Express mail is an expedited mail delivery service for which the customer pays a premium for faster delivery. Express mail is a service for domestic and international mail, and is in most nations governed by the country's own postal administration. Since 1999, the international express delivery services are governed by the EMS Cooperative. [1]
Express Mail Service (EMS) is an international express postal service offered by postal-administration members of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). These administrators created the EMS Cooperative in 1998, within the framework of the UPU, to promote the harmonization and development of postal services worldwide. [2] As of January 2015 [update] , EMS was offered by more than 190 countries and territories worldwide. [3]
An independent auditor measures the express delivery performance of all international EMS operators, and EMS Performance Awards are based on postal operators' performance, including service performance and tracking: gold, silver, or bronze certificate are awarded to EMS Cooperative members depending on their yearly performance. [4] These EMS award winners are recorded in the EMS Cooperative's Hall of Fame. [5]
Since its creation, 182 postal administrations have joined the EMS Cooperative, representing over 85% of EMS operators worldwide. [6]
Many transportation logistics firms offer similar accelerated services. DHL Express ("DHL"), Federal Express ("FedEx"), and United Parcel Service ("UPS") are the most popular alternatives. However, in many countries such alternative carriers' shipments have different status for several legal purposes. For example, in Russia, shipments from abroad to individuals for private needs are exempt from customs duties if valued less than €1000 and sent via post or EMS, while when sent by other means the exemption applies to values below €250 only. [7] In some countries legal notification sent by post and EMS are deemed made on the date of dispatch, while for other couriers on the date of delivery only. [8]
The Universal Postal Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It comprises 192 member states and is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland.
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, its insular areas, and its associated states. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the Constitution of the United States. As of 2023, the USPS has 525,469 career employees and 114,623 non-career employees.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has expanded to become a Fortune 500 company and one of the world's largest shipping couriers. UPS today is primarily known for its ground shipping services as well as the UPS Store, a retail chain which assists UPS shipments and provides tools for small businesses. UPS offers air shipping on an overnight or two-day basis and delivers to post office boxes through UPS Mail Innovations and UPS SurePost, two services that pass on packages to the United States Postal Service for last-mile delivery.
Package delivery or parcel delivery is the delivery of shipping containers, parcels, or high-value mail as single shipments. The service is provided by most postal systems, express mail, private courier companies, and less-than-truckload shipping carriers. Package delivery is different in each country, and how packages are delivered is closely connected with the cost for delivering to that country as well as population. In 2019, China, The United States, and Japan were the leaders in package delivery while Latvia, Macau, and Iceland were the bottom three. The population of the bottom three barely totals 2 million while the population of the top three tops totals more than 2 billion. Package delivery is an every day occurrence in the US while many other countries do not have this luxury.
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is attributed to Robson Lowe, a professional philatelist, stamp dealer and stamp auctioneer, who made the first organised study of the subject in the 1930s and described philatelists as "students of science", but postal historians as "students of humanity". More precisely, philatelists describe postal history as the study of rates, routes, markings, and means.
Registered mail is a postal service in many countries which allows the sender proof of mailing via a receipt and, upon request, electronic verification that an article was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made. Depending on the country, additional services may also be available, such as:
A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are government or state agency employees.
Franking comprises all devices, markings, or combinations thereof ("franks") applied to mails of any class which qualifies them to be postally serviced. Types of franks include uncanceled and precanceled postage stamps, impressions applied via postage meter, official use "Penalty" franks, Business Reply Mail (BRM), and other permit Imprints (Indicia), manuscript and facsimile "franking privilege" signatures, "soldier's mail" markings, and any other forms authorized by the 192 postal administrations that are members of the Universal Postal Union.
Parcel post is a postal service for mail that is too heavy for normal letter post. It is usually slower than letter post. The development of the parcel post is closely connected with the development of the railway network which enabled parcels to be carried in bulk, to a regular schedule, and at economical prices. Today, many parcels also travel by road and international shipments may travel by sea or airmail.
Russian Post is an Aktsionernoye Obschestvo which is the national postal operator of Russia. The company is responsible for the delivery of mail in Russia, and the issuing of postage stamps. Russian Post employs about 390,000 people and has over 42,000 post offices, with its headquarters in Moscow. In 2012 the Russian Post delivered more than 2.4 billion pieces of mail and accounted for more than 54 million parcels and more than 100 million in remittances. In March 2013 a presidential decree signed by President Vladimir Putin included the Russian Post in a list of so-called strategic enterprises.
Dimensional weight, also known as volumetric weight, is a pricing technique for commercial freight transport, which uses an estimated weight that is calculated from the length, width and height of a package.
A Digital Postmark (DPM) is a technology that applies a trusted time stamp issued by a postal operator to an electronic document, validates electronic signatures, and stores and archives all non-repudiation data needed to support a potential court challenge. It guarantees the certainty of date and time of the postmarking. This global standard was renamed the Electronic Postal Certification Mark (EPCM) in 2007 shortly after a new iteration of the technology was developed by Microsoft and Poste Italiane. The key addition to the traditional postmarking technology was integrity of the electronically postmarked item, meaning any kind of falsification and tampering will be easily and definitely detected.
Österreichische Post is the company responsible for postal service in Austria. This company was established in 1999 after its split-off from the mail corporate division of the former state-owned PTT agency Post- und Telegraphenverwaltung. It is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
Tracking numbers are numbers assigned to packages when they are shipped. Tracking numbers are useful for knowing the location of time sensitive deliveries. It is a unique ID number or code assigned to a package or parcel. The tracking number is typically printed on the shipping label as a bar code that can be scanned by anyone with a bar code reader or smartphone.
The Barbados Postal Service (B.P.S.) is the national postal operator of Barbados and operates as a department within the Government of Barbados where it reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Barbados Postal Service (B.P.S.) is headed by the acting Postmaster General, Sheila Greaves, who is responsible for maintaining the island’s postal services, subject to the laws of the island. In 1852, the Postal services for Barbados were reconstituted following the passage of local legislation enabling the delivery of inland postage.
LibanPost is the national post office of Lebanon. It is relatively a young postal operator, established in 1998. It is privately owned, in charge of operating the postal sector. Since its inception, LibanPost embarked on a program of rebuilding infrastructure, diversification and branding.
Turkmenpost is the national postal operator of Turkmenistan. The company is responsible for the delivery of mail and issuing postage stamps. It has been a member of the Universal Postal Union since January 26, 1993. Turkmenpost employs about 2,000 people and has over 146 post offices, with its headquarters in Ashgabat.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) provides Priority Mail Express for domestic U.S. delivery, and offers two types of international Express Mail services, although only one of them is part of the EMS standard. One is called Priority Mail Express International and the other service is called Global Express Guaranteed (GXG). The latter has no relation to "EMS" International service as provided by the EMS Cooperative.
Mongol Post is the national postal service of Mongolia. The formerly state-owned Mongol Post was transformed into a joint stock company on April 11, 2016, by offering 34 percent of the total shares to the public. It was founded by the Mongolian People's Republic in 1935 and went under several different names before its current structure was established in 1994. The Mongol Post JSC is charge of postal services, delivery and issuing of postage stamps. The headquarters are in Ulaanbaatar, and the company employs over 900 people and has over 389 post offices.
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