EPM: Tech, Biz and Postal Services Meeting Point

Market forces have combined to form the intensely competitive postal environment we see today. While posts are struggling with declining volumes and increasing costs, Posts have to redefine the way they do business to compete and achieve high performance in this difficult environment.The investment in secure infrastructures for e-services is under way by major Posts, confident that customers will one day adopt the new electronic means of communication that are designed to be userfriendly and, above all, trusted and secure — two features delivered by the physical Post, that will be carried over to the future secure electronic infrastructures offered by the Post.The Portuguese Post (CTT), UPU (Universal Postal Union) and other major Posts are exploring areas where technology, business and postal services meet, especially in the area of e-Business: special attention is being given to the development of the Electronic PostMark (EPM), the newest secret weapon that Posts hope that will earn them, their customers’ trust in the electronic World. Moreover, major software houses, including Microsoft, are taking an interest in the electronic postmark, and want to include it in future editions of their software suites.The little imprint that always had a special place in the top right-hand corner of postal items is beginning to find a new role in the electronic World.