OREANDA-NEWS. Each year 9th October postal employees all over the world celebrate the World Post Day. It coincides with the establishment day of the Universal Postal Union. This year the main motto of the event is “World postal communications: Keep talking”. The hot topic is universal service and its economic advantages.

Available regular prices helped Russian Post make universal postal service (including delivery of cards, letters and parcels within the territory of the Russian Federation) very popular. It connects people and business, promotes economic development in the country, integrates markets. Universal postal services are granted only by universal postal operators.

National postal operator Russian Post is the only connecting link with its post offices representing the oasises of civilization. Citizens can practice the most necessary services on the vast territories of the Russian Federation with its remote and difficult-to-access settlements and imperfect transport network. It should be noted that Russian Post is one of the largest universal postal operators. 42 thousand post offices of the total number of 660 units in the world account for the Russian Federation, 415 thousand postal employees of 5 mln ones all over the world account for the Russian Federation.

Despite of experts’ expectations of universal service less popularity due to electronic means of communication recent years saw the positive dynamics of written correspondence growth. Primarily it is the result of corporate correspondence growth. Annual volume growth made over 100 mln items. The statistics shows that Russian Post delivered 1.2 bln ordinary and registered letters in 2004, 1.3 bln items in 2005, 1.4 bln in 2006 and 750 mln items only for he first half-year of 2007.

Stable annual growth of correspondence volume should be also mentioned here. In 2004 post collected and delivered 13 mln parcels, in 2005 this figure increased up to 24 mln, in 2006 up to 38.9 mln. The growth rate is kept in 2007, in the first half-year the enterprise delivered over 22 mln parcels.

Current trends of Russian economy give reason to expect that market of postal services will grow. However, comparing Russian market with foreign colleagues, we can see that the first mentioned doesn’t have segment of direct-mail as quite developed. The market of direct-marketing in Russia takes 6% of the whole advertisement market. As for Central and East Europe, fifth part of the expenses accounts for direct-marketing. This sector development is to be the crucial object of market development for short-term period.

All above-mentioned factors prove that implementation of technologies of so-called hybrid post, mass distribution of documents by data base prepared early means much. Customer sends document to the data processing center to be delivered, his electronic data base and points individual positions. Documents prepared to be delivered are sent from the center to those printing and converting centers situated in the nearest post office. They are printed, packed to the envelopes and sent to the addressers as ordinary correspondence. The delivery process is becoming much cheaper and faster as hybrid technology is used here.

Improvement of the services granted remains the main goal for Russian Post. Among top-priority tasks is also reduction of delivery time, implementation of new comfortable services to meet customers’ needs.

First two automated sorting centers in Moscow region and Saint Petersburg planned to be set up in 2008 will immensely improve postal services quality. Their high efficiency, modern equipment and technologies will help to shorten delivery terms of post transmission in central regions to 2-3 days. Except of postal items sorting Moscow region will have hybrid post office that performs duly direct-marketing distribution to the definite date and within minimal period. As expected, this measure will stimulate 50 %-growth of the service.

Except of traditional postal services, express-mails 1st Class Mails, express-mail EMS Russian Post strives to grant the customers a wide range of financial and postal-banking services that will make people more active and enhance development of the country’s economy. Post constantly follows the financial market situation to respond to all changes. This policy helped to reduce tariff rates for money-orders within the Russian Federation by 30 % in 2004. In 2005 tariff rates for international items were reduced 1.5-2 times. In 2006 post changed tariffs for corporate customers. Since August 2007 maximal sum of money order increased from100 to 500 thousand roubles.

Post still sees the increasing number of electronic money orders performed by post. When the service was launched Russian Post performed only 300 thousand money orders, the number of ordinary paper orders made 60 mln per year, in 2006 the figures demonstrated 188 mln electronic orders. For the half-year of 2007 Russian Post carried out over 90 mln money orders with 16%-growth of money remitted. As forecast, the annual figure will climb to 425 mln electronic orders by 2010.