S2.10.2 - SSIS Tutorial - Mail Sortation Options

Once you have configured the GenerateKeys and added the MailSortation task, open the MailSortation task and set the 'Source' to the GenerateKeys task. You then need to enter a new job name or select an existing job in the 'Job Name' drop down. Once entered, click the 'Configure Job' button.

Clicking on Configure Job in the screen above will open the mail sortation options and from there, the options specific to the current sortation can be set. These options are covered below.

Carrier Details

In this menu you can choose which carrier to do a mail sortation for.

When a carrier is selected you can then use a drop down list on the right to choose what account to use for the mail sortation.

You can also edit the accounts by highlighting them in the drop down list and clicking the “Edit...” button, this allows you to edit the details of the accounts, however you cannot create new accounts from this view.

You can also use multiple carriers in order to compare prices of sortations between different carriers. The system will automatically choose the plan which costs you less for the actual sortation.

Item Details

Item Weight: Enter the fixed weight in grams, for each item being posted. This can range between 1g and 2000g.

Format: Select the corresponding item format, which will be determined by the dimensions and weight of the items. The item formats that are listed will be restricted by the Item Weight that is set in the input box above. For details on the various item formats available, please refer to up-to-date documentation supplied by Royal Mail or contact your Royal Mail account manager.

Letter Formats:

Letters: Slightly bigger than half A4, up to 5mm thick, and weighing up to 100g

Large Letters: Slightly bigger than A4, up to 25mm thick and up to 750g

A3 Packets: Maximum of double A4 size, up to 25mm thick and up to 750g

Parcels: Any item that doesn’t fit the other formats, up to a maximum of 2000g

Format Variant:

Manual: Manual Format, is the variant used for items which cannot be sorted through a machine, and will therefore be needed to be sorted manually.

Mech: Essentially a variant of Manual and is used when the item doesn't meet the requirements for OCR, but can be sorted by machine. It primarily effects what is printed on the bag labels.

Barcoded: This option is for letters, and is recommended for more creative items as there are fewer design constraints. You are required to print a 4-state Barcode on the item, which is an iteration of the recipient’s postcode and premise number or name with some additional information

OCR: This format is used when the item can be sorted by a machine and meets all required specification for OCR sortation.

Mailmark: This is an option for letters and large letters and offers Batch level reporting. This requires a Mailmark barcode to be applied to each item, this Mailmark barcode is unique to the mail piece and contains data (e.g. sender, recipient postcode, mail piece characteristics) encoded within.

Mail Type:

Publishing Mail: is reserved exclusively for regular mailings of periodicals like magazines, newsletters and journals.

Advertising Mail: is available for items that meet certain condition is, and is somewhat cheaper than Business Mail, which is described below. They must satisfy a number of requirements essentially to ensure that this is genuine advertising material, and must contain effectively the same advertising message for each recipient.

Sustainable Advertising Mail: is a variant of Advertising Mail that offers additional discounts above standard Advertising Mail. There are two levels: Entry level and Intermediate Level. The choice of this depends mainly upon the type of paper that is used for the mailing, and some other conditions, which are defined in detail in Royal Mail’s literature.

Business Mail: is the service to use for all types of mailing that do not fall into the previous categories.

Job Parameters

In this screen you can change the output details.

Name of job: This is the name you gave the configuration file when configuring the mail sortation task.

Title for reports: This title will head all the reports produced by the sortIT module.

Mailing Reference: The Mailing Reference is your reference number/name for this mailing. It is printed on the summary report, and will be provided as the name for the job if uploaded for Mailmark.

Cell Reference: This field allows you to enter a Cell reference that will be printed on the CPL report.

Purchase Order Number: This Purchase Order Number can be entered here, and will be printed out on the CPL report in the results of the mailing.

Collection date: Collection Date should be set to the date on which you expect the job to be collected by Royal Mail or a DSA carrier. If the job is for Royal Mail retail, then the Handover Date is set to the Collection Date automatically, and is not displayed. For DSA carriers, then either you can enter the Handover Date manually, or you can check the Calculate automatically box and then the system will fill in the Handover Date as the next working day.

Add relevant seeds automatically: This allows you to add seeds files into your mailing.

At the bottom of this page you have a tick box for “Show advanced job options for Overrides and Plan Editing”. Should you tick this option, you are given access to the override options, as well as the ability to change what mailing is used, this means that should you desire to change the mailing service, you can use the Plan editor, accessible by checking this Tick-Box. (This is especially useful if you are comparing prices of mailings, and desire a different service to the cheapest option)

Comparing Mail Service Prices

Carrier & Item Details

If you want to compare prices between different carriers, you will need to select the carriers (and an account).
When you then run the mailing the system will check what the most cost effective plan is, and mail the data accordingly. (Note: you cannot compare prices for a Mailmark mailing in this manner, and would have to compare prices manually. This is due to the need to select a SCID for the mailing)

Job Summary & Comparison

Once the mailing is complete, you will be able to find the details of the two mailing service options within the Job Summary report in the results tab.
Here you will be able to see the best plans that the system could develop using the mailing options available. This information will show the costs associated with each mailing, as well as the number of the records that were placed into each option within the plan.