RFID and Russian Post: the path to excellence

In the summer of 2014, RST-Invent, together with FSUE Russian Post, began implementing a federal project – the creation of a global system for monitoring mail items using RFID technologies.

The purpose of creating the System is to improve the quality of services provided by reducing the transit time for international and domestic mail. The system automatically monitors the movement of control letters, which allows you to identify problem areas along the entire path of marked mail, and, therefore, increase the efficiency of identification and eliminate the causes of delays.

As part of the project, the RST-Invent company carried out:

• production and supply of RFID tags for marking control items;
• equipping postal facilities with specialized RFID equipment;
• establishment of a National Monitoring Center.

Control letters of internal circulation, marked with RFID tags produced by RST-Invent, and international control letters with tags of the Universal Postal Union are sent by personnel specially designated for testing the quality of work of the Russian Post. Upon receipt of the object of postal service, control letters are automatically registered with reading equipment made in the form of portals and frames.

In 2014, RST-Invent equipped 12 federal postal facilities with portal RFID readers of its own production, including sorting centers and post offices that process international mail, in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Rostov-on Don. Also, a number of post offices in Moscow and Yekaterinburg were equipped with RFID readers.

Information on the registration of marked control letters is automatically transmitted to the GMS system and accumulated in the National Monitoring Center (NMC). Thus, the whole history of the movement of marked letters is formed in the NMC. These data form the basis of various analytical reports generated by the System and allow Russian Post employees to quickly localize problem areas along the entire route of mail.

The creation of the National Monitoring Center was not only the deployment of data warehouses characteristic of such facilities. Specifically for the NMC, the specialists of the PCT-Invent company developed and implemented unique software that implements the business logic of the System, as well as controls the operation of RFID equipment at all equipped postal facilities.

The architecture of the built solution allows you to interact with both numerous internal and external information systems used by various departments of the Russian Post. For example, the possibility of transmitting data on the registration of RFID tags in mail to the FSUE Russian Post Logistics Analysis System allows you to use the built-in solution not only to test the quality of work of enterprise units, but also to automate various logistics operations.

One of the System’s tasks is to integrate into the GMS STAR International Postal Tracking System, which is used by Russian Post to participate in the UPU IB International Postal Monitoring System (International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union). The solution created by RST-Invent automatically monitors and transmits to GMS STAR the results of the registration of control letters sent from member countries of the Universal Postal Union.

The monitoring system built by the RST-Invent specialists works completely in automatic mode, which makes it possible to obtain the most objective information about each section of the control departure passage. With this approach, the influence of the human factor on the final result is completely eliminated and the impartiality of the preparation of reporting documentation is ensured.

Efficiency of receiving information, the ability to create reports in automatic mode and the flexibility of data filtering allow timely and efficient solution of the difficulties that arise, and, as a result, improve the work of the entire postal service.

“The technology for tracking correspondence by RFID tags has proven its effectiveness in practice, so we decided to extend it to domestic shipments. This will allow us to more carefully monitor the passage of mail along the routes, increase the safety of mail and improve the delivery time” – said Dmitry Strashnov.

“Over the course of the year, our experts jointly tested the effectiveness of nanotechnology solutions directly in the key work processes of the Russian Post. And we came to the general conclusion that the tracking of mailings is important, but only the first step towards closer mutually beneficial cooperation, the introduction of other nanotechnologies to create a global monitoring system that will significantly improve the quality of work of the postal department in the interests of millions of people” – comments Anatoly Chubais.

“For us in this project the task was much broader than just fulfilling the state contract in accordance with the terms of reference. In addition to the monitoring system for the movement of control letters, we sought to create a foundation for building a powerful tool that is unlimited in terms of geographical scaling and the possibility of developing a functional with which Russian Post could most effectively solve a wide range of logistic and accounting tasks, and thereby increase our competitiveness and authority” – said Alexander Grebennik, General Director of RST-Invent LLC.