EN 14534:2016

Postal services - Quality of service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for bulk 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. (...)

Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Messung der Durchlaufzeit von Massensendungen von Ende zu Ende

Diese Europäische Norm legt Verfahren zur Messung der „Ende-zu-Ende“ Durchlaufzeit nationaler und grenz¬überschreitender Massensendungen fest, die von den Postdienstbetreibern abgeholt, bearbeitet und ausgeliefert werden. Sie berücksichtigt Verfahren, bei denen repräsentative „Ende-zu-Ende“ Stichproben für alle Arten von Massensendungen mit definierten, dem Postkunden angebotenen laufzeitbezogenen Dienst¬leistungsniveaus zum Einsatz kommen. Es werden Mindestanforderungen an die Auslegung eines Qualitäts¬messsystems für Massensendungen festgelegt, einschließlich Auswahl und Zustellung von Testsendungen, die von Geschäftsabsendern versendet und von ausgewählten Panelteilnehmern empfangen werden.
Diese Europäische Norm gilt für die „Ende-zu-Ende“ Messung von Massensendungen als Vorrangsendungen und Sendungen ohne Vorrang. Für die Anwendung dieser Norm können Massensendungen alle Arten von adressierten Massensendungen umfassen, einschließlich unter anderem Briefsendungen, Direktwerbe-sendungen, Zeitschriften und Zeitungen sowie Sperrgut.
Diese Europäische Norm bezieht sich auf die Messung von Massensendungsdiensten für Geschäftskunden, die über Abholstellen in ihren Geschäftsräumen verfügen bzw. die ihre Sendungen Postdienstbetreibern übergeben. Handelt ein Dritter für den Postbetreiber, so wird der Zeitpunkt der Übergabe an diesen Dritten bei der Messung berücksichtigt werden. Handelt ein Dritter für den versendenden Kunden, wird die Messung zu dem Zeitpunkt beginnen, an dem die Postsendung an den Postbetreiber übergeben wird.
Diese Europäische Norm besitzt einen modularen Aufbau. Mit ihrer Hilfe soll die Leistung der von Post-betreibern für Massensendungen angebotenen Dienstleistungen bewertet werden, und zwar bezogen auf eine einzelne vom Postkunden definierte Massensendung oder bezogen auf Aggregationen von Massensendungen, einschließlich der Leistung eines Einzelkunden/ betreibers oder der Leistung einer Gruppe von Kunden/Betreibern oder der Leistung auf nationaler Ebene.
Das genormte Messverfahren für die Dienstqualität (QoS) ermöglicht eine einheitliche Messung der „Ende-zu-Ende“ Durchlaufzeit von Postsendungen. Durch die Anwendung eines genormten Messverfahrens wird sichergestellt, dass die Messung objektiv und für alle Betreiber gleich und in Übereinstimmung mit den Anforderungen der Richtlinie 97/67/EG und deren Änderungen erfolgt.
Die gemessene „Ende-zu-Ende“ Dienstleistung darf von einem Betreiber oder einer Gruppe von Betreibern angeboten werden, die entweder zusammen in derselben Verteilungskette oder parallel in unterschiedlichen Verteilungsketten arbeiten. Das in dieser Europäischen Norm festgelegte Verfahren für die „Ende-zu-Ende“ Messung ist nicht dafür vorgesehen, Messergebnisse einzelner Teile der Verteilungskette bereitzustellen.
Diese Norm enthält außer den mit der Durchlaufzeit „Ende-zu-Ende“ zusammenhängenden Leistungsindikatoren keine weiteren Dienstleistungsindikatoren. Vor allem wird mit dieser Norm nicht gemessen, ob Abhol¬zeitpunkte den Kundenanforderungen entsprechen.

Services postaux - Qualité de service - Mesure du délai d'acheminement des services de bout en bout pour le courrier en nombre

La présente Norme européenne spécifie les méthodes pour mesurer le délai d'acheminement de bout en bout du courrier en nombre, national et transfrontalier, collecté, traité et distribué par des opérateurs de services postaux. Elle s'appuie sur des méthodes utilisant des échantillons de bout en bout représentatifs pour tous les types de services de courrier en nombre offerts au client avec des niveaux de service en matière de délai d'acheminement définis. Elle spécifie un ensemble d'exigences minimales pour la modélisation d'un système de mesure de la qualité de service du courrier en nombre, impliquant la sélection et l'acheminement de courrier-test envoyé par des entreprises expéditrices et reçu par des panélistes sélectionnés.
La présente Norme européenne s'applique à la mesure des services de courrier en nombre prioritaire et non prioritaire de bout en bout. Pour les besoins de la présente norme, les services de courrier en nombre peuvent inclure tous les types de courrier en nombre adressé, ce qui comprend, sans s'y limiter, les lettres, les publipostages, les magazines et journaux et les envois dans de très grands formats.
La présente Norme européenne couvre la mesure des services de courrier en nombre offerts aux entreprises qui disposent d'un système de levée dans leurs locaux ou qui remettent leur courrier à des opérateurs de services postaux. Si un agent tiers agit pour le compte de l'opérateur postal, la mesure inclura le moment où le courrier est remis à cet agent. Si un agent tiers agit pour le compte du client expéditeur, la mesure débutera au moment où le courrier est remis à l'opérateur postal.
La présente Norme européenne a une structure modulaire. Elle est conçue pour permettre d'évaluer les performances des services de courrier en nombre offerts par les opérateurs postaux au niveau d'un envoi unitaire en nombre tel que défini par le client ou de toute agrégation de celui-ci, y compris les performances d'un client/opérateur unique, les performances d'un groupe de clients/d'opérateurs ou encore les performances au niveau national.
La méthode normalisée de mesure de la qualité de service fournit une manière uniforme de mesurer le délai d'acheminement de bout en bout des plis. L'utilisation d'une méthode de mesure normalisée garantit que la mesure est effectuée de manière objective et identique pour tous les opérateurs conformément aux exigences de la Directive 97/67/CE et de ses amendements.
Le service de bout en bout mesuré peut être fourni par un seul opérateur ou par un groupe d'opérateurs travaillant soit ensemble dans la même chaîne d'acheminement, soit en parallèle dans différentes chaînes d'acheminement. La méthode de mesure de bout en bout spécifiée dans la présente Norme européenne n'est pas conçue pour fournir des résultats concernant la mesure de parties de la chaîne d'acheminement.
La présente norme n'inclut aucun autre indicateur de performance du service que ceux liés au délai d'acheminement de bout en bout. La présente norme ne mesure notamment pas si les heures de levée satisfont aux exigences des clients.
Le résultat de qualité de service en matière de délai d'acheminement doit être exprimé en pourcentage de courrier distribué avant les dates prévues, aux dates prévues ou entre les dates prévues. Ces dates peuvent être définies de manière absolue sous la forme de jours civils ou de manière relative par rapport à la date de dépôt. La règle de calcul du délai d'acheminement doit utiliser des jours complets.
Cet indicateur de qualité de service ne mesure pas les performances globales de l'opérateur postal d'une manière qui permette la comparaison directe des opérateurs de services postaux. (...)

Poštne storitve - Kakovost storitev - Merjenje časa prenosa od sprejema do vročitve za masovno pošto

Ta evropski standard določa metode za merjenje časa prenosa od sprejema do vročitve za domačo in čezmejno, prednostno in neprednostno masovno pošto, ki jo sprejemajo, obdelujejo in dostavljajo poštni operaterji seNice. Upošteva metode, ki uporabljajo reprezentativni vzorec vseh vrst naslovljene masovne pošte. Izraz »od sprejema do vročitve« je opredeljen kot od točke, kjer je pošta oddana v sprejemni sistem, za katerega so odgovorni poštni operaterji, do točke končne dostave, za katero so odgovorni poštni operaterji. Za namene tega evropskega standarda lahko masovna pošta vključuje vse tipe naslovljene masovne pošte: poštne pošiljke, direktna pošta, revije in časopisi, če ni navedeno drugače. Rezultat splošne kakovosti seNice se izrazi kot odstotek pošte, dostavljene v J + n dneh od sprejema do vročitve v skladu s Poštno direktivo ES ali kot odstotek pošte, dostavljene po, do ali med pričakovanimi datumi. Meritev mora biti v celotnih dneh in se sme biti omejena s sklicem na specifičen čas v dnevu za dostavo. Ta kakovost indikatorja seNice ne meri splošne učinkovitosti poštnega operaterja na način, ki omogoča neposredno primerjavo poštnih operaterjev seNice, in ne vključuje kazalnikov učinkovitosti seNice, ki niso povezani s časom prenosa. Ta evropski standard ne meri, ali je čas sprejemov v skladu z zahtevami strank. Evropski standard se lahko uporablja za ocenjevanje učinkovitosti poštnih operaterjev za specifične proizvode ali storitve seNice na nacionalni ravni ali za posamezno stranko ali skupino strank. Evropski standard se ne sme uporabljati za ocenjevanje splošne učinkovitosti skupine proizvodov ali storitev seNice, ki vsebujejo druge specifikacije seNice v smislu pričakovanega časa prenosa. Določa sklop zahtev za zasnovo kakovosti sistema merjenja seNice za masovno pošto, vključno z izbiro in razpošiljanjem preskusnih pošiljk, ki jih pošiljajo in sprejemajo izbrani člani. Zasnova vzorca preskusnih pošiljk podaja specifikacije za pošto, ki je reprezentativna za realne toke pošte. Ta evropski standard se nanaša na merjenje storitev seNice, ki so na voljo podjetjem, ki imajo v pisarnah sprejemne točke ali svojo pošto oddajo poštnim operaterjem seNice. Če kot poštni operater deluje tretji zastopnik, mora v meritev biti vključen tudi čas, v katerem zastopnik prejme pošto. Kjer zastopnik deluje kot pošiljatelj, se čas meritve šteje od trenutka, ko pošto prejme poštni operater. Iz tehničnih razlogov ta evropski standard v vseh delih morda ni primeren za merjenje zelo majhnih količin pošte in za operaterje z omejeno pokritostjo. Ne uporablja se za merjenje časa prenosa od sprejema do vročitve posameznih pošiljk, ki zahtevajo drugačne sisteme merjenja. Evropski standard EN 13850 je bil razvit za posamične pošiljke prednostne pošte, standard EN 14508 pa za posamične pošiljke neprednostne pošte. Ta evropski standard vključuje specifikacije za nadzor kakovosti in nadzor sistema za merjenje. V določenih okoliščinah ta evropski standard omogoča izbiro med alternativami ali odstopanji, ki so predmet odobritve upravnega organa, ki izdaja predpise. Ta odobritev je potrebna le, če je proizvod ali seNice v okviru univerzalne obveznosti seNice.

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 10-May-2016
• Withdrawal Date: 13-Apr-2025
• ICS: 03.240 - Postal services
• Technical Committee: CEN/TC 331 - Postal services
• Drafting Committee: CEN/TC 331/WG 1 - Quality of service
• Current Stage: 9960 - Withdrawal effective - Withdrawal
• Start Date: 20-Dec-2023
• Completion Date: 14-Apr-2025
• Directive: 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
• Mandate: M/428 - Standardisation Mandate addressed to CEN in the field of Postal services and equipment
• Ref Project: SIST EN 14534:2016 - Postal services - Quality of service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for bulk mail

Relations

• Replaces: CEN/TR 15369:2006 - Postal services - Quality of service - Guide for the implementation of EN 14534 Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for bulk mail
• Effective Date: 08-Jun-2022
• Replaces: EN 14534:2003+A1:2007 - Postal services - Quality of service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for bulk mail
• Effective Date: 18-May-2016
• Replaced By: EN 14534:2023 - Postal services - Quality of service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for bulk mail
• Effective Date: 18-Jan-2023
• Corrected By: EN 14534:2016/AC:2017 - Postal services - Quality of service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for bulk mail
• Effective Date: 16-Nov-2016

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-julij-2016
1DGRPHãþD
SIST EN 14534:2004+A1:2007
SIST-TP CEN/TR 15369:2007
3RãWQHVWRULWYH.DNRYRVWVWRULWHY0HUMHQMHþDVDSUHQRVDRGVSUHMHPDGR
YURþLWYH]DPDVRYQRSRãWR
Postal services - Quality of service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end
services for bulk mail
Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Laufzeitmessung 'end-to-end' für
Massensendungen
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Mesure du délai d'acheminement des services de
bout en bout pour le courrier en nombre
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 14534:2016
ICS:
03.240 Poštne storitve Postal services
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN 14534
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
May 2016
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 03.240 Supersedes CEN/TR 15369:2006, EN
14534:2003+A1:2007
English Version
Postal services - Quality of service - Measurement of the
transit time of end-to-end services for bulk mail
Services postaux - Qualité de service - Mesure du délai Postalische Dienstleistungen - Dienstqualität - Messung
d'acheminement des services de bout en bout pour le der Durchlaufzeit von Massensendungen von Ende zu
courrier en nombre Ende
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 4 February 2016.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2016 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 14534:2016 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 5
Introduction . 6
1 Scope . 8
2 Normative references . 9
3 Terms and definitions . 9
4 Symbols and abbreviations . 18
5 Transit time as a Quality-of-Service indicator . 19
5.1 General . 19
5.2 Transit time calculation . 19
6 Methodology . 22
6.1 Representative sample design . 22
6.2 Minimum Sample Size (MSS) . 22
6.3 The design basis . 22
6.4 Discriminant Mail Characteristics (DMC) . 23
6.5 Geographical distribution of the receiver panel . 25
6.6 Creation of test mail . 26
6.7 Documentation of date and time of posting . 29
6.8 Integrity of the measurement . 29
7 Report . 31
7.1 Measurement results . 31
7.2 Service Performance Indicators . 31
7.3 Weighting of the results . 32
7.4 Content . 33
8 Quality control . 34
9 The Annexes . 35
Annex A (normative) Accuracy calculation . 36
A.1 Scope . 36
A.2 Symbols . 37
A.3 Variance calculation for one stratum . 38
A.4 Variance calculation for a stratified sample . 40
A.5 Calculation of the confidence interval . 42
Annex B (normative) Transit Time Calculation . 46
B.1 Basic Principles . 46
B.2 The date of induction . 46
B.3 The transit-time calculation rules . 47
Annex C (normative) Comparability of Measurement Results . 50
C.1 General . 50
C.2 Same service provider – Different measurement periods . 52
C.3 Different service providers – Same measurement period . 53
C.4 Cases of limited comparability . 54
Annex D (normative) Design of aggregated Fields of Study . 56
D.1 General . 56
D.2 Possible types of aggregation . 56
D.3 Design requirements . 58
D.4 Reporting . 59
Annex E (normative) Additional Requirements for continuous Fields of Study [CMS/SCMS] . 60
E.1 Scope . 60
E.2 Methodology . 60
E.3 Report . 65
E.4 Quality Control . 66
E.5 Audit . 67
Annex F (normative) Quality control . 68
F.1 Statistical design . 68
F.2 Address seeding . 68
F.3 Test mail production . 68
F.4 Sending test items . 69
F.5 Receiving test items . 69
F.6 Data collection . 69
F.7 Data analysis and reporting . 69
F.8 Archiving . 70
F.9 Quality control and Information Technology (IT) . 70
Annex G (normative) Auditing . 71
G.1 General . 71
G.2 Audit of the design basis . 71
G.3 Audit of the Quality-of-Service measurement system . 72
Annex H (informative) Purpose of postal Quality of Service standards . 73
H.1 General . 73
H.2 Benefits of QoS standards . 73
H.3 Application by potential users of EN 14534 . 74
H.4 Detailed analysis . 76
H.5 Other / broader concepts . 76
Annex I (informative) Considerations before implementing EN 14534 . 78
I.1 Limitations of EN 14534 . 78
I.2 Design of the measurement system . 78
I.3 Measurement organization . 82
Annex J (informative) Design basis . 84
J.1 Discriminant characteristics . 84
J.2 Studies for the evaluation of possible candidates . 85
J.3 Connection between Design Basis and Sample Design . 87
J.4 Design basis . 88
J.5 Frequency of update [CMS/SCMS] . 91
Annex K (informative) Implementing EN 14534 . 92
K.1 Stages of the survey . 92
K.2 Representativeness . 93
K.3 Risk of panellist identification . 94
K.4 Induction and delivery . 94
K.5 Panel turnover . 96
K.6 Validation and transit time calculation . 97
K.7 Weighting . 101
K.8 Reporting of results . 108
K.9 Audit [SCMS] . 109
Annex L (informative) Application of the accuracy calculation . 112
L.1 Limitations of the accuracy calculation methods provided . 112
L.2 Recommendations for the application of the rules . 112
L.3 The sample size . 114
L.4 General Example for a national yearly result . 115
L.5 Simplified scenarios . 121
Annex M (informative) Changes to the 2003 version of EN 14534 . 122
M.1 Reasons for the review . 122
M.2 Increased applicability . 122
M.3 Updated methodology . 123
Bibliography . 125

European foreword
This document (EN 14534:2016) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 331 “Postal services”,
the secretariat of which is held by NEN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by November 2016, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by November 2016.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN 14534:2003+A1:2007 and CEN/TR 15369:2006.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Annex A to Annex G are normative.
Annex A to Annex C and Annex F are covering the measurement of a single bulk mail induction.
Annex D to Annex E and Annex G are covering additional requirements for the measurement of aggregated
or continuous fields of study.
Annex H to Annex M are informative. They are the revised version of the Technical Report
CEN/TR 15369:2006, Postal Services – Quality of Service – Guidance for the implementation of EN 14534.
They cover both, a single bulk mailing as well as aggregated and continuous fields of study.
Introduction
The European Commission emphasizes 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
European 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 needs and peculiarities of national markets. On the other
hand, they should fulfil a defined set of minimum requirements to satisfy the information interests of the
Commission, the regulatory authorities, postal customers and postal operators themselves.
The objective of this standard is to define a modular QoS measurement system in a competitive commercial
context. The measurement is designed to estimate the end-to-end transit time quality of service given to the
postal customer. The measurement can be set up 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 of bulk-mail services. It is widely applicable for
single-induction as well as continuous measurement applications. It provides recommendations on the
comparability of different bulk mail transit-time QoS measurement results and their use as key performance
indicators.
This bulk mail standard has been developed from the requirements of EN 13850, Postal services – Quality of
service - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class
mail. Both European Standards consider methods using a representative end-to-end sample of all types of
addressed mail appropriate for their coverage. For the measurement of bulk mail services a separate
standard is required for the following reasons:
— Senders: Members of the public posting single items are replaced by businesses, small in number –
posting large volumes of mail. Third party agents (consolidators, mailing houses, letter shops) may also
act on behalf of posting customers.
— Contracted Services: Mail posted in bulk will often be mailed under a contract between the customer
and the postal operator. Typically, bulk services require customers to standardize format and weight of
their mailing, undertake a level of pre-sortation or to present mail in different ways according to the
contract conditions.
— Volumes of mailings: Bulk mailings are large. They may contain thousands or millions of items.
— Performance Measures: On-time performance measures are expanded to provide different types of (i)
on, (ii) by or (iii) between specific-dates performance depending on what is agreed with the postal
customers or is specified for this service.
— Discriminant Characteristics: Test items have to match the characteristics of customer mailings. The
range of characteristics relevant for the performance varies by type of mail service, and a wider set of
potential characteristics should be considered. Greater flexibility is required to define for what part of
the real mail logistics the results are representative for.
— Production of Test Mail: For the inclusion of test mail in the customers bulk mailings a variety of
methods may be appropriate. They include database-seeding methods used in different stages of the
customer’s mail production process as well as methods to include pre-produced test items in the
customer’s bulk mailing between production and induction of the customers’ real mail.
— Dates of induction: The rules and requirements for bulk mail induction are more complex and may be
specific to the contract between customer and postal operator.
1 Scope
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.
In certain circumstances, this standard allows a choice between alternatives to be made subject to the
approval of the regulator. This approval is only necessary if the service is within the universal service
obligation.
This European Standard includes specifications for the quality control and auditing of the measurement
system.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are indis-
pensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the
latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 13850:2012, Postal Services - Quality of Services - Measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services
for single piece priority mail and first class mail
ICC/ESOMAR, International Code of Marketing and Social Research Practice (1995 revision)
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
accuracy
closeness of agreement between a test result and the accepted reference value
Note 1 to entry: The term accuracy, when applied to a set of test results, involves a combination of random
components and a common systematic error or bias component.
Note 2 to entry: In this standard the accuracy is expressed as ± ε, where 2ε is the length of the confidence interval at
the confidence level 95 % for the parameter being estimated, namely the probability of attaining the transit time target.
[SOURCE: ISO 3534-1:2006]
3.2
aggregation
compounding of primary data into an aggregate for the purpose of expressing them in a summary form
3.3
audit
systematic and independent examination to determine whether activities and related results comply with
planned arrangements and whether these arrangements are implemented effectively and are suitable to
achieve objectives
Note 1 to entry: The organization carrying out the audit is called the auditor.
Note 2 to entry: A (full) audit may be carried out as an initial audit of a new or substantially changed system or as an
initial audit by a new auditor. It may also be carried out as a re-audit of the same system by the same auditor in the next
audit cycle.
Note 3 to entry: If an audit results in objections, then the auditor may require corrective actions until a defined
deadline. A final check of these corrective actions is called corrective audit.
3.4
average (arithmetic mean)
sum of values divided by the number of values
[SOURCE: ISO 3534-1:2006]
3.5
bulk mail
large volume of mail having similar mail and induction characteristics
Note 1 to entry: Bulk mail items are usually from the same weight group and share the same size or shape
characteristics.
Note 2 to entry: Bulk mail items have usually a common sender and share the same point(s) of induction.
Note 3 to entry: Bulk mail senders often share the outward processing of bulk mail by pre-sorting or segregating the
mail to enable the postal operator to by-pass the first sortation stages.
Note 4 to entry: Regarding the volume and/or requirements of the induction process, bulk mail does not qualify as
single piece mail.
3.6
bulk mailing
bulk mail posted by a single postal customer at the same induction point(s)
Note 1 to entry: A bulk mailing is defined by the postal customer, usually being a business.
Note 2 to entry: A bulk mailing usually covers one induction date or, in some cases, a small number of consecutive
days of operation.
Note 3 to entry: Large bulk mailings may be inducted at more than one postal operator, depending on the areas of
destination.
Note 4 to entry: Large bulk mailings may be inducted at two or three induction points, depending on the areas of
destination.
3.7
bulk mail campaign
finite set of bulk mailings following a defined pattern
Note 1 to entry: A bulk mail campaign is defined by the postal customer, usually being a business.
Note 2 to entry: A bulk mail campaign may comprise bulk mailings with different types of bulk mail.
Note 3 to entry: A bulk mail campaign may consist of cycles or waves in time of bulk mailings of similar nature.
3.8
(bulk mail) sender
organization sending bulk mail, usually being a business
Note 1 to entry: The bulk mail sender can be the postal customer or his agent.
Note 2 to entry: The postal customer or the customer’s agent can be a consolidator or a mailing house / letter shop
3.9
business panellist
panellist with an address other than a household address such as a company or an organisation
3.10
characteristic
property, which helps to identify or differentiate between items of a given population
Note 1 to entry: The characteristics may be either quantitative - by variables, or qualitative - by attributes (ISO 3534-
3:2013).
Note 2 to entry: In this standard the population is bulk mail items and the characteristics are related to type of
senders, type of receivers, times and types of induction or delivery, physical aspects of test items, type of franking, etc.
3.11
continuous measurement
measurement with mail allocated to all months of the year, and within the months to all weekdays of
operation of the postal operator (‘strictly continuous measurement’)
Note 1 to entry: A measurement is also continuous in the context of this standard if bulk mailings are measured regu-
larly with the same methodology for at least a calendar year (‘continuous measurement’).
Note 2 to entry: Relevant weekdays of operation are all possible weekdays of posting in accordance with the field of
study and the chosen transit-time calculation rule (see Annex B)
3.12
corrective action
action taken to eliminate the causes of an existing non-fulfilment of specified requirements, defect or other
undesirable situation in order to prevent recurrence
3.13
country
territory of a nation with its own government
3.14
cross-border mail
mail distributed from one country to another country
3.15
customer
natural or legal person purchasing a postal service from a postal operator
3.16
date of delivery
date on which a postal item is delivered to the address or to the addressee
3.17
date of induction (j)
starting date J for the transit-time calculation according to 5.2.2
Note 1 to entry: The term date of induction has the same meaning as the term date of deposit in the Directive
97/67/EC.
3.18
date of posting
date on which a postal item is posted (irrespective of whether it is posted before the advertised last
collection of that day)
3.19
delivery point
physical location at which delivery of a postal item by a postal operator takes place and where it leaves the
operator’s responsibility
3.20
design basis
structure in the field of study for which the design of the measurement is representative. The design basis
should be defined before the start of the measurement
Note 1 to entry: If a design basis other than measured real mail flows is selected, then statements regarding the
representativity of the measurement shall be made in relation to the chosen design basis.
[SOURCE: EN 13850:2012, 3.19]
3.21
design factor
ratio of the variance of the estimator of the QoS indicator in the given sample design by the variance of the
estimator in an elementary sample design of the same size. The design factor is always related to a given
sample design and estimator
[SOURCE: EN 13850:2012, 3.20]
3.22
dimension
mail characteristic with at least two modes, used to form subgroups of mail flows whose quality of service is
to be compared
3.23
discriminant characteristic
characteristic affecting the outcome
Note 1 to entry: In this standard, a characteristic is discriminant when the transit time significantly differs according
to the different modes of the characteristic (see 6.4).
3.24
distribution
process from collecting mail at collecting points through processing at the mail centre(s) to the delivery of
mail items to the addressee
3.25
domestic mail
mail items sent and received within one country
3.26
effective sample size
total sample size divided by the design factor
3.27
end-to-end
routing from the access point thru the postal operators network up to the point of delivery to the addressee
3.28
estimate
value of an estimator obtained as result of an estimation
[SOURCE: ISO 3534-1:2006]
3.29
estimator
statistic used to estimate a population parameter
[SOURCE: ISO 3534-1:2006]
Note 1 to entry: In this European Standard, an estimator is a function of the observed values of test-item transit times
allowing the estimation of the probability of attaining the transit time target.
3.30
field of study
total bulk mail flow between defined postal areas
Note 1 to entry: Some examples for field of study could be:
— Domestic – one mailing;
— Domestic – one induction operator in one country for an individual customer or group of customers;
— Domestic – one induction operator in one country;
— Domestic – a group of operators in one country;
— Cross-border – one mailing;
— Cross-border – one induction operator on a country-to-country link;
— Cross-border – one induction operator to an individual delivery operator or group of delivery operators;
— Cross-border – one induction operator to one country;
— Cross-border – one induction operator to a group of countries;
— Cross-border – a group of countries to one delivery operator;
— Cross-border – one country to one country.
3.31
fixed date of induction
contracted date, on which mail items that have been collected and put on hold, are to be distributed from
their point of storage
Note 1 to entry: Contracted fixed dates of induction are to be accompanied by a last date of collection and a last
collection time.
3.32
geographical coverage
spread of postal services within a pre-defined geographical area
3.33
independent performance monitoring organisation
body charged with the monitoring of the QoS according to the methodology specified in this standard, which
is external to, and having no links of ownership or control with the postal operator(s) thus monitored
3.34
induction
takeover of the responsibility concerning a postal item and its distribution by a postal service provider
Note 1 to entry: ‘Induction’ is equivalent to ‘Posting’ when the posting is done before the last collection time.
3.35
induction point
physical location at which postal items are placed into the collection / acceptance system that is under the
responsibility of the induction postal operator
3.36
last collection time
advertised last time for collection or contracted latest time for collection
Note 1 to entry: The last collection time is often also called last acceptance time for which the postal operator states
the transit-time target.
Note 2 to entry: This is often not equal to the actual collection time, because from the postal work-organization point
of view, the collection usually happens some time later than the advertised last collection time (e.g. the collection
routing timetable can only be defined with some tolerance).
3.37
last date of collection
contracted latest date for posting / collection for bulk mailings with a fixed date of induction
3.38
measurement period
period under which measurement has been carried out and for which the results are presented in a separate
report
3.39
metered mail
mail franked by franking machines
3.40
non-priority item
letter post item sent without priority, typically by surface, and receiving slower processing compared to
items classified as priority as defined nationally
3.41
office of exchange
place where a postal operator accepts cross-border mail from a postal operator of another country and
prepares mail for the transfer to other countries
3.42
on-time performance
proportion of postal items within a given period-of-time with transit times meeting the specification
3.43
on-time probability
probability of the event that the transit time T of a mail item meets the transit time target
3.44
one-operator field of study
field of study with exactly one induction operator
Note 1 to entry: A one-operator field of study may be defined in a multi-operator postal environment.
Note 2 to entry: End-to-end postal operation in a one-operator field of study may include several postal operators for
processing and / or delivery.
3.45
panel turnover
permanent exchange of established panellists with new panellists
3.46
panel rotation
active change in the subset of established panellists, which are chosen for participation in a study, or in their
tasks in the study from one period to the other
3.47
pick-up time
published time by which the postal operator commits to ensuring that the day’s post is available in the P.O.
Box for collection by the receiver
3.48
postal area
one of the parts into which a postal operator’s whole territory is divided and which is suitable for
characterising postal distribution peculiarities
3.49
postal catchment area
postal area served by a domestic sorting centre or by an office of exchange for cross border mail outbound or
inbound. Catchment areas may be different for outbound and inbound mail or for different fields of study
[SOURCE: EN 13850:2012, 3.43]
3.50
postal item
item addressed in the final form in which it is to be carried by a postal service provider
3.51
postal performance indicator
expression used to characterise the performance of a postal operator
Note 1 to entry: In this European Standard, the performance indicator is derived from postal transit-time statistics.
3.52
postal service
services involving the clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of postal items
3.53
posting
handover of mail to a postal operator or his agent
3.54
priority item, first class item, a-class item
postal item sent with priority as defined nationally
3.55
private panellist
panellist with a household address
3.56
quality
totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated and implied needs
3.57
quality assurance
all the planned and systematic activities implemented within the quality system and demonstrated as
needed, to provide adequate confidence that an entity will fulfil requirements for quality
3.58
quality control
operational techniques and activities that are used to fulfil requirements for quality
[SOURCE: ISO 3534-1:2006, ISO 3534-2:2006, ISO 3534-3:2013, ISO 3534-4:2014, modified]
3.59
real mail flow
number of postal items of a given type on a given link within the postal network
3.60
real mail study
studies on real mail flows or real mail characteristics involving sampling of real mail items
3.61
rural
geographical entity with less than a specified number of inhabitants
3.62
service standard
standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a service, to establish its fitness for purpose
3.63
single piec
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