Customer Requirements
The challenge for Siemens was help boost Australia Post’s productivity by providing an automated solution for high-speed sorting, similar to standard letter sorting, but for A4-size and larger letters, magazines, newspapers and annual reports – known as "flats".
Solution
Our solution, introduced in five capital cities, automatically sorts a wide variety of large letters, from standard envelopes to newspapers and magazines. It uses leading-edge software to locate and read the typed or handwritten name and address, comparing them with a database of over 17 million addresses, and robotics for managing the full and empty trays of flats. Each of the eight Siemens sorters has a design handling capacity to process 27,000 pieces of mail per hour.
Benefits
Our solution resulted in:
- A major productivity boost
- Fast, accurate and efficient sorting
- The investment of $65 million being paid off over three years
- A double-digit percentage return annually on Australia Post’s outlay