Premier Customer Guide

Contents

1.0

Premier Overview

4 4 4 6 6 6 7 7 9 9

1.1

Premier Service Standard Premier Service Summary Entry Qualifications Minimum Volumes Addressing Standards Indicia for Access-Standard Indicia for Access-Standard

1.2

2.0

2.1

2.2 3.0

3.1

3.2 3.3 4.0 5.0 5.2 5.3 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 7.0 5.1

Indicia Size

Return Addresses and Undeliverable Mail

Enquiries & Complaints Preparing Mailings Step 1: Format Separation

1 1 12 12 12 14 15 15 15 15 16 16 17 17 19 21 23 23 23 24 24 24 26 26 26 26

Step 2: CBC / OCR / Machineable / Manual Split

Step 3: Weight Band Separation

Sortation & Presentation

Minimum Bag Fills

Undersized Bags/Trays

Sortation

Presenting your Mailing items in Bags Presenting your Mailing items in Trays Presenting Mixed Weight Mailings Presenting Business Mail Large Letters

Final Labelling Requirements

7.1

Bag Label Examples

8.0

Consumables for Mailings

8.1

Blank bag/tray Labels and Bag Ties

8.2 9.0

Bags and Magnums

Documentation/Notification .tnt file (Posting Dockets)

9.1

9.2

Collection Receipt

10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3

Despatching the Mailing Pre-notification of Mailing 7 Day Rolling Forecast

08:00 24 Hour Pre-advice (. tnt file)

11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 11.5 12.0

Collection Processes

27 27 27 27 27 27 28 28 29 29 29 30 32 35 37 39 40 41 43 44 53 65 79 82 84 85 87 88 90 92 31

Collection Times

Collection Time Change Process

Customer Health and Safety Procedures Unloading and Handover at Customer Premises

Contingency

Procedures for Handling Non-compliant Mailings

Pre-notification and Pre-advice

Collections

Documentation

Indicia

Addressing Standards

Mail Presentation Health and Safety

Appendix A Addressing Mailing items Appendix B Quality Assurance (QA) Process Appendix C Whistl DSA Sort Database Appendix D Technical Envelope Specification

Appendix E Strapped Bundle / Un-bagged Specification

Appendix F Unwrapped Specification

Appendix G Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Appendix H Large Letter Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Appendix I Using Customer Bar Coding (CBC) Appendix J Whistl 24 Hour Notification

Appendix K Key National Postings (KNP)/Exceptional and Large Posting (ELP)

Appendix L greenPost

Appendix M Whistl Bureau Service

Appendix N adMail

Appendix O Premier Zonal Option

Appendix P Business Mail Contents Guidance and Permitted Items

Appendix Q Using Mailmark

1.0 Overview

1.1 Premier Service Standard Whistl’s Premier Service aims to deliver mailing items on the second working day after it has been collected from the customer. A working day means any day, which is not a Sunday, bank holiday, or public holiday (bank holidays vary throughout the UK depending on region). Specific service levels agreed with customers will be incorporated into the contract agreement signed between Whistl and the customer concerned. Premier 3 Day Premier 3 Day is a three day, pre-sorted product for business mail. Mail items are picked up from the customer on day 0, processed in one of our sortation centres on Day 1 and handed over to the Royal Mail on Day 2, with final mile delivery on Day 3. Premier Monday Premier Monday is a day definite delivery solution for non-time sensitive mail. We collect your pre-sorted mail at a time that suits you; process it to Royal Mail specifications at one of our distribution centres and hand over on a Monday for final mile delivery on a Tuesday. Premier Monday allows you to receive the greatest discount by pre-sorting mail to our requirements that allow us to maximise efficiencies. 1.2 Premier Service Summary The Premier Primary and Default services are for Letters, Large Letters and Packets (Premier 70 CBC, Premier 70 OCR and Premier 70 Mailmark services are for machineable letters only and large letters for Mailmark). Each service requires the Customer to sort, segregate and present their mailing items in accordance with the contract agreement and this Customer Guide into either:

Whistl’s Premier Service enables the Customer to hand over mailing items to Whistl which are sorted to either: • Premier 1400 Letters, Large Letters or Packets sorted to c. 1525 selections based on the full UK Postcode sorted to Royal Mail Delivery Offices. • Premier 70 Letters, Large Letters or Packets sorted to c. 88 selections based on the full UK Postcode sorted to Royal Mail Inward Mailing Centres. • Premier 70 OCR Machineable letters or large letters meeting the applicable OCR specification sorted to c. 88 selections based on postcode areas • Premier 70 CBC Machineable letters meeting the CBC specifications sorted to c. 88 selections based on postcode areas. • Premier 70 Mailmark Machineable letters and large letters meeting the Mailmark specifications sorted to c. 88 selections based on postcode areas (please refer to Appendix Q for further information on this service) The Premier services above offer different prices for different levels of sortation carried out by the customer and are available for mailing items anywhere within the United Kingdom. • Business Mail Large Letter™ Certain Large Letters may be sent via the Business Mail Large Letter service. Eligibility for this service will be conditional on the contents of the Large Letter and the outer wrapping material used. All other Large Letter Mailing Items may continue to be sent via the relevant services. See Appendix P.

• 1400 selections • 70 selections

The maximum weight for mailing items is 100g for Letters, 750g for Large Letters and 2kg for Packets. Where a Primary Sortation mailing is being produced and there are insufficient mailing items to meet the

Primary Sortation minimum bag fill a Default Sortation must be made with the remaining Mailing items. The Premier-Standard services can only be used to handover mailing items correctly pre-sorted into Primary and/or Default Sortation at Whistl DSA Centres.

Summary of Premier Services

Format

Minimum address and

Mail sortation required

postcode accuracy required

Premier 1400

c. 1525 Selections

90%

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Premier 70

c. 88 Selections

90%

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Premier 70 OCR

c. 88 Selections

90%

✓

Premier 70 CBC

c. 88 Selections

90%

✓

Premier 70 Mailmark

c. 88 Selections

90%

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

2.0 Entry qualifications

2.1 Minimum Volumes The minimum volume a customer must reach prior to utilising the Whistl Premier service is 4000 items per collection. For the Whistl PremierSort service please refer to the PremierSort Customer Guide. 2.2 Addressing Standards The Customer must ensure that the Addressing Standards set out in Appendix A and the Technical Envelope Specification in Appendix D are met. The Customer must also ensure that each mailing item is addressed to its recipient so that the address is visible at all times and legible. Postcode Accuracy The Customer must also ensure that at least 90% of mailing items are fully and accurately addressed and Postcoded in accordance with the Royal mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF®).

OCR, CBC or Mailmark Customers posting letters using the OCR or CBC services must ensure that the physical properties of the mailing items meet the required service specifications. OCR services require certain type faces to be used only to ensure Royal Mail’s machines can read and process the mail accordingly. Specific parts of the envelope or outer must be kept free of text and artwork so that Royal Mail can print and recover route codes as mail is machines sorted. Applying an OCR font Full guidance on designing items and meeting the OCR specifications is provided in Appendix F. Applying a Customer Barcode Full guidance on designing items and meeting the CBC specifications is provided in Appendix G. Applying a Mailmark Full guidance on designing items and meeting the Mailmark specifications is provided in Appendix Q.

3.0 Indicia for Access Mailing items will only be accepted at Whistl DSA Centres if they bear an Indicia approved by Whistl. The Indicia cannot be used to access retail end-to-end services or for any other purpose other than as set out in the contract agreement and in this Customer Guide. 3.1 Indicia for Access All Mailing items must carry a Whistl approved Indicia. This Indicia comprises: • Whistl’s Access Indicator which clearly identifies: • Whistl as the legal entity name. • The registered design of Whistl. • A trade mark design of Whistl. • The Condition 9 Access Indicator, an example of which is set out below. The Condition 9 Access Indicator must not be used on any mailing items except in accordance with the agreement and comprises: - Whistl unique Licence number - The Royal Mail cruciform accompanied by the words ‘Delivered by’ An example of the Indicia template to be used can be found within this document. A copy of the actual Whistl indicia, which the Customer will be required to comply with, will be provided to the Customer (one the account has been set up).

Examples of Whistl Indicia Designs 1. (a) Standard Design

(b) Standard Design – Reversed (note: Reversed indicia can only be used on manual mailings)

Indicia Positioning Template for the Large Design

Indicia Positioning Template for the Small Design

Mailing items carrying any other indicia or the access Indicia of another carrier shall not be posted under agreement. The Indicia must be printed in accordance with the Indicia Template supplied and the Technical Envelope Specification as at Appendix D.

The top and right hand edge of the indicia zone (as set out in the above indicia template) should be aligned exactly to the top and right hand edges of the envelope. The preferred clear zone round the Access Indicia is 5mm, there is no minimum clear zone. However the entire indicia must be displayed on the envelope i.e. anything less than 100% of the indicia design on the envelope will constitute non- compliance. The Whistl unique licence number will be incorporated within the Condition 9 Access Indicator for use by the Customer. Mailings will not be accepted unless all mailing items show the licence number, which matches the account to which the mailing will be charged.

3.2 Indicia Size

Whistl Indicia There are 2 specified sizes for the Whistl indicia and four types of designs the customer can choose from. (See page 10) The Whistl indicia (Standard, Premier and Waves) ideally should be printed in black on white or light coloured paper. The reversed indicia can be printed white on dark coloured envelopes (note: this can only be used for 70 CBC or 1400 manual). Other coloured indicia’s are possible, as long as they are in contrast by at least 50% in tone with the envelope. This should always be checked with your Whistl Account Manager or Whistl Customer Services prior to printing. Any variation in size or colour from the specification above will need to be checked through Whistl before use. 3.3 Return Addresses and Undeliverable Mail The customer shall ensure that every mailing item is clearly marked on the reverse with a UK Return

Address. The below diagram shows the recommended format and positioning of the Return Address for all mailing items. This should be preceded with the words ‘Return Address’. Recommended format and positioning of a return address on the back of an envelope.

The recommended position for a return address is on the reverse of the mailing item, in order to minimise confusion with the delivery address. Where it is not possible to print the return address on the back, it can be printed on the front (see below diagram).

Recommended format and positioning of a return address on the front of an envelope.

Any undeliverable mailing item will be returned to the UK return address, provided on the mailing item.

4.0 Enqiries & complaints

Any issue that the Customer wishes to discuss in relation to the agreement should be raised in the first instance with the Whistl Account Manager. Any service or operational issues can also be raised with Whistl Customer Services on 01628 891644.

5.0 Preparing mailings

5.1 Step 1: Format Separation

Each mailing must be segregated into Letters, Large Letters and Packets.

Daily posting

Letters

Large letters

Packets

Mailing item Specifications For a mailing to qualify for Premier, each mailing item must comply with a range of physical parameters. Dimensions are stated width x height

Please note: For Letter services and Large Letter format Mailing Items posted as Advertising Mail, Responsible Mail or Business Mail Large Letters, the size definition for length and width for Mailing Items excludes plastic outer covers, provided that they are flimsy and easily folded, in which case the outer covers will not count towards the length and width dimensions of the Mailing Item for pricing 5.2 Step 2: CBC / OCR / Mailmark / Machineable / Manual Split Letters within a posting must be split between CBC, OCR,Mailmark, machineable and those requiring manual sorting. For the full specification for OCR, CBC and Mailmark mail please see Appendices F, G and Q respectively. Customer mailings must be segregated; labelled and presented to Whistl according to whether they are machineable or non-machineable (in accordance with the definitions below).

What is a Letter, Large Letter and Packet? Letter

- Maximum size 240mm x 165mm - Minimum size 100mm x 70mm - Maximum thickness 5mm - Maximum weight 100g

Large Letter format is not a letter and which is - Maximum size 353mm x 250mm - Maximum thickness 25mm - Maximum weight 750g Packets format is not a letter or large letter. The maximum dimensions if rectangular are no larger than 610mm x 460mm x 460mm and, if cylindrical has a maximum length of 900mm and the item’s length when added to twice the diameter does not exceed 1040mm. Packets must not weigh no more than 2kg

Daily posting

Letters

Large letters

Packets

Access 70 manual Access 70 mech

Large Letters >10mm

Large Letters ≤ 10mm

Access 70

Access 1400

Access 70

Access 70 OCR

Access 70 Mailmark

Access 70 CBC

Access 1400

Access 70 Mailmark

Access 1400

Access 1400 mech

Access 1400 manual

Machineable Letter Specification A Mailing item is machineable if it complies with the following requirements: • A mailing item must be no larger than 240mm x 165mm (C5 plus) and no smaller than 140mm x 110mm. A mailing item can be landscape or square with all four sides straight and intersecting at 90 degree angles. • It must weigh less than 100g. • It must be no thicker than 5mm and no thinner than 0.25mm. • It must be capable of easily being bent into an ‘ S’ shape along its longest edge. • It must be sealed firmly on all sides. • Perforations and tear off strips are specifically excluded for machineable items. Manual services will still allow items with tear-off strips and perforations. • Polythene or plastic envelopes or wrapping cannot be used.

• All Mailing items must meet the Addressing Standards (see Section 2.2). • Inflexible objects such as coins, keys and thick card coupons must not be enclosed. • Maximum amount of lateral movement of an insert within the envelope must not exceed 20mm. Alternatively, where the overall thickness does not exceed 2mm, the maximum allowable insert movement is 30mm. Manual Letter Specification Any mailing item which does not meet the Machineable Letter Specification above is deemed to be a manual Letter.

5.3 Step 3: Weight Band Separation All machineable and manual mailing items must be sorted by format into weight batches shown below:

Daily posting

Letters

Large Letters

Packets

Large Letters >10mm

Large Letters ≤ 10mm

0-100g 101-250g 251-750g

0-100g

0-100g 101-250g 251-750g

0-1000g

1001g-2000g

70 mech

70 manual

70 CBC

70 Mailmark

70 OCR

1400

70 Mailmark

1400 mech

1400 manual

1400

6.0 Sortation & presentation

6.1 Minimum Bag Fills 6.1.1 Minimum Bag Fill Each bag shall only contain all Letters, Large Letters or all Packets and shall: In the case of Letters, contain at least: • 25 Letters each weighing no more than 100g; and In the case of Large Letters, contain at least: • 5 Large Letters each weighing no more than 100g; or • 5 Large Letters each weighing more than 100 up to 250g or • 5 Large Letters each weighing more than 250 up to 750g and In the case of Packets, contain at least: • 5 Packets each weighing no more than 1000g; or • 5 Packets each weighing more than 1000g up to 2kg 6.1.2 Minimum Tray Fill Each tray shall only contain either all Letters or larger letters and shall: In the case of letters, contain at least: • 25 Letters each weighing no more than 100g and; In the case of Large Letters, contain at least: • 5 Large Letters each weighing no more than 10g; or • 5 Large Letters each weighing more than 100g up to 250g; and • 5 Large letters each weighing mire than 250g up to 50g. *Please contact your Whistl Account Manager for more details on tray requirements. 6.2 Undersized Bags/Trays An undersized bag is a bag which does not contain at least 25 Letters or 5 Large Letters or 5 Packets for each weight step (as defined in 6.1).

In the event that the Customer does not have at least 25 Letters (bags/trays) or 5 Large Letters (bags/ trays) or 5 Packets (bags only) for each weight break for a default (residue) sortation selection, then all items will be defaulted to the Whistl AllSort service (i.e. 3 day service for UK bound items) and will be charged at the AllSort rate. The AllSort rate card is available from your Whistl Account Manager. If the customer elects the alternative option, only one undersized bag/tray per sortation selection per mailing, per day will be charged at the default access charge. Any additional undersized bag/tray will be charged at the applicable Royal Mail default rate, from time to time. Any additional undersized bag/tray will be charged at MS 1400 direct for letters; MS1 1400 residue for Large Letters/Packets’ 6.3 Sortation Each mailing item within a posting must be sorted according to one of the following services: Premier 1400 or Premier 70 in accordance with this Customer Guide and theWhistl DSA Sort Database (see Appendix C). The Customer will be provided with a current version of the Whistl DSA Sort database (this is similar to Royal Mails Mailsort database). Whistl will endeavour to ensure that information regarding software updates are emailed to all customers, or its customers’ agents. It is therefore the individual responsibility of each customer or agent to ensure Whistl is provided with up to date contact details for sending such updates. Premier 1400 Mailing items are sorted to the level of postcode districts – these are called the selections. The Whistl DSA Sort Database contains around 1525 of these selections. Where a Premier 1400 posting is produced and there are insufficient mailing items to meet the minimum container fill requirements, the customer should consider bringing the mail together at a Premier 70 level in order to achieve minimum container fill or use software to dynamically fill each container.

An undersized tray is a tray that does not contain at least 25 Letters or 5 Large letters.

Premier 70 Mailing items are sorted to the level which is based on postcode areas – these are called selections. The Whistl DSA Sort Database contains around 88 of these selections. 6.4 Presenting your Mailing items in Bags Bundling Mailing items • The Customer must ensure where possible that mailing items of a similar weight, shape or size are securely bundled within bags. The number of mailing items in each bundle will depend on the nature of the mailing items. This will normally be determined by their size and thickness. Each Selection may consist of a number of bundles. The exception to this is General/ECommerce Large Letters, which can be presented loosely in bags due to the size and nature of these items. • There is no required minimum number of mailing items in a bundle as long as the segregation criteria have been met as set out above, but as many Mailing Items as possible must be included within each bundle (subject to the maximum container weight). • There is no maximum limit to the number of Mailing Items included in a bundle provided they do not exceed the maximum weight limit of the container in which the bundle is then placed, and the thickness of the bundle does not exceed that which can be held in one hand (approximately 15cm). • All bundles must be tied with the mailing items facing the same way, using sufficient strapping or rubber bands, so that they do not burst open in the bag, given reasonable handling conditions. If mailing items are ‘wedge-shaped’, they should be counter-stacked with the top half facing the opposite way to the bottom half. • Once the ties or strapping have been removed the mailing items must be capable of being handled individually and must not be stuck to one another for any reason, including any stuck together due to the use of any adhesive in the mail production process. • Mailing items should be bundled in such a way as to not damage the individual mailing items. • Bundles that become insecure as a result of inadequate strapping or other material used will be subject to re-work charges. Bagging Mail • Once the mailing items are bundled, they must be bagged. The maximum bag weight accepted by Whistl is 10.4kg including the weight of the bag, bag tie and label. Depending on the volume of the mailing, it may need more than one bag for a selection. • The Customer must ensure that all mailing items for a single selection are included in one bag unless the maximum weight is exceeded. Where possible all mailing items within each bag should be of a similar weight, shape or size. The Customer must

ensure that more than one bag is used if the weight of a bag would exceed 10.4kg. The bag neck should be securely tied/strapped with a Whistl provided bag tie. Bags must not be tied through the ‘D’ rings. The minimum number of mailing items accepted in a bag is 25 Letters or 5 large Letters or 5 A3 Packets or 5 Packets (as set out in Section 6.1). In general however, bags must be filled to capacity within the selection, subject to meeting exact bag fill as advised within the Whistl file. Whistl reserves the right to perform random QMC checks on all mailings to ensure that the above is adhered to. • Whistl recommends that the loose end of bag ties must either be clipped off or tucked in to prevent injury to both the Customer and Whistl employees. Un-bagged Bundle Mailings • Some Mailings may be presented as un-bagged bundle mailing, refer to Appendix E. Pre-segmenting Mailings Whistl will require a mailing to be pre-segmented to depot level when: • A mailing utilises over 500 bags/bundles per UCID per day. • A mailing is presented in trays (all trayed mailings must be segmented to depot level) Please note that in the interest of utilising less consumables you are able to mix TNT file ID’s within one container but, you must ensure Handover dates and UCID’s are not mixed. 6.5 Presenting your Mailing items in Trays Each tray shall contain only Letters or Large letters for a single selection (selections must not be mixed trays). For any single selection, a tray must be full before another tray is used unless the maximum tray weight of 9.5kg is exceeded. A tray of Letters is full at the point where a hand can be fitted between the mail and the tray end. A tray of Large Letters must not be loaded above the load line (also known as the Plimsol line). The load line is a visual delimiter for the height of flats or tall letters to avoid interference with trays stacked above. The load line is the 0.2mm stepped area on both long sides of the tray at a height if 172mm from the internal base of the tray. All Letters must be inserted upside down and facing the front of the tray and Large Letters must be placed in the trays with the indicia and address block facing the same way and facing upwards. It is also a requirement that mailing items are not bundled or tied in any way (i.e. there must be no use of rubber bands or other types of strapping). The customer and/or agent is responsible for ensuring the output of any mailing are accurate and correct;

Whistl cannot accept any liability for delays or additional costs incurred due to incorrectly presented mail or mail which was presented differently from the way it was intended to be presented. The customer/ agent/mailing house has the responsibility for the presentation of the mail in accordance with the customer guide. If there is an issue, the customer/ agent/mailing house must directly contact Whistl, before any mail is collected in order to try and rectify the issue.

Letters

Large letters

Please Note: Mailing items to Jersey (JE), Guernsey (GY), Isle of Man (IOM) are excluded from being presented in trays for security and must be presented in bags in accordance with section 6.4. 6.6 Presenting Mixed Weight Mailings The Mixed Weight option enables customers handing over large letters or packets, to handover items of different weight bands within a bag or tray. Mailing items must be sorted by the customer to Premier 1400. For the Mixed Weight specification, you cannot mix formats within the same bag or tray. The service standard and other service criteria are as already specified within the main body of this User Guide. 6.6.1 Mixed Weight Bands Where all the individual mailing item weights in a bag or tray comprise a mix of weight bands (‘Mixed Weight’) the customer must declare the total number of items by weight band. Large Letters • WB1 (weight band 1) – items weighing no more than 100g. All items falling within this weight band will be priced accordingly • WB2 (weight band 2) – items weighing more than 100g up to 250g • WB3 (weight band 3) – items weighing more than 250g up to 750g are priced in 1g increments at the average weight of all the items falling within this weight band Packets • WB1 (weight band 1) – items weighing no more than 1000g. All items falling within this weight band will be priced accordingly • WB2 (weight band 2) – items weighing more than 1000g to 2000g. The weight band indicators to be used are as follows:

Customer Routing Information

Customer Barcode

MixedWeight Indicator (Font – 17ptArial Bold)

DERBY MC DERBY RES MW 123456789012

CustomerName

1234567 PACKET 12345

DSA Zonal

6.6.2 Documentation There is nothing additional that the customer needs to do, when notifying Whistl of a Mixed Weight mailing. The mailing will be notified using both the 7 day and 24 hour notification process, as they would for a normal Premier mailing. 6.7 Presenting Business Mail Large Letters Business Mail Large Letters has been introduced to fit between the standard large letter service and large letters which comply with the AdMail specification. 6.7.1 Compliant Business Mail Large Letters Customers posting against the Business Mail Large Letter option can send items listed in Appendix P called ‘Business Mail Large Letter Content Guidance and Permitted Items.’ This document is also is available on the User Guide page of the Royal Mail Wholesale Website and will be updated from time to time. Business Mail Large Letters includes but is not limited to items such as bills/invoices, statements, general correspondence, magazines, newsletters, membership cards. Items sent as a Business Mail Large Letter must be enclosed in flexible material such as paper envelopes or polythene wrapping (unwrapped specification is also available for this service)

6.7.2 Non-compliant Business Mail Large Letter Anything which is not general business correspondence should be presented as Standard / eCommerce Large Letters. The Business Mail Large Letter service specifically excludes certain mailing items with goods fulfilment content as well as certain packaging commonly associated with goods fulfilment. Therefore customers cannot send items which comprise of or contain anything which has an intrinsic or resale value (whether or not it has been paid for by the addressee or other recipient), such as: • goods and articles sent in fulfilment of an order or request made to the sender, seller or supplier; • gifts and unsolicited goods; • collectibles; and • spares and replacement parts

Also customers cannot send items that are packaged in padded envelopes; cardboard; and any other stiff or inflexible packaging that cannot easily be manually folded.

6.7.3 Presentation requirements For Business Mail Large Letter, the following presentational requirements also apply:

• each Container you use to hand over Business Mail Large Letter Mailing Items to us must contain only Business Mail Large Letters • each Container containing exclusively Business Mail Large Letters that is presented by you must be labelled using correct Business Mail indicator to clearly mark that the contents are Business Mail Large Letter. Please see Section 7 for more information on labelling requirements.

7.0 Final Labelling Requirements

Whistl will provide blank labels to the Customer, only these labels may be used to produce final labels and these final labels may only be used for the final bagging/traying, labelling and sealing of bags and prior to handover to Whistl (rough labelling will not be accepted).

Bags/trays must be labelled with final DSA labels, which indicate the destination and contents of the bag and include the information as specified below. Whistl DSA Sort provides the relevant outputs to produce bag labels as set out in this guide.

Format

Letters

Large Letters

Packets

Service

Container Label Colour

1400 Manual

White White Yellow Yellow Yellow

White White

70 mech/manual

70 OCR 70 CBC

70 Mailmark

Yellow

Label Positioning Guide The following label example is supplied by the Royal Mail and is to be used as a guide. Any queries regarding either the structure or the content of the Whistl DSA bag/tray label should be directed to Whistl MAC.

Bag Label Positioning Guide

Tray Label Positioning Guide

Defined Information Fields

This is what a Premier bag label looks like, including specifications for field size, fonts and formatting. Please note all fields should be aligned left, unless otherwise stated.

62mm

Tray label

Bag label

7 9 6 5 4 3

BELFAST MC PLAN 69 RES DSA Customer Name

8 9 7

5 6

OCR 40100

001154878979130 9999

2 3 4

27mm *4.5mm clear zone

8 Selection Name – is the name of the Selection as listed in the Whistl DSA Sort Database (e.g. Glasgow), this is only applicable for Premier 1400. 9 Selection Description – this field defines the postcode group or plan number within the bag/ tray and this information can be obtained from the Access final labelling database: • For Premier 1400 selections – this is postcode district (or sector) • For Premier 70 selections – this is the Postcode Area (or district) followed by the word ‘RESIDUE’ or ‘RES’ • For Premier 70, OCR, CBC and Mailmark selections – this is the word PLAN followed by the Plan number 10 Customer Barcode – unique barcode generated by the Whistl DSA Sort software that includes the customer ID, mailing house ID, mailing segment ID, date and the sequential bag number. 11 Whistl Depot Code – 3 digit depot code that signifies the Whistl depot destination of the bag. 12 When you make a Business Mail Large Letter posting you are required to identify the service by adding the service identifier to the Customer type indicator. The correct service abbreviation to use is ‘BMLL’

1 Unique Bag/Tray Identification Number - this is an identifying number unique to that bag (14 characters). 2 Customer Identification Number – this is the 4 digit identifying number unique to Whistl’s customer database. 3 Format – this indicates the type of mailing item contained within the bag/tray. All formats shall be identified in the manner set out below and shall always be in uppercase: • Manual/Large Letters OCR LGE LETTERS • Packets PACKETS • Mech Letters MECH LTR • Manual Letters MAN LTR • OCR Letters OCR • CBC Letters BARCODED • Mailmark Letters EIB • Mailmark Large Letters EIB LGE LETTERS 4 Standard Selection Code – is the Standard Selection Code for the selection name as per the Mailsort Sortation database. 5 Service Indicator – this indicates the type of customer e.g. DSA for Downstream Standard Access by Postal Operators. 6 Service Provider Name – Whistl UK Ltd. 7 Destination Office – the destination office is the Royal Mail Inward Mail Centre at which the bag/ tray is to be handed over.

Size Guide Bags

Maximum no. of characters

Characteristic

Font size

Relative font height

Unique bag identification number Unique originating customer/ customeridentification number

11 pt Arial Bold

3mm

11 pt Arial Bold

3mm

Format

13 pt Arial Bold 11 pt Arial Bold 28 pt Arial Bold for DSA 17 pt Arial Bold 14 pt Arial Bold 14 pt Arial Bold 14 pt Arial Bold

4mm 3mm

Customer name

Customer type indicator

12mm

Destination office Selection name

7mm 5mm 5mm 5mm

25 25

Standard selection code Selection description

Trays

Maximum no. of characters

Characteristic

Font size

Relative font height

Unique bag identification number Unique originating customer/ customer identification number

10 pt Helvetical Bold

3mm

10 pt Helvetical Bold

3mm

Format

14 pt Helvetical Bold 8 pt Helvetical Bold 28 pt Helvetical Bold for DSA 18 pt Helvetical Bold 14 pt Helvetical Bold 14 pt Helvetical Bold 14 pt Helvetical Bold 10 pt Helvetical Bold

4mm 3mm

Customer name

3 for DSA 2 for CDA

Customer type indicator

11mm

Destination office Selection name

7mm 5mm 5mm 5mm 5mm

25 25

Standard selection code Selection description Database version indicator 7.1 Bag Label Examples Premier 1400 Label Example:

Premier 70 OCR Label Example:

Premier 70 CBC Example:

Premier 70 Mailmark Examples:

8.0 Consumables for mailings

bagging, labelling and sealing of mailbags of Whistl DSA mailings. The Customer will provide Whistl with 5 working days notice of their requirements and Whistl will endeavour to provide the Customer’s required amounts within the notice period. The Customer shall only order blank labels and bag ties from Whistl Customer Service and these will be delivered to the Customer’s nominated site. Bag ties should be ordered in packs of 50 (100 packs per carton) and blank labels in boxes of 2,000. Whistl will not provide any other consumable items such as rubber bands and bundle ties. 8.2 Bags and Magnums The customer must request bags and magnums with Whistl in the following way (see table below).

All consumables requests must be sent to Whistl Client Services email address of whistldelivers@ whistl.co.uk. Requests can be made no earlier than 7 working days in advance but no later than 15.00hrs two working days before the collection is actually required. Customers must use the ‘Ad-hoc consumables request form’ or the ‘Standing order consumables request form’ for all consumable orders. Any issues or questions should be directed to your Account Manager or emailed to whistldelivers@ whistl.co.uk. 8.1 Blank bag/tray Labels and Bag Ties Whistl will supply blank bag/tray labels and bag ties to the Customer which will only be used for the final

Magnum Quantity

Bag Quantity Less than 3000 3000 - 6000 More than 6000

Lead Time Required

Less than 50

48 hrs notice 72 hrs notice

50 -100

More than 100 96 hrs notice Note: mailbags will be supplied in lots of 300 (based on an average magnum fill)

If any issues within Whistl prevent us completing any consumables requirements in full this will be communicated to you the morning of the day of delivery. All customers or their mailing houses choosing to outsource mailings to a third party mailing house should ensure that they communicate the above processes to the third party. All consumables will be delivered directly into the outsourced mailing house by Whistl.

Whistl-provided magnums and bags shall only be used for bagging and conveying Whistl DSA specific mailings from the customer nominated site to the Whistl DSA Centre. Whistl containers must not be used for moving mailing items between either the Customer’s sites or agent’s sites without prior agreement with Whistl Client Services. Where the above lead-time is not given we will endeavour to supply what is requested but we will not be able to guarantee delivery.

9.0 Documentation/ notification

9.1 .tnt file (Posting Dockets) Whistl will utilize the information provided in the .tnt file to extract all the necessary data for invoicing purposes. The information supplied within the .tnt file is used to calculate the access charges which will be invoiced to the Customer and it must accurately record the total mailing or National Posting. A .tnt file is the Customer’s declaration of the details of the posting to be handed over to Whistl. A .tnt file per mailing must be submitted electronically to Whistl Customer Service no later than 08:00am on the day of handover to Whistl. During exceptional circumstances and with the prior agreement of Whistl Customer Service, alternative arrangements for submission of .tnt file information to Whistl Customer Service may be made. The .tnt file will allow Whistl to verify that mailing items have been presented in accordance with the Customer’s obligations under the agreement and that the details reflect the mailing. The .tnt file must accurately represent the contents of each bag and will contain the following information: 1. A unique bag identification number – that corresponds to the same number on the bag label. 2. A unique Customer identification number – that corresponds to the same number on the bag label. 3 Selection codes – The Selection codes within the Whistl DSA Sort Database for the relevant selection. 4 Postcode Area – The first alpha character/s of the Postcode – i.e. G for Glasgow Postcodes and PO for Portsmouth Postcodes.

5 Number of Mailing items in bag. 6 Total weight of Mailing items – Excluding the weight of the bag, label and bag tie. 7 Average Mailing item weight. 8 Format of the Mailing items – Letters, Large Letters or Packets. 9 Whether machineable or manual – where not known the default is manual. 10 Sortation level – i.e. Primary or Default. 11 PO Number – 40 character alphanumeric field, to record a purchase order number for a specific mailing. 9.2 Collection Receipt Whistl will provide a collection receipt based on the information received from the .tnt file. Four copies of the Collection receipt will be signed, timed and dated by the Whistl collection driver and an employee of the Customer after the Whistl vehicle is loaded. Three copies will be retained by the Whistl employee and one copy by the Customer as a receipt of collection. The handover of mailing items and the signing of the Collection receipt does not constitute acceptance of the mailing items by Whistl. Acceptance of a mailing by Whistl only occurs after Whistl verification and Royal Mail’s Revenue protection checks have taken place and all, if any, issues have been resolved. A mailing will be deemed to have been accepted by Whistl and subsequently the Royal Mail within one working day from handover by the Customer unless the any issues have been raised about the mailing.

Example of Collection receipt

Collection receipt Customer Services 0808 262 0808

1. Collection Details

2. Premier COLLECTION

QUANTITY

Customer name

Date

Magnums

Customer ID

Yorks

Collection address

Trays

AllSort Bags (unroutables) YES n

NO n

Vehicle number

Arrival time

Departure time

Driver name

Signature

WHISTL USE ONLY

Customer name

Goods in name

Signature

Goods in signature

White Copy:Whistl Operations, Yellow Copy:WhistlAccounts, Green Copy:Transport, Pink Copy:Customer

10.0 Despatching the mailing

10.1 Pre-notification of Mailing There are two stages Whistl must be advised of the Customer’s intention to post an Access–Standard National Posting. This will enable Whistl to ensure sufficient resources are at hand to meet the Service Standard. The two stages that the Customer must comply with are:

10.3 08:00 24 Hour Pre-advice (.tnt file)

The Customer must provide Whistl Customer Services with pre-notification by 08:00 on the day of collection of the postings intended for despatch for that day. This information will be supplied in the correct file format and either uploaded into Whistl Notify web based solution or sent by e-mail directly to Whistl Customer Services (whistldelivers@whistl. co.uk). Refer to Appendix H for the Whistl 24-Hour Notification Guide.

• 7 day rolling forecast. • 24 hour pre-notification. 10.2 7 Day Rolling Forecast

The Customer must provide Whistl Customer Services with a daily rolling forecast of their Posting intentions. The forecast will include anticipated volume of mailing items and where possible will provide details of the format of mailing items expected to be handed over on each of the next 7 Working Days.

11.1 Collection Times All Collections should be booked via mail@whistlmac. co.uk. This is our central customer services centre that are responsible for booking collections. Standard collection times will be set up prior to the Customer’s first collection and will be regarded as fixed from this point. However, if mutually agreeable to both the Customer and Whistl MAC, these collection times are flexible. For additional, adhoc collections a minimum 24 hour notice period is required, prior to 15:00hrs on the working day (Monday-Friday) before collection. 11.2 Collection Time Change and Cancellation Process The aim of this process is to ensure that requests for new or changes to existing collection times are managed in a controlled way. Whistl Customer Services will coordinate requests and notification of changes to collection times. Any requests for changes to collection times must be made by e-mail to Whistl Customer Services and may require at least 14 Working Days for change requests to be processed. Whistl Customer Services will confirm by e-mail, subject to capacity and capability, whether the change of collection time is acceptable. Whilst Whistl will endeavour to meet the Customer’s requirements, this may not be possible in every instance. The final decision regarding the allocation of collection times rests with Whistl. To cancel a collection, the customer must notify Whistl Client Services by e-mail before 10.30am on the day the collection is due. In the event of a customer not cancelling a collection, the wasted costs will be passed on to the customer using the applicable rates for Flexible Collection bookings. 1 1.0 Collection processes

11.3 Customer Health and Safety Procedures

Whistl will require all drivers to wear safety shoes and high visibility jackets whilst on customer premises and comply with all customer site traffic rules. All drivers should only have access to the areas of the customer premises directly related to the handover of mailing items unless previously agreed with Whistl Customer Services. 11.4 Unloading and Handover at Customer Premises Each separate mailing must be unloaded into separate containers which will facilitate the revenue protection checks against each Mailing. Where the Customer has been provided with Whistl magnums, the Customer site is responsible for loading and unloading the containers when and where directed by the Whistl driver. All Postings handed over to a Whistl driver must be accompanied by collection docket. At handover, the Whistl employee will sign, time and date the copies of the collection docket. The Whistl driver will retain copies of the collection receipt. 11.5 Contingency In the event of a Customer premises being inaccessible for any reason, the Customer must notify Whistl Customer Services of any alternative arrangements and any subsequent change to normal practice at the earliest opportunity.

12.0 Procedures for Handling Non-compliant Mailings

If following the Customer’s inspection (or the expiry of the 24 hour period) Whistl remains satisfied that there has been an error, Whistl may proceed to implement the procedures within this section. Whistl will not undertake any remedial action until such time as the timescales, charges or surcharges for the rectification of such faults has been agreed in writing (including by email or by fax) with the Customer’s nominated contact. The following table details the actions Whistl may take in the event of non-compliance. In this table, ‘Relevant Segment of the Mailing’ means that part of the posting which relates to an individual mailing in relation to which the non-compliance has been identified.

Whistl reserves the right to sample mailings and postings received from the Customer to ensure compliance with the agreement. Failure to meet required standards will result in Whistl taking action in accordance with the procedures for handling non- compliant mailings/postings. Whistl will carry out checks on all mailings to ensure they are compliant with the terms and conditions of the agreement (including this Customer Guide). If Whistl has identified that mailings fail to comply with the agreement, Whistl shall notify the Customer, by telephone and/or electronically, and offer a reasonable opportunity for the customer to inspect the mailing as soon as is reasonably practicable after identifying the error but no later than within 24 hours after notification and will hold the mail pending agreeing a resolution to the issue with the customer.

12.1 Pre-notification and Pre-advice

Issue

Resultant and corrective actions where applicable

Non receipt of .tnt file pre-notification

• If the details of the Posting(s) have not been pre-notified Whistl shall be entitled to refuse handover of the Posting. • If the Customer fails to provide pre-notification by 08:00 on the day of collection and the Customer still wishes to hand over the Posting(s), the Customer must contact Whistl MAC to agree on arrangements for the handover of the Posting(s). • If the actual number of Letters, Large Letters or Packets handed over to Whistl varies from the .tnt file pre-notification, Whistl shall be entitled to refuse acceptance of the relevant segment of the Posting. It is required of the customer to provide bag ranges where the files are split. • If Whistl is able to agree to the handover of the relevant segment and is in receipt of the amended .tnt file then the Customer’s nominated contact will be notified. Although every attempt will be made to handover the mailing to the Royal Mail within the required timescales Whistl cannot guarantee this and the relevant mailing items may be processed as if they had been received on the following working day.

Inaccurate .tnt file pre-notification.

12.2 Collections and Consumables

Issue

Resultant and corrective actions where applicable

Posting unavailable at collection.

• If a pre-notified posting is not available for collection on the nominated day despite the pre-notification (.tnt file) that posting will be considered void and will be logged by Whistl Client Services and the wasted costs charge will apply, unless cancelled by 10.30am on the day the collection is due. • If the Customer is unable to meet the agreed collection time, and Whistl MAC are not contacted to agree the delay of the collection, Whistl may not be able to process the mail until the next working day. • If a request for consumbles is received after the 15.00 deadline on the required day and there isn’t a suitable vehicle to perform the delivery, then a dedicated delivery will be arranged and the agreed flexible consumable delivery fee will apply. Alternatively the customer can choose to receive the consumables on the next available delivery or collection vehicle. To agree to either, Whistl Client Services will require written confirmation from the customer. • If the relevant collection docket has not been signed by a Customer employee Whistl will not accept the posting until confirmation of the collection volume has been received • Any variance detected through sampling between the number of mailing items declared on the Collection Docket from those actually handed over at the Whistl DSA Centre will result in Whistl MAC contacting the customer for clarification. • The Relevant Segment of the mailing will only be processed subject to reaching agreement with the Customer. • Whistl reserves the right to hold the Relevant Segment of the mailing, either in part or in total, until such time as the changes are agreed • The Customer may collect the Relevant Segment of the Mailing. • Any variance detected through sampling between the weight declared on the Collection Docket from the actual weight of mailing items handed over at the Whistl DSA Centre will result in Whistl MAC contacting the customer for clarification and where applicable corrective measures. • The Relevant Segment of the mailing will only be processed subject to reaching agreement with the Customer. • Whistl reserves the right to return the relevant segment of the mailing, either in part or in total, to the customer on the next available collection. Resultant and corrective actions where applicable

Delay of collection.

Late Consumable request notification

12.3 Documentation

Issue

No signed collection docket.

The number of Mailing items declared on the .tnt file does not agree with the number of mailing items actually received.

The weight of the mailing items declared on the .tnt file does not tally with the weight of the mailing items actually received.

12.4 Indicia

Issue

Resultant and corrective actions where applicable

Mailing items do not bear the Whistl Access Indicia.

• If a Relevant Segment of a mailing or a mailing is found to contain mailing items that do not bear the approved Whistl Indicia the Relevant Segment of the mailing will NOT be processed. • Whistl reserves the right to return the relevant segment of the mailing, either in part or in total, to the customer on the next available collection. • If a Relevant Segment of a mailing or mailing is found to contain mailing items that do not bear the agreed Customer’s return address, the Relevant Segment of the mailing will NOT be processed. • Whistl reserves the right to return the relevant segment of the mailing, either in part or in total, to the customer on the next available collection.

Mailing items do not bear a Customer return address.

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114

Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs