Royal Mail & CWU National Joint Statement Doorstep Scanning of Products

Royal Mail & CWU National Joint Statement Doorstep Scanning of Products

Branches and Representatives will be aware that Royal Mail is introducing barcodes on more and more of the parcels that are handled across the business. As such Royal Mail have been working with all their customers and access channels, including Post Office Limited to introduce ‘smart’ 2D barcodes which will be scanned at key points in the pipeline.

To support this Royal Mail is adding background software to the current PDA’s to enable them to scan the new ‘2D Barcode’s’ before the roll out of the next generation of PDA’s takes place during 2016.

The operational impact is relatively straightforward and there are two main changes:

• Customers will apply a 2D bar-coded label at the time of posting within Royal Mail’s agreed barcode range to standard parcels and these items will travel through the normal standard pipeline. Some of the existing products such as Tracked and Special Delivery will also feature 2D barcodes.

• OPGs will need to start scanning the new 2D barcodes that will be on parcels. Items that contain only a 1D barcode should be scanned as before.

For standard parcels that now feature a barcode a first scan will be captured at the first point of acceptance, this means in the main at Mail Centre’s or RDCs on the Outward operation and a final scan will be undertaken on delivery routes at the point of delivery.

No signature is required on the newly barcode standard parcels (existing products such as Special Delivery, Signed for and Tracked Signature still need signatures on delivery). The items will arrive into the Delivery Offices with the rest of the parcels and large letters and will not be segregated into the tracked pipeline.

The scanning of items with 2D barcodes will commence from Monday 19th October 2015 in the Cheshire and Merseyside Delivery Director Area and nationally from the 25th January 2016.

A WTLL brief has been produced along with necessary communications to explain the change and these will be communicated from commencing during October 2015, information on 2D Barcodes and Scanning will be displayed across all units.

All employees will receive training from local management on the process and how to distinguish the labels with support from their Workplace Coaches. Handouts have also been produced and they will be given to support the training and answer any questions.

Royal Mail and the CWU both understand the importance of being able to offer customers the ability to track their items through the network and the introduction of 2D barcodes is the first stage of providing better information.

In addition following deployment both parties will after 3 months review whether there has been any effect on the operation in terms of additional workload and time associated with the new process, particularly as volumes grow and more business is generated.

 

Any enquiries to Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 530

Email address: Mstewart@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Mark Baulch

Acting CWU Assistant Secretary