2006. The pilot with the new postal self-service machines aCon - PostSelv

In order to increase the accessibility of postal products, Post Danmark announced, in April 2006, a pilot scheme which used a new model of last generation postal self-service machine. The pilot began in September 2006 and runs until July 2007.

During the test period, 5 postal kiosks are located at different places in order to test the degree of use amongst users. Three of the machines were placed outside post offices located in a shopping mall (Falkoner in Frederiksberg) and two supermarkets (Kvickly in Ry - right image and FOG in Præstø), so that access to the kiosks is possible for customers during the extended opening hours of the commercial centers, whilst the other two kiosks within post offices (Brandts in Odense and Horsens), are there to test the degree of use of the machines when personal service is also available.

Falkoner in Frederiksberg	Horsens	Kvickly in Ry

aCon in close collaboration with Post Danmark. They are the PostSelv (Post Self), model SBE (Selv Betjenings Enhed - Self Service Device). In addition to the 5 machines involved in the trial period, there is another kiosk in the main offices of Post Danmark in Copenhagen and the 7th used by aCon for development and exhibitions. The new PostSelv are very well conceived postal kiosks in which the user can conduct postal business easily. Through a touch screen, the customer can select either Danish or English and choose the required postal service; to send a letter, a parcel or buy stamps. The system also offers the capability of receiving information about a shipment (Track & Trace).

With the sending a letter option, the customer must place it on the scale, select the destination, the shipment required (Priority, Economy or Post Exprés) and the size (according to the samples shown in the machine - Standard, Large or Maxi).


The system also offers extra services, such as shipping by registered mail or a Track & Trace option (Posting receipt), as well as 3 new services uniquely available at the kiosks: A) the option to notify an addressee, who receives an e-mail or SMS that the item is on its way. B) to notify the sender when the addressee has received the shipment, also via e-mail or SMS, and C) the so-called 'Flexible delivery', where the sender can instruct the mailman, in the event that the addressee is not at home when delivery can take place, in order to save the addressee a trip to the post office.
For Post express and registered shipments, the customer can enter the data required using the small keyboard in the kiosk.
Once the operations are completed, the system shows the total to pay, using the main debit and credit cards.

After payment, the PostSelv prints and issues the variable value stamp, the receipt for the purchase and the slip or receipt for the shipment, showing if any additional service has been requested, as well as a self-adhesive barcode label for registered and Post Exprés letters. All of these are on thermal paper.

Slip for a registered shipment	Receipt of the purchase

	The receipt at the left corresponds to a real operation of purchase of ATMs, in the lower part appears the payment information by credit card. The lower receipt is for a fictitious (VOID) operation of a stamp purchase, with no payment operation, in this case made during an exhibition of the self-service machine in POST-EXPO 2006 of Amsterdam.

Self-adhesive label for registered mail	Self-adhesive label for Post-Exprés

If the customer wishes to post a parcel, he/she must to weigh it and select the destination.

For domestic shipments, the customer can decide on a normal or fragile shipment, and the kiosk shows the corresponding tariff. In both cases the name and address of the sender and addressee must be entered. If interested, the customer can choose some of the previous additional services.

When the operation is finished, the kiosk issues a self-adhesive postal label on thermal paper (left image) with all the information about the shipment, and this must be stuck on the package. The shipment slip and the receipt, also on thermal paper, and for the fragile shipments, some self-adhesive labels with this indication are retained by the sender.

No type of variable value stamp is issued for parcels.

For international parcels, depending on the destination, the system fills in the customs forms that are printed along with the rest of the receipts and postage labels.
Once the destination, the shipment type and any additional services required have been selected, the customer must describe the contents and the instruction in case of non-delivery. Once payment is made, the PostSelv prints the receipt, the shipment slip, and also a label with all the information about the shipment (lower image) and the customs form or dispatch note CP-71, that must to be inserted into a plastic envelope and stuck onto the parcel. All are printed on thermal paper.



The third option on the main screen allows the user to buy directly, variable value stamps with any face value and quantity required. The stamps are issued in strips of upto 10. The kiosk advises about the current postal tariffs.


Finally, with the Track & Trace service, the customer can receive information about the status of a shipment by entering the item number printed on the slip or receipt. This service is available for parcels, registered letters and Post Exprés.

The PostSelv will be extended in the future, with new services. Customers will be able to buy envelopes and packing materials by using the scanner mounted in the front of the device.

The PostSelv kiosks are fitted with 4 thermal printers for (1) the printing of variable value stamps, (2) the self-adhesive barcode labels for registered letters and Post Exprés, (3) the self-adhesive labels for domestic parcels, and (4) the receipts, and different labels and forms for international parcels.

The software allows complete online remote control and monitoring of the devices, so that in case a device is out of order or out of paper or labels, a message via email or SMS is sent automatically to the maintenance staff.
However, the system has demonstrated itself to be very reliable and almost no incidents have been recorded during the pilot scheme. The payment, only by debit or credit cards, simplifies the process very much and avoids many of the problems that usually occur with this type of machine when accepting payment with coins and/or banknotes.

From September 2006 to March 2007 the 5 public PostSelv machines had 17800 transactions; 157500 stamps issued, 12849 letters, 4558 domestic parcels and 467 international parcels posted.
As a follow up, Post Danmark carried out a survey in the middle of January 2007 at the locations of the kiosks, and these demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction among the users.

2006. Denmark images (4)

For the issue of variable value stamps, the PostSelv machines use rolls of self-adhesive labels on thermal paper of size 55.00 x 22.50 mm. on a waxed backing paper of 60.00 mm. These labels include a fluorescent vertical strip on the left, on the DANMARK text, and also vertical perforations – as found in traditional stamps. The design of the 3 labels with new images from landscapes of Denmark, that appear in a continuous pattern on the rolls, is by Post Danmark Stamps from photographs of Linda Hansen (central image with a tree) and Heine Pedersen (the other two), both from the Danish agency Scanpix. The manufacturer is Ganket, a Danish specialist printing house for self-adhesive labels. The machine prints the face value and an 11-digit control number, unique to each stamp, in the right lower corner of the label.

Summary of the article published on www.ateeme.net in March 2007. More information in the web site and the quarterly publication specializing in ATMs and variable value stamps - VARIABLE nr. 4 (April 2007).

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