There can be no development of the postal market without quality of service. All postal operators upgrade their postal services to retain their customers, define their own market presence and remain competitive.
The UPU is involved in many programmes, including continuous testing for measuring the quality of service of 700 international links, the creation of barcodes for tracking and tracing items, the setting of end-to-end delivery standards, and the introduction of the J+5 standard (delivery on the fifth working day after the day of posting) for 80% of international mail.
Activities
Certification
The UPU quality management certification system was developed in line with Beijing Congress resolution C 20/1999. It was launched worldwide in 2003, on the basis of a methodology and two questionnaires.
Compliance
The UPU believes that it is crucial to set a high level of global compliance, in order to ensure that electronic data can be relied upon, to meet the latest electronic advance data (EAD) legal requirements, to simplify operational procedures, and to facilitate seamless paper-free mail transport. Interested designated operators and carriers can join the UPU compliance project so as to receive monthly reports showing their level of compliance with UPU standards and providing details of compliance issues. All measurements are based on electronic data interchange (EDI) message exchanges.
Force majeure
Force majeure is defined as an event or occurrence that causes a designated operator (DO) to fail, in part or in full, countrywide or in affected areas only, to fulfil its obligations relating to quality of service owing to reasons external to the DO that are unforeseeable, unavoidable and due to an impediment beyond its reasonable control, and that are not attributable to any act or failure to take preventive action by the DO concerned.
Force majeure events can critically disrupt postal services across multiple operational dimensions. These events cause significant interruptions in mail processing, sorting and delivery systems, potentially leading to suspension of postal operations, delays in mail and parcel movement, accumulation of unprocessed mail in sorting facilities, or redirection or temporary halting of delivery routes.
Measurement
Quality can be improved only if measured. The Global Monitoring System is a state-of-the-art measurement system managed by the UPU International Bureau.
Postal Products