It would not be easy to find any postal operator in the world that has ignored ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and does not have, at the very least, a website. There are many ways in which postal operators are incorporating ICT into their services. One of them is a new electronic stamp system, through which users can print stamps from their personal computers.
Another is the electronic mailbox. With this service, shipments are direct through the postal network to a physical address; the postal operator converts them into electronic documents so that the recipient can review them from any computer connected to the internet. However, there are many more, which has been called hybrid mail, which we will explain in more detail below.
What is Hybrid Mail?
Hybrid mail consists of the union of the two networks, the digital one, which constitutes the internet, and the physical one, which includes the vast human network that postal operators have. Thus, it allows reaching the most remote and inhospitable points of the country’s geography and citizens who do not have the internet.
The hybrid mail is a form of communication using electronic and physical means. Therefore, hybrid avoids the challenges of distance and infrastructure.
There is a rapid increase in the use of hybrid mail in developing countries to overcome the lack of investment in their physical infrastructure. Moreover, with the evolution of mobile phones, this approach makes leapfrog above technologies (roads, postal system) and promotes new developments.
Hybrid mail has been very successful in the UK because the Royal Mail is bound to offer preferential access rates to private postal services. An example of a hybrid mail company is imail, provided by the UK Mail Group, reducing the delivery cost by 55%.
Hybrid mail – A solution tailored to your needs
More and more companies are now interested in hybrid mail because of its advantages in written communication. It is among the most efficient and secure ways to communicate with your collaborators and customers through the most appropriate means for each recipient.
Prompt communication
Written communication represents a significant part of the means used by companies to communicate with the actors interacting with them. However, the paper version and postal mail or courier services have long been the only options available and now seem obsolete.
Fortunately, the appearance and democratization of digital technologies over the past few decades have revolutionized the company’s external communication, allowing digital documents to send in different formats.
Among these innovations, hybrid mail combines these two channels: paper mail and digital version. This mixed solution thus allows users to choose the means that are most favorable to them.
Fast Delivery
Remember that hybrid mail is a two-way solution. On the one hand, it plays a vital role in transforming classic paper mail into an electronic document. On the other side, you can convert email, such as email, to regular mail. In any case, the main thing is to choose a service provider who will offer you serious and honest tools and routing possibilities. Otherwise, your documents will not reach the correct recipients.
A hybrid mail delivery solution meets the needs of professionals who want to send corporate documents to many recipients. Indeed, users can produce their mail from interfaces integrated into office environments.
They must then select the postage rate appropriate to the degree of urgency of the mail, the type of printing (colors or grayscale), the sending (emails, electronic registered letters, registered letters with acknowledgment of receipt), and the distribution channels (fax, SMS, mail, email).
Transparency
Hybrid Mail guarantees full shipment traceability. Likewise, it saves considerable time and enables the automatic validation process of mails before their dispatch, thus reducing costs relating to printing and postage. It allows you to go from the virtual to the physical in no time.
Digital mail allows a broad typology of shipments and even the customization of the design of the document to send: ordinary and certified letters (in black and white or color), digital postcards with color images, simple or mass shipments (greeting cards, etc.) and documents up to 20 pages long. Payment for this service, how could it be otherwise, is also done online.
