Press Release: 12 October 2011

Pitney Bowes: State-of-the-art technology transforms a traditional post office into a world class mailing facility

Pitney Bowes South Africa, part of the specialist global mailstream group, is playing a key role in the transformation of mailing processes on the sub-continent.

One of the company’s customers, the Botswana Post Office (BotswanaPost) is reaping the benefits of Pitney Bowes’ state-of-the-art mailstream technology through the recent opening of its new International Mail Exchange Centre in Gaborone.

Victor Queiroz, Executive Manager at Pitney Bowes, says the company was pleased to be part of Botswana’s new communication infrastructure.

“BotswanaPost’s systems needed enhancement in terms of service delivery and process efficiencies. Pitney Bowes answered the call, installing some of our most advanced equipment and software which will assist BotswanaPost’s continuous move into a world class mailing facility.”

BotswanaPost delivers more than 22 million letters a year through over 200 outlets and, until recently, was run as a manual process which was labour intensive, time consuming and open to human error . In an effort to minimise the physical handling of mail items, Pitney Bowes delivered soft and hardware solutions for the automation of BotswanaPost’s bulk mail sort operations, aimed at improving service delivery associated with time and accuracy.

Pitney Bowes’ customised offering with advanced automation has helped to eliminate bottlenecks and facilitate significantly faster turnaround times. BotwanaPost is now able to exceed its target in the delivery of mail within its targeted service delivery times.

Pitney Bowes, a world leading mailstream technology company, believes in working in partnership with its customers in order to gain an in-depth understanding of requirements and deliver the most effective solutions.

In answering BotswanaPost’s need for a ramped-up sorting capacity at its new facility, the company installed its specialised Olympus Mail sorting technology, designed not only to fully automate standard sort processes, but also to handle Botswana Post’s unique sort requirements.

Says Queiroz: “Using Pitney Bowes hardware and software, BotswanaPost is now able to optimise sorting efficiency, which will dramatically improve mail receiving and delivery times. The new Mail Exchange Centre now has the capacity to sort up to 36 000 letters per hour at high speed and accuracy.”

The newly automated mail centre, launched in March 2011, will not only allow BotswanaPost to become an efficient, high-tech mailing hub, but Pitney Bowes’ technology will enable Botswana Post to leverage on a platform for the organisation to introduce and offer other new services, such as door-to-door delivery of mail and many other specialised sort to delivery products.

All this on the same line with no need to invest into different or additional hardware. This is just another way on how Pitney Bowes helps its customers to invest today for tomorrow.

The new addition of Pitney Bowes sorting technology to Botswana Post’s existing Hybrid Mail means that the Pitney Bowes technology partnership now enables Botswana Post to receive customer data, compose documents, print, mail and sort to final destination all under one roof in an extremely efficient and cost effective manner. This includes all types of volumes of customer communications such as invoices, statements, time-sensitive notices and business mail.

Says Botswana’s Minister of Transport and Communication, Frank J Ramsden: “Automating through Pitney Bowes’ advanced technology has radically increased systems throughput and efficiencies at BostwanaPost.”

Apart from technological solutions, other long-term benefits of the partnership include a commitment to training and skills transfer. BotswanaPost CEO Pele Moleta comments: “We recognise Pitney Bowes and Easimail for the advanced technology they have provided. In addition, both companies provide comprehensive user training, support and maintenance, enabling us to continue focussing on providing our customers with first class services.”

Botswana Post’s strategic partnership with Pitney Bowes has gone a long way in transforming pan-African mailstream processes.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes is a $5.6 billion global technology leader whose products, services and solutions deliver value within the mailstream and beyond. Founded in 1920, the company’s 33,000 employees deliver technology, service and innovation to more than two million customers worldwide. For more information about Pitney Bowes, its products, services and solutions, visit www.pb.com.

Editorial Contact: Kendal Hunt PR Consultant and Writer Kendal Hunt Communications Kendal@kendalhunt.co.za 011-704-5649