Dynamic Direct Pty. Ltd. - News (continued)

This is also happening in many other countries around the world, as more direct marketers are turning to mail to deliver their message.

One factor is the increasing pressure being felt by telemarketers. The US Federal Trade Commission has already logged 50 million phone numbers in the national “do-not-call” list. Even though the legality of such a list is still being actively consideredthere is a pretty strong message being sent by a large number of consumers regarding what some may refer to as "intrusive marketing."

E-mail is also coming under fire with the call for a national "do-not-spam" list. New York Senator Charles Shumer has introduced a bill that would call for a fine of up to $100,000 for violations against a suggested "do-not-spam" list.

So what about mail? Well, according to a research study conducted by Centris for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, 51 percent of the 1,000 US adults interviewed preferred traditional mail. In fact, the study also found that 77 percent of these same adults actually opened the direct mail pieces. This compares to one percent favoring telemarketing and five percent favoring e-mail. If Standard Mail volumes are indeed going to increase, perhaps the more important question is, "Are you ready?" According to Paul Vogel, vice president of network operations, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is prepared for what they anticipate as a two percent increase in volume over last year. The deployment of 529 AFSM 100s will go a long way in helping process the non-presorted mail. For the presorted mail, the USPS will continue to rely on the other stakeholders in the mail value chain to prepare and induct mail directly into the system, thereby insuring on-time deliveries and additional workshare discounts.

Combined USPS and Industry Task Force Release Major Report
DENVER - 16 October 2001 -- The Mailing Industry Task Force yesterday issued its initial recommendations for action for the industry The report outlines actions to increase the effectiveness of mail by unifying the industry to focus on products and service enhancements that make the mail more competitive and responsive to evolving customer needs. Formed last spring by Pitney Bowes chairman/CEO Michael J. Critelli and deputy postmaster general John Nolan, the task force was designed to assess the current role and value of hard-copy mail in business and consumer communications, evaluate the competitive environment affecting the industry's future and identify opportunities for growth.

You can download a PDF version (8 megabytes) of this report either by clicking on the URL reference below.

http://www.usps.com/strategicdirection/_pdf/seizeopp.pdf

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9 October 2003

World Benchmark. Large Letter processing at Australia Post

First of the World’s most advanced flats (large-letter) sorting systems with totally integrated automation and robotics from Siemens Dematic have been put in to service at Australia Post

The first of eight fully automated flats sorting systems with robotics went into 20 hours per day operation at Australia Post’s huge Dandenong (Melbourne) sorting facility after comprehensive acceptance tests were successfully completed. The $80 million project will see further systems in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth by the end of October 2003.

“I suspect these machines will now become the World benchmark. They are best practice and with their totally integrated automation and robotics the leading technology in the World!” said Jim Marshall, Australia Post General Manager Mail Network Division at the hand-over ceremony. “For Siemens Dematic this success is a major break-through concerning the expected tough competition for the upcoming flats sorting system contracts in other countries” said Juergen Schneider, General Manager of Siemens Dematic’s Postal Automation Division. The World market for flats sorting automation equipment is worth some $ 1.0 to $1.5 Billion over the next 5 years.

The ambitious project was awarded to Siemens Dematic back in 1999 supporting Australia Post’s move to renew its flats mail distribution network by deploying leading edge automation technology. The investment represents the largest single order for automation equipment ever placed by Australia Post. The flats sorting systems have the highest automation degree possible, are fully integrated into the processing stream and thus will pay-back the investment in a very short time, significantly contributing to Australia Posts ongoing commercial success story. With the World’s first fully integrated automated flats sorting system with robotics in commercial operation Siemens Dematic assess itself some 2 years ahead its competition. On behalf of Australia Post’s customers and its shareholders Jim Marshall thanked Siemens Dematic “…for a very tough job, very well done”

The totally integrated flats sorting systems with robotics will allow flats mail to be processed at up to 27,000 items an hour and handle the flats mail automatically. The machines read addresses, and in a first step, sort flats mail to postcode level with the future option to sort the flats mail to postmen round and even to the delivery point. The project also involved the delivery of high performance Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Video Coding (VCS) technology.

The flats sorting systems have been specifically adapted to match Australia Post’s operational process requirements. Other postal organisations using comparable Siemens state-of-the-art technology, however with a lower degree of automation, are Post Netherlands, German Post, China Post, Korea Post and Brazil Post.

Juergen W. Schneider
General Manager
Siemens Dematic Pty. Ltd.
Postal Automation Division
885 Mountain Highway, Bayswater 3153 Australia
Mobile 0418 315 390
Phone 03 9721 7983
Fax 03 9721 7514
Email juergen.w.schneider@siemens.com
juergen.w.schneider@siemens.com