The UPU has chosen AIDA Centre, a company based in Spain, to supply radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and equipment for its Global Monitoring System (GMS). The new system will measure mail-service quality using state-of-the-art technology and use the resulting data to calculate the payment of terminal dues between member countries. A RFID tag is a computer chip used to store and transmit information.
Having successfully competed in a tender process, the centre will supply around 100,000 tags to 20 UPU member countries taking part in the GMS’ testing phase. This will be launched in August 2009 with the insertion of tags into test letters, which will be used to measure the actual time taken to deliver mail to its final destination.
By the end of July 2009, the AIDA Centre will install the equipment needed to capture RFID tag signals in the exchange offices of the 14 countries without such facilities. The German company, Quotas, will recruit and train participants sending and receiving the test letters.
When a test letter containing a tag passes near an antenna, a signal is transmitted and the captured data stored. From 2010, this data will be sent to the central information management system operated by the UPU’s International Bureau and could be used to calculate terminal dues.