Automation of flat mail processing has progressed beyond infancy. It is time that we revisit our initial efforts at flats automation, our long history of regular mail automation and also consider the developments in regular and flat mail processing in other industry sectors. Using our insights, we must develop products that extend the scope of flats automation across the complete mail processing continuum and finally reduce residual manual labour.rnDistancing ourselves from existing specifications, we have attempted to describe a customer-centric view of flat mail. In doing so, we find that flat mail is seen as either a unique media or, at least, more like parcel mail than regular mail in critical ways. Reviewing these critical aspects, we find that three factors will drive the next wave of flats automation:rn1, Dealing with the variability, weight and unwieldiness of flatsrn2. Handling the growing amount of non-machinable flat mailrn3. Alleviating the impact of growing flat mail volume on delivery units.rnAs a result of this effort, we have established a functional blueprint for the 2nd Wave of Flats Automation. After showing that three streams of flat mail-large consignment flats, bundle collated flats and hybrid flats - have crystallised, the blueprint outlines the impact of our changing mail structures on the culling/facing/canceling function, on outward/inward sorting functions, and on the delivery function. It indicates the areas in which we see opportunities to streamline and facilitate not just flat mail processing, but also regular mail processing.rnThere are still a number of open issues in our blueprint that we have not addressed in this paper. Siemens ElectroCom invite discussion of these issues and possible concrete solutions with you, the postal service, the owners of the mail processing problem.
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