this European Standard is not designed to provide results for the measurement of parts of the distribution chain.
This standard does not include other service performance indicators than those related to end-to-end transit time. In particular, this standard does not measure whether the timings of collections meet customers’ requirements.
The transit-time quality-of-service result will be expressed as percentage of mail delivered by, on or between expected dates. These dates can be defined absolute as calendar-days or relative to the date of induction. The transit time calculation rule will be in whole days.
This quality of service indicator does not measure the postal operator’s overall performance in a way, which provides direct comparison of postal service operators. This European Standard nevertheless provides minimum requirements for the comparability of end-to-end transit-time measurement results of specific bulk mailings.
This European Standard is not applicable for the measurement of end-to-end transit-times of single-piece mail services and hybrid mail, which require different measurement systems and methodologies (see, for example, EN 13850, Postal Services - Quality of Services - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail. (...)

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit-time of domestic and cross-border bulk mail, collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. It considers methods using representative end-to-end samples for all types of bulk-mail services with defined transit-time service-levels as offered to the postal customer. It specifies a set of minimum requirements for the design of a quality-of-service measurement system for bulk mail, involving the selection and distribution of test mail sent by business senders and received by selected panellists.
This European Standard is applicable to the measurement of end-to-end priority and non-priority bulk-mail services. For the purpose of this standard, bulk mail services can include all types of addressed bulk mail including, but not limited to letter mail, direct mail, magazines and newspapers and encombrant-format mailings.
This European Standard relates to the measurement of bulk-mail services offered to businesses that have pick-ups at their offices or give their mail to postal service operators. If a third party agent acts for the postal operator, then the time the mail is handed over to the agent will form part of the measurement. Where a third party agent acts for the sending customer, the measurement will be from the point when mail is handed over to the postal operator.
This European Standard is of modular structure. It is designed to assess the service performance of postal operators for bulk mail services on the level of a single bulk mailing as defined by the postal customer or any aggregations thereof, including the performance of an individual customer / operator or the performance of a group of customers / operators or the performance at national level.
The standardized QoS measurement-method provides a uniform way for measuring the end-to-end transit time of postal items. Using a standardized measurement-method will ensure that the measurement will be done in an objective and equal way for all operators in accordance with the requirements of the Directive 97/67/EC and its amendments.
The end-to-end service measured may be provided by one operator or by a group of operators working either together in the same distribution chain or parallel in different distribution chains. The method for end-to-end measurement specified in this European Standard is not designed to provide results for the measurement of parts of the distribution chain.
This standard does not include other service performance indicators than those related to end-to-end transit time. In particular, this standard does not measure whether the timings of collections meet customers’ requirements.
The transit-time quality-of-service result will be expressed as percentage of mail delivered by, on or between expected dates. These dates can be defined absolute as calendar-days or relative to the date of induction. The transit time calculation rule will be in whole days.
This quality of service indicator does not measure the postal operator’s overall performance in a way, which provides direct comparison of postal service operators. This European Standard nevertheless provides minimum requirements for the comparability of end-to-end transit-time measurement results of specific bulk mailings.
This European Standard is not applicable for the measurement of end-to-end transit-times of single-piece mail services and hybrid mail, which require different measurement systems and methodologies (see, for example, EN 13850, Postal Services - Quality of Services - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail. (...)

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of the
domestic and crossborder, priority and non-priority, bulk mail, collected, processed and distributed
by postal seNice operators. It considers methods using a representative end-to-end sample of
addressed bulk mail. End-to-end is defined as from the point mail is placed into the
collection/acceptance system under the responsibility of the postal operators, to the final delivery
point under the responsibility of the postal operators.
For the purpose of this European Standard, bulk mail can include all types of addressed bulk mail:
letter mail, direct mail, magazines, and newspapers, unless otherwise indicated. The overall quality
of seNice result should be expressed as the percentage of mail delivered within J + n days end toend
according to the EC postal directive or the percentage of mail delivered by, on or between
expected dates.
The measurement should be in whole days and not be restricted by reference to a specific time of
day for delivery. This quality of seNice indicator does not measure the postal operator's overall
performance in a way which provides direct comparison of postal seNice operators, and does not
include other seNice performance indicators than those related to transit time. In particular this
European Standard does not measure whether the timing of collections meets customers'
requirements.
The European Standard can be used to assess the performance of postal operators for specific
products or seNices at a national level or for an individual or a group of customers.
The European Standard should not be used to assess the overall performance of a group of
products or seNices which have other seNice specifications in terms of transit time expectation.
It specifies a set of requirements for the design of a quality of seNice measurement system for
bulk mail, involving the selection and distribution of test mail sent and received by selected
panellists. The test mail sample design gives the specifications for the mail to be representative of
real mail flows.
This European Standard relates to the measurement of seNices offered to businesses that have
pick ups at their offices or give their mail to postal seNice operators. If a third party agent acts for
the postal operator then the time the mail is handed over to the agent should form part of the
measurement. Where a third party agent acts for the sending customer then the measurement
should be from the point when mail is handed over to the postal operator.
For technical reasons the European Standard may not in all parts be suitable for the measuring of
very small volumes of mail and for operators with limited coverage. It is not applicable for
measuring the end-to-end transit time distribution of single piece mailings which require different
measurement systems. The European Standard EN 13850 has been developed for single piece
priority mail and EN 14508 for single piece non-priority mail.
This European standard includes specifications for the quality control and auditing of the
measurement system. In certain circumstances this European Standard allows a choice between
alternatives or deviations to be made subject to the approval of the regulator. This approval is only
necessary if the product or seNice is within the universal seNice obligation.

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit-time of domestic and cross-border bulk mail, collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. It considers methods using representative end-to-end samples for all types of bulk-mail services with defined transit-time service-levels as offered to the postal customer. It specifies a set of minimum requirements for the design of a quality-of-service measurement system for bulk mail, involving the selection and distribution of test mail sent by business senders and received by selected panellists.
This European Standard is applicable to the measurement of end-to-end priority and non-priority bulk-mail services. For the purpose of this standard, bulk mail services can include all types of addressed bulk mail including, but not limited to letter mail, direct mail, magazines and newspapers and encombrant-format mailings.
This European Standard relates to the measurement of bulk-mail services offered to businesses that have pick-ups at their offices or give their mail to postal service operators. If a third party agent acts for the postal operator, then the time the mail is handed over to the agent will form part of the measurement. Where a third party agent acts for the sending customer, the measurement will be from the point when mail is handed over to the postal operator.
This European Standard is of modular structure. It is designed to assess the service performance of postal operators for bulk mail services on the level of a single bulk mailing as defined by the postal customer or any aggregations thereof, including the performance of an individual customer / operator or the performance of a group of customers / operators or the performance at national level.
The standardized QoS measurement-method provides a uniform way for measuring the end-to-end transit time of postal items. Using a standardized measurement-method will ensure that the measurement will be done in an objective and equal way for all operators in accordance with the requirements of the Directive 97/67/EC and its amendments.
The end-to-end service measured may be provided by one operator or by a group of operators working either together in the same distribution chain or parallel in different distribution chains. The method for end-to-end measurement specified in this European Standard is not designed to provide results for the measurement of parts of the distribution chain.
This standard does not include other service performance indicators than those related to end-to-end transit time. In particular, this standard does not measure whether the timings of collections meet customers’ requirements.
The transit-time quality-of-service result will be expressed as percentage of mail delivered by, on or between expected dates. These dates can be defined absolute as calendar-days or relative to the date of induction. The transit time calculation rule will be in whole days.
This quality of service indicator does not measure the postal operator’s overall performance in a way, which provides direct comparison of postal service operators. This European Standard nevertheless provides minimum requirements for the comparability of end-to-end transit-time measurement results of specific bulk mailings.
This European Standard is not applicable for the measurement of end-to-end transit-times of single-piece mail services and hybrid mail, which require different measurement systems and methodologies (see, for example, EN 13850, Postal Services - Quality of Services - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail. (...)

Method for measurement of parcel transit time for cross-border parcels is mainly from an e-merchant perspective, especially for small and medium-sized companies. Based on an earlier study, the method will be based on events of the track and trace process.
Events used need to be kept simple and transparent for the measurement of the complex matrix of the flows between European countries.
The last part of the process (delivery options) is dependent on the country and on its historical development of postal and logistic operators - this part of the logistics process is currently too complex for simple measurement. Therefore the Technical Specification (TS) will focus on the main part of the process: from entrance (hand over) in the logistics chain to the first attempt of delivery.
(...)
The Technical Specification should:
-   be technically and supplier neutral;
-   not be limited to postal operators but open to all operators transporting parcels;
-   take into account events relevant for the customer’s (sender or receiver) needs;
-   define calculation rules;
-   be easy to implement.
This Technical Specification does not set quality of service standards or targets.

Method for measurement of parcel transit time for cross-border parcels is mainly from an e-merchant perspective, especially for small and medium-sized companies. Based on an earlier study, the method will be based on events of the track and trace process.
Events used need to be kept simple and transparent for the measurement of the complex matrix of the flows between European countries.
The last part of the process (delivery options) is dependent on the country and on its historical development of postal and logistic operators - this part of the logistics process is currently too complex for simple measurement. Therefore the Technical Specification (TS) will focus on the main part of the process: from entrance (hand over) in the logistics chain to the first attempt of delivery.
(...)
The Technical Specification should:
-   be technically and supplier neutral;
-   not be limited to postal operators but open to all operators transporting parcels;
-   take into account events relevant for the customer’s (sender or receiver) needs;
-   define calculation rules;
-   be easy to implement.
This Technical Specification does not set quality of service standards or targets.

In addition to EN 13850:2012 Postal Services - Quality of Service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail, this European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of domestic and cross-border non-priority single piece mail, collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. It considers methods using a representative end-to-end sample of all types of single piece addressed letter mail with defined transit-time service levels offered to the customer. This standard is applicable to the measurement of End-to-End single piece non-priority mail services.
This European Standard has been developed from and is compatible with the requirements of EN 13850:2012. As such, surveys for both priority and non-priority single piece mail may be undertaken concurrently whilst reporting separate estimates of priority and non-priority transit times.
The overall transit time quality-of-service result is to be expressed as the percentage of mail delivered within (J + n) days end-to-end according to the EU Postal directive .
This European Standard relates to the measurement of so-called “normal” services given to private persons / households and smaller businesses that post mail at street letter boxes, over the counter at post offices, have bring services from their offices or give their mail directly at postal service operators’ sorting centres.
For technical reasons this European Standard may not in all parts be suitable for the measurement of very small volumes of mail and for operators with limited coverage.
This European Standard is not applicable for measuring the end-to-end transit time distribution of large bulk mailers’ services or hybrid mail, which require different measurement systems and methodologies; (see, for example, EN 14534 Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services of bulk mail).

In addition to EN 13850:2012 Postal Services - Quality of Service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail, this European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of domestic and cross-border non-priority single piece mail, collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. It considers methods using a representative end-to-end sample of all types of single piece addressed letter mail with defined transit-time service levels offered to the customer. This standard is applicable to the measurement of End-to-End single piece non-priority mail services.
This European Standard has been developed from and is compatible with the requirements of EN 13850:2012. As such, surveys for both priority and non-priority single piece mail may be undertaken concurrently while reporting separate estimates of priority and non-priority transit times.
The overall transit time quality-of-service result is to be expressed as the percentage of mail delivered within (J + n) days end-to-end according to the EU Postal directive .
This European Standard relates to the measurement of so-called "normal" services given to private persons / households and smaller businesses that post mail at street letter boxes, over the counter at post offices, have bring services from their offices or give their mail directly at postal service operators’ sorting centres.
For technical reasons this European Standard may not in all parts be suitable for the measurement of very small volumes of mail and for operators with limited coverage.
This European Standard is not applicable for measuring the end-to-end transit time distribution of large bulk mailers’ services or hybrid mail, which require different measurement systems and methodologies; (see, for example, EN 14534 Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services of bulk mail).

TC origin - Mistakes in cross references

TC origin - Mistakes in cross references

This Technical Report specifies methods for measuring the quality of a re-forwarding service of domestic addressed mail that is collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. As a European Standard or technical specification it relates to the measurement of services given to household and business customers who receive mail at their homes, their post office boxes, or at their office premises and have contracted their national Postal Operator (PO) to re-forward their mail for a defined stretch of time to an address that deviates from the one presented on the postal items that are to be delivered to them.
It is not the purpose of this standard to measure the POs performance in a way that provides direct comparison of postal service providers.

This Technical Report specifies methods for measuring the quality of a re-forwarding service of domestic addressed mail that is collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. As a European Standard or technical specification it relates to the measurement of services given to household and business customers who receive mail at their homes, their post office boxes, or at their office premises and have contracted their national Postal Operator (PO) to re-forward their mail for a defined stretch of time to an address that deviates from the one presented on the postal items that are to be delivered to them.
It is not the purpose of this standard to measure the POs performance in a way that provides direct comparison of postal service providers.

CEN/TR 16706 provides the results of a feasibility study to determine whether a European Standard for the measurement of incorrect delivery could be developed. CEN/TC331 decided a European Standard was not feasible but that the results should be kept and the report transferred into this Technical Report.

A feasibility study has been performed to see whether a standard for this subject can be developed. CEN/TC331 decided it was not feasible but the results should be kept therefore the report is transferred into a Technical Report.
Registered postal items contain - by nature - important messages or goods. Any of such items, which may be delivered to a person not being authorized to receive them may cause substantial problems, even if the correct addressee receives it afterwards. The knowledge of the quality performed by the operator would therefore give the customer an indication, to which extend registered postal items are delivered.
It was originally aimed to specify requirements for a method and its implementation aiming at measuring another aspect of the quality of delivery. It deals specifically with registered postal items delivered to someone not authorized to get them.

This European Standard specifies the requirements and the test methods of the apertures for the delivery of letter post items when fitted in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. It takes into account security, impregnability, safety and performance for the recipient, and ergonomics and efficiency for delivery personnel. It allows the daily delivery in good condition of a great majority of letter post items.

This European Standard specifies the requirements and the test methods of the apertures for the delivery of letter post items when fitted in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
It takes into account security, impregnability, safety and performance for the recipient, and ergonomics and efficiency for delivery personnel. It allows the daily delivery in good condition of a great majority of letter post items.

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of domestic and cross-border Single Piece Priority Mail (SPPM), collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. It considers methods using representative end-to-end samples for all types of single piece priority mail services for addressed mail with defined transit-time service levels offered to the customer. This standard is applicable to the measurement of End-to-End priority mail services.
The standardized QoS-measurement method provides a uniform way for measuring the end-to-end transit time of postal items. Using a standardized measurement method will assure that the measurement will be done in an objective and equal way for all operators in accordance with the requirements of the Postal Directive 97/67/EC and its amendments.
This European Standard is mandatory and mainly used for performance measurement connected to requirements of the Universal Postal Service; domestic and international (UNEX).

2020-07-08 - TC - Correction of two formats in rows "Item identifier" and "Additional barcode" in Table 1

This Technical Specification defines a mechanism for the unique identification of individual receptacles. It specifies the method of construction of the identifier, referred to as the receptacle asset number, and defines one required and a number of optional methods by which this identifier can be associated with (affixed to) the receptacle itself.
The receptacle asset number is defined in accordance with the specification of ISO/IEC 15418 data identifier number 5B, which defines a Receptacle Asset Number or container identifier constructed in accordance with the hierarchical principles defined in ISO/IEC 15459.
The specification also identifies a number of receptacle attributes, or characteristics, which it may be useful to communicate between parties making use of the receptacle concerned.
A coded representation of one of these attributes - equipment qualifier - is integrated into the structure of the receptacle asset number. The others are not defined in detail in this document. Precise definitions and encoding formats for them will be developed over time, as a result of practical experience of use of the specification. The definitions will be included in an appropriate reference specification, such as UPU standards S25 [17] and M82 [10], which serve as baseline definition documents for attributes used in postal industry communications about postal items, mail aggregates and receptacles.
The application of this specification is voluntary in the sense that receptacles are not required to be individually identified.
NOTE 1   Not all receptacles need to have a receptacle identifier. In particular, in today's environment, mailbags and disposable trays are not normally identified explicitly - rather their contents are. Many posts are, however, starting to individually identify more valuable receptacles and this practice is expected to spread, including to trays, as the advantages of being able to individually track and control receptacle movement become more appa

This document specifies methods for measuring the level of loss and substantial delay, using a survey of test letters, of domestic and cross-border priority and first class single piece letter mail, collected, processed and distributed by postal service operators.
It is impossible in practice to distinguish between items which will never arrive and items which have been delayed for a very long time. A minimum period is therefore defined after which an item that has been sent shall be treated as if it has been lost or substantially delayed for the purposes of measurement.
The resulting overall figure for loss and substantial delay is to be expressed as a percentage of the total posted priority and first class single piece mail. This indicator does not measure the postal operator's overall performance in a way which provides direct comparison of postal service operators, and does not include other service performance indicators other than those related to loss and substantial delay.
According to this document, loss and substantial delay is estimated within specified accuracy limits. When the level of loss is very small it may only be possible to estimate an upper limit for the level of loss.
This document has been developed from and is compatible with the requirements of EN 13850 for the measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail, so that the same survey may be used to measure loss and substantial delay and on-time performance. Thus it comprises a set of requirements for the design of a measuring system involving the selection and distribution of test letters sent and received by selected panellists, according to a specification that ensures that the test letter sample design is representative of the real mail flows.

This document provides guidelines for printing addresses on mail items. These guidelines apply to addresses printed on mail items whose size is up to and including C5. It may also be applied to oversize items, commonly referred to as C5+. The address blocks covered are the addressee address block and the sender address block if they are both on the same side of the item. Otherwise, only the addressee address block is covered. Guidelines related to address lines are relevant for all lines in an address block.

This Technical Specification defines a set of physical marks called Address Block Locators (ABLs). ABLs are marks, printed in the vicinity of addresses on postal items, that are intended to facilitate automatic recognition of address location and processing of the addresses on mail sorting and video-coding equipment.
The Technical Specification describes two families of ABLs which may be printed on all types of postal items, including letters, flats and parcels.
In the first family, address block locators take the form of pictograms which bear no other information than being a landmark for the address block. One such pictogram is defined herein for use in association with the delivery address block. It may be printed at the same time as the address or pre-printed on an envelope, an insert, or a label, with the address being printed, on the same physical support, at a later stage.
The second family covers address block locators which contain an encoded specification of the address block type and location and which can also be used for encoding other data, not directly related to address block location. Such data may include addressee or postal item identifiers, routing data, non-delivery instructions, a return address and references or other data which are relevant for either the mailer or the addressee. It may also include address checking data which may be used to verify correct interpretation of the printed address by the OCR system. In this family, three types of ABL are defined: one based on a pattern of alphanumeric characters; one on a linear bar code and one based on two-dimensional symbologies. These locators can be applied to the delivery address block and to forwarding or return address blocks. They will normally be printed within the same process as the address itself.
The Technical Specification is intended to be used by:
-   mailers, during the production of mail;
(....)

The purpose of this Technical Specification is to define a facing identification mark (FIM), with procedures for its use, which can be used by any postal operator. It is primarily addressed to those postal operators that have not yet implemented the use of FIMs for automated facing and has been designed to minimise conflict with FIM marks that are already in use. Nevertheless, operators with existing FIMs are encouraged to consider support for migration onto this Technical Specification as and when they upgrade or replace facing equipment.
Use of the standard FIM offers the possibility for automated preparation of letters which do not carry a stamp and which arrive, in a postal facility, without being faced. These items can them be included in the domestic and international mechanised streams of mail.
This Technical Specification allows facer-cancellers and culler-facer-cancellers (or other automated equipment supporting the mail preparation function), to detect bar code-type marks enabling those machines to face and cancel items carrying the FIM. Through the incorporation of a coded value, called the FIM-code, this Technical Specification also supports segregation of FIM-marked items into up to 18 separate streams. This capability can be used to facilitate revenue control by allowing items to be segregated according the type of revenue control procedure required. For example, Business Reply items could be separated and allow accounting and cancellation to take place before, rather than after, the items are transported to their delivery office. This would simplify controls designed to prevent the sending of business reply items to addresses in other countries. However, it should be recognized that FIMs have no in-built security and an item may carry an inappropriate FIM code, resulting in it being placed in the wrong processing stream. Hence, in particular, the FIM alone cannot be relied upon as providing evidence of payment.

This document provides guidelines for printing addresses on mail items. These guidelines apply to addresses printed on mail items whose size is up to and including C5. It may also be applied to oversize items, commonly referred to as C5+. The address blocks covered are the addressee address block and the sender address block if they are both on the same side of the item. Otherwise, only the addressee address block is covered. Guidelines related to address lines are relevant for all lines in an address block.

The European Commission emphasises the need to have common rules for the development of community postal services and the improvement of Quality-of-Service (QoS). The Commission has identified requirements for postal QoS-Measurement systems that include: - Independent end-to-end measurement capabilities; - A focus on national and cross-border distribution service performance; - A single, uniform and reliable system for monitoring distribution service performance within the Union. The Commission has acknowledged that the different postal traditions and cultures in Europe would not allow for the establishment of one common unified European measurement system and that national systems should have sufficient freedom to reflect national needs and peculiarities. On the other hand, they should fulfil a defined set of minimum requirements to satisfy the information interests of the Commission, the regulatory authority, postal customers and postal operators themselves. Any regulatory authority is free to adapt to national circumstances where the standard gives room to do so. The objective of the measurement is to estimate the end-to-end transit time QoS given to the customer domestically in each European country and cross-border between the European countries. This European Standard refers to a number of principles and minimum requirements to be applied for the measurement of the end-to-end transit time service level.

This European Standard specifies complaints handling principles related to domestic and international postal services. It applies to both national and cross border services.  Attention is given on how to handle complaints in multiple operator situations. The standard also gives guidance for compensation and redress procedures.
This European Standard may be applied to all types of postal service both Universal service and non-universal service and by all types of postal organizations. It defines various types of complaints and establishes a methodology for handling complaints in order to improve the service given to postal users. It also gives guidance for complaints handling processes to be set up by postal service providers in order to improve quality of service.
This European Standard provides guidelines beyond the requirements given in ISO 10002 and ISO 9001 in order to consider both the effectiveness and efficiency of a complaint handling process, and consequently the potential for improvement of the performance of an organization. When compared to ISO 9001, the objectives of customer satisfaction and product quality are extended to include the satisfaction of interested parties and the performance of the organization.
This European Standard is applicable to the processes of the organization and consequently the quality management principles on which it is based can be deployed throughout the organization. The focus of this European Standard is the achievement of ongoing improvement, measured through the satisfaction of customers and other interested parties.
It should be noted that the number of complaints received might not be related to the level of service given. A large number of complaints may on the contrary reflect the effectiveness of the postal operator's complaint handling process.
This European Standard consists of guidance and recommendations and is neither intended for certification, regulatory or contractual use, nor as a guide to the imple

This European Standard specifies complaints handling principles related to domestic and international postal services. It applies to both national and cross border services.  Attention is given to how to handle complaints in multiple operator situations. The standard also gives guidance for compensation and redress procedures.
This European Standard may be applied to all types of postal service both Universal service and non-universal service and by all types of postal organizations. It defines various types of complaints and establishes a methodology for handling complaints in order to improve the service given to postal users. It also gives guidance for complaints handling processes to be set up by postal service providers in order to improve quality of service.
This European Standard provides guidelines beyond the requirements given in ISO 10002 and ISO 9001 in order to consider both the effectiveness and efficiency of a complaint handling process, and consequently the potential for improvement of the performance of an organization. When compared to ISO 9001, the objectives of customer satisfaction and product quality are extended to include the satisfaction of interested parties and the performance of the organization.
This European Standard is applicable to the processes of the organization and consequently the quality management principles on which it is based can be deployed throughout the organization. The focus of this European Standard is the achievement of ongoing improvement, measured through the satisfaction of customers and other interested parties.
It should be noted that the number of complaints received might not be related to the level of service given. A large number of complaints may on the contrary reflect the effectiveness of the postal operator's complaint handling process.
This European Standard consists of guidance and recommendations and is neither intended for certification, regulatory or contractual use, nor as a guide to the imple

This UPU standard provides a dictionary of the possible ) components of postal addresses, together with examples of and constraints on their use.
The standard defines three hierarchical levels of postal address component:
-   segments, such as addressee specification, which correspond to major logical portions of a postal address.
-   constructs, such as organisation identification, which group elements within segments into units which are meaningful for human interpretation;
-   elements, such as organisation name or legal status, which correspond to the lowest level of constructs, i.e., those which are not themselves made up of subordinate elements, though they may be sub-divided for technical purposes
To cover multiple occurrences and locations of elements in an address, and to be able where necessary to work with sub-divisions of element content, the standard defines a fourth level:
-   element sub-types, such as door type or door indicator, representing parts of conceptual elements, such as door, for database storage or to facilitate presentation, or representing multiple instances of conceptual elements for use in defining address element structures or templates
NOTE   The underlying point is that elements are conceptual whereas sub-types are defined to meet technical needs such as template construction, rendition requirements, accurate representation of address instances, and matching to postal database fields
The standard further provides a methodology for the specification of postal address templates, which stipulate how a postal address is to be written, including the order in which postal address elements are to appear, required and optional elements, and the presentation or rendition of the elements, subject to constraints on the space available for that task. Languages suitable for human comprehension and computer processing of postal address templates are defined and described.
(...°

This European Standard provides a dictionary of the possible ) components of postal addresses, together with examples of and constraints on their use.
This European Standard defines three hierarchical levels of postal address component:
- segments, such as addressee specification, which correspond to major logical portions of a postal address;
- constructs, such as organisation identification, which group elements within segments into units which are meaningful for human interpretation;
- elements, such as organisation name or legal status, which correspond to the lowest level of constructs, i.e. those which are not themselves made up of subordinate elements, though they may be sub-divided for technical purposes.
To cover multiple occurrences and locations of elements in an address, and to be able where necessary to work with sub-divisions of element content, the standard defines a fourth level:
- element sub-types, such as door type or door indicator, representing parts of conceptual elements, such as door, for database storage or to facilitate presentation, or representing multiple instances of conceptual elements for use in defining address element structures or templates.
NOTE   The underlying point is that elements are conceptual whereas sub-types are defined to meet technical needs such as template construction, rendition requirements, accurate representation of address instances, and matching to postal database fields.
This European Standard further provides a methodology for the specification of postal address templates, which stipulate how a postal address is to be written, including the order in which postal address elements are to appear, required and optional elements, and the presentation or rendition of the elements, subject to constraints on the space available for that task. Languages suitable for human comprehension and computer processing of postal address templates are defined and described.
It also defines a number of useful terms, such as delivery address, forwarding address, mailee and mail originator. By providing a standard dictionary of postal address components, this European Standard is expected to greatly facilitate the formal description of actual address representations and the definition of procedures for mapping between them.
In practice, many address representations, whether in computer databases, in electronic messages or in printed or written form, combine several of the postal address components defined herein into single fields or lines. ) Considerable intelligence may be required in mapping between different representations, particularly where these are subject to a degree of ambiguity. )
This European Standard does not specify the length or value range of components.
This European Standard does not cover the topic of data protection. Users of this European Standard are nevertheless reminded that the storage and exchange of personal data are subject to legislation in many countries. This European Standard may be applied only to the extent that this is compliant with such legislation.

This document specifies a recommended procedure for the development of specifications for applications of digital postage marks (DPMs)- i.e. applications linked to the use of digital printing and image data capture technologies in the postal industry, most particularly for the evidencing of postage accounting and/or payment. It is not intended to prescribe or to recommend any particular architecture or design for such applications, only to specify the process through which such an architecture or design should be developed.
NOTE 1   For this reason, the standard includes both normative and informative content. Clauses 1 to 5 and Annex A are normative, whilst the remaining annexes are informative. Non-normative (informative) clauses are indicated as such in the heading.
The process described is based on a cyclic model, involving business planning; systems analysis; security analysis and detailed DPM design.
The defined process is a recommended one only and DPM applications designers are not obligated to follow it. However, its use is intended to ensure both that all relevant aspects are taken into account in the design process and that the resulting specifications have a degree of commonality of structure which make them comparable with similar specifications produced by other parties. It is hoped that this will make them more easily intelligible, and less open to ambiguity, for implementers.
It is assumed that users of the standard are familiar with normal processes involved in the design of computer-based applications and the standard therefore limits itself to aspects which are specific to DPM applications design. In particular, the document covers only requirements and considerations relating to applications that use digital postage marks, on individual postal items, as a means of communicating data (messages). The clause on design covers only the design of the digital postage marks themselves. It does not cover other aspects of design, including the possible u

This document specifies a recommended procedure for the development of specifications for applications of digital postage marks (DPMs)- i.e. applications linked to the use of digital printing and image data capture technologies in the postal industry, most particularly for the evidencing of postage accounting and/or payment. It is not intended to prescribe or to recommend any particular architecture or design for such applications, only to specify the process through which such an architecture or design should be developed.
NOTE 1   For this reason, the standard includes both normative and informative content. Clauses 1 to 5 and Annex A are normative, whilst the remaining annexes are informative. Non-normative (informative) clauses are indicated as such in the heading.
The process described is based on a cyclic model, involving business planning; systems analysis; security analysis and detailed DPM design.
The defined process is a recommended one only and DPM applications designers are not obligated to follow it. However, its use is intended to ensure both that all relevant aspects are taken into account in the design process and that the resulting specifications have a degree of commonality of structure which make them comparable with similar specifications produced by other parties. It is hoped that this will make them more easily intelligible, and less open to ambiguity, for implementers.
It is assumed that users of the standard are familiar with normal processes involved in the design of computer-based applications and the standard therefore limits itself to aspects which are specific to DPM applications design. In particular, the document covers only requirements and considerations relating to applications that use digital postage marks, on individual postal items, as a means of communicating data (messages). The clause on design covers only the design of the digital postage marks themselves. It does not cover other aspects of design, including the possible u

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of the domestic and crossborder, priority and non-priority, bulk mail, collected, processed and distributed by postal service operators. It considers methods using a representative end-to-end sample of addressed bulk mail. End-to-end is defined as from the point mail is placed into the collection/acceptance system under the responsibility of the postal operators, to the final delivery point under the responsibility of the postal operators. For the purpose of this European Standard, bulk mail can include all types of addressed bulk mail: letter mail, direct mail, magazines, and newspapers, unless otherwise indicated. The overall quality of service result should be expressed as the percentage of mail delivered within J + n days endto- end according to the EC postal directive or the percentage of mail delivered by, on or between expected dates. The measurement should be in whole days and not be restricted by reference to a specific time of day for delivery. The European Standard can be used to assess the performance of postal operators for specific products or services at a national level or for an individual or a group of customers. It specifies a set of requirements for the design of a quality of service measurement system for bulk mail, involving the selection and distribution of test mail sent and received by selected panellists. The test mail sample design gives the specifications for the mail to be representative of real mail flows. This European Standard relates to the measurement of services offered to businesses that have pick ups at their offices or give their mail to postal service operators. If a third party agent acts for the postal operator then the time the mail is handed over to the agent should form part of the measurement. Where a third party agent acts for the sending customer then the measurement should be from the point when mail is handed over to the postal operator. This European standard includes specifications for the quality control and auditing of the measurement system. In certain circumstances this European Standard allows a choice between alternatives or deviations to be made subject to the approval of the regulator. This approval is only necessary if the product or service is within the universal service obligation.

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of the domestic and cross-border, priority and non-priority, bulk mail, collected, processed and distributed by postal service operators. It considers methods using a representative end-to-end sample of addressed bulk mail. End-to-end is defined as from the point mail is placed into the collection/acceptance system under the responsibility of the postal operators, to the final delivery point under the responsibility of the postal operators.
For the purpose of this European Standard, bulk mail can include all types of addressed bulk mail: letter mail, direct mail, magazines, and newspapers, unless otherwise indicated.
The overall quality of service result should be expressed as the percentage of mail delivered within J + n days end-to-end according to the EC postal directive or the percentage of mail delivered by, on or between expected dates. The measurement should be in whole days and not be restricted by reference to a specific time of day for delivery.
This quality of service indicator does not measure the postal operator’s overall performance in a way which provides direct comparison of postal service operators, and does not include other service performance indicators than those related to transit time. In particular this European Standard does not measure whether the timing of collections meets customers’ requirements.
The European Standard can be used to assess the performance of postal operators for specific products or services at a national level or for an individual or a group of customers.
The European Standard should not be used to assess the overall performance of a group of products or services which have other service specifications in terms of transit time expectation.
It specifies a set of requirements for the design of a quality of service measurement system for bulk mail, involving the selection and distribution of test mail sent and received by selected pan

In addition to EN 13850:2002 Postal Services - Quality of Service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail, this European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of domestic and cross-border non-priority single piece mail, collected, processed and distributed by postal service operators. It considers methods using a representative end-to-end sample of all types of single piece addressed letter mail.
This European Standard has been developed from and is compatible with the requirements of EN 13850:2002. As such, surveys for both priority and non-priority single piece mail may be undertaken concurrently whilst reporting separate estimates of priority and non-priority transit times.
The overall transit time quality-of-service result is to be expressed as percentage of mail delivered within J + n days end-to-end according to the EU "Postal directive" .
This European Standard relates to the measurement of so-called "normal" services given to private persons / households and businesses that post mail at street letter boxes, over the counter at post offices, have pick ups at their offices or give their mail directly at postal service operators’ sorting centres.
For technical reasons this European Standard may not in all parts be suitable for the measuring of very small volumes of mail and for operators with limited coverage.
This European Standard is not applicable for measuring the end-to-end transit time distribution of large bulk mailers’ services and hybrid mail, which require different measurement systems and methodologies.

In addition to EN 13850:2002 Postal Services - Quality of Service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail, this European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of domestic and cross-border non-priority single piece mail, collected, processed and distributed by postal service operators. It considers methods using a representative end-to-end sample of all types of single piece addressed letter mail.
This European Standard has been developed from and is compatible with the requirements of EN 13850:2002. As such, surveys for both priority and non-priority single piece mail may be undertaken concurrently whilst reporting separate estimates of priority and non-priority transit times.
The overall transit time quality-of-service result is to be expressed as percentage of mail delivered within J + n days end-to-end according to the EU "Postal directive" .
This European Standard relates to the measurement of so-called "normal" services given to private persons / households and businesses that post mail at street letter boxes, over the counter at post offices, have pick ups at their offices or give their mail directly at postal service operators’ sorting centres.
For technical reasons this European Standard may not in all parts be suitable for the measuring of very small volumes of mail and for operators with limited coverage.
This European Standard is not applicable for measuring the end-to-end transit time distribution of large bulk mailers’ services and hybrid mail, which require different measurement systems and methodologies.

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the level of loss and substantial delay of domestic and cross-border registered letter mail, collected, processed and delivered by postal service providers. The resulting overall figure for loss and substantial delay is expressed as a percentage of the total posted registered mail collected or received by the postal service providers.
This European Standard is applicable only to those service providers which have a measurement system in place which
- records each item as it is posted,
- records each item as it is delivered,
- can, by comparing these records, count the number of items which have been posted and not delivered.
This European Standard can be used if appropriate to measure the level of loss of other types of postal items for which such a measurement system is in operation.
This European Standard specifies requirements for the design and operation of the measurement system and for other procedures to allow the level of loss to be calculated.
This European Standard does not specify technical requirements for the design and operation of a registered letter service, except for purposes of measurement. It does not deal with the technical requirements of a track and trace system.
This European Standard includes specifications for the quality control of the measurement system and for the reporting of loss of mail.

This European Standard specifies the requirements and the test methods of the apertures for the delivery of letter post items when fitted in accordance with the manufacturers instructions.
It takes into account security, impregnability, safety and performance for the recipient, and ergonomics and efficiency for delivery personnel. It allows the daily delivery in good condition of a great majority of letter post items.

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of domestic and cross-border Single Piece Priority Mail (SPPM), collected, processed and delivered by postal service operators. It considers methods using representative end-to-end samples for all types of single piece priority mail services for addressed mail with defined transit-time service levels offered to the customer. This standard is applicable to the measurement of End-to-End priority mail services.
The standardised QoS-measurement method provides a uniform way for measuring the end-to-end transit time of postal items. Using a standardised measurement method will assure that the measurement will be done in an objective and equal way for all operators in accordance with the requirements of the Directive 97/67/EC and its amendments.
It is not the purpose of this standard to measure the postal operators’ overall performance in a way that provides direct comparison of postal service providers.
This European Standard relates to the measurement of the SPPM services given to household and business customers that post mail at street letterboxes, over the counter at post offices or have pick-ups at their offices. To cover flows with smaller mail volumes this European Standard includes flexibility areas for adapted implementation. For technical reasons this European Standard may not be suitable for the measurement of very small volumes of mail.
The end-to-end service measured may be provided by one operator or by a group of operators working either together in the same distribution chain or parallel in different distribution chains. This European Standard is not applicable for the measurement of end-to-end transit times in fields of study with more than one induction operator (Multi-Operator Environments), which require different methodologies. The method for end-to-end measurement specified in this European Standard is also not designed to provide results for the measurement of parts of the distribution chain.
This European Standard is not applicable for the measurement of end-to-end transit times of bulk mailers’ services and hybrid mail, which require different measurement systems and methodologies (see, for example, EN 14534 Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services of bulk mail).
This European Standard includes specifications for the quality control and auditing of the measurement system.
This European Standard does not specify:
-   the minimum acceptable level of accuracy that will be required by the national regulatory authority;
-   the target(s) that the regulatory authority might set;
-   how the regulatory authority should determine whether the target(s) have been met.

This European Standard specifies methods for measuring the end-to-end transit time of the domestic and cross-border priority single piece letter mail, collected, processed and distributed by postal service operators. It considers methods using a representative end-to-end sample of all types of single piece addressed letter mail. End-to-end is defined as from the point mail is placed into the collection/acceptance system under the responsibility of the postal operators, to the final delivery point under the responsibility of the postal operators.
The overall transit time quality-of-service result is to be expressed as percentage of mail delivered within
J + n days end-to-end according to the EC postal directive.
This quality of service indicator does not measure the postal operator’s overall performance in a way that provides direct comparison of postal service operators, and does not include other service performance indicators than those related to transit time. In particular this European Standard does not measure whether the timing of the last collection of the day meets customer’s requirements.
It specifies a set of requirements for the design of a quality of service measuring system for single piece priority mail, involving the selection and distribution of test item sent and received by selected panellists. The sample design gives the specifications for the item to be representative of the real mail flows.
This European Standard relates to the measurement of the so-called "normal" services given to private persons / households and businesses that post mail at street letter boxes, over the counter at post offices, have pick ups at their offices or give their mail directly at postal service operators sorting centres.
For technical reasons this European Standard may not in all parts be suitable for the measuring of very small volumes of mail and for operators with limited coverage.
This European Standard is not applicable for measuring the end-to-end tran

The standard will define the components of the address and their formats and guidelines on how to indicate the address on a letter post item. The standard will also define data elements for postal addresses, specify data fields and define rules for the representation of address information in files and on envelopes including number of lines and characters per line.

The standard defines the physical characteristics of a disposable container for  letters and flats for exchange within Europe, to use a uniform postal container and to facilitate the exchange of letters within Europe. The dimensions of this "1 level" of container will constitute a first step of standardization. The following features will be defined: - inner dimension compatible with formats; - compatibility between trays and pallets dimensions; - rigidity; - impermeability; - closing; - sealing (optional); - positioning; - label's dimension; - number of cycle of use; - volume of folded containers.