Postal Glossary
LETTER: Communication object written with or without an envelope, of specific interest of the addressee.
BRAILLE LETTERS: Embossed printed object by the Braille and the sound recording system, sent by or directed to officially recognized blind institutions.
MAIL: A telegraph and post order service, including receiving, classification and delivery of mail shipments and other postal objects, they are transported by authorized natural, legal, public or private people by surface and/or air, through the official mail network in the national and international territory. It’s a guaranteed service with complete coverage. It is guaranteed by the communications ministry by contract. (Servicios Postales Nacionales S.A).
ADRESSEE: Natural or legal person to whom a shipment is sent and should be recorded at the bottom of postal items.
BIG SHIPMENT: It’s a shipment that weighs more than 4.4 pounds, and requires a special packing and documentation to pursue nationwide and international.
STAMP: Postage stamp with a face value used for the payment of the transportation of shipments, besides it is used as a collection item
PHILATELY: Servicios Postales Nacionales S.A. is the only authorized organization to issue and to foment the postal species through the philately. SPN offers to his clients a variety of stamps throughout its postal offices; there, the philatelists and the public in general can acquire the stamps in one payment or through the philatelic current account.
FRANKING MACHINE: Is the machine that places the postal charge to the shipment according to the service value.
FRANKING: Is the action of placing the postal charge to the shipments according to their face value, it is printed by the franking machine.
PRINTED: Is an object reproduced by a mechanic or photographic process not classified as a letter and it is possible to see its contents.
POST MARKING STAMP: A hand stamp used to cancel stamps and for imprinting the date so it can be reusable.
POSTMARK: A postal cancelation imprint that prevents the reuse of postal stamps used in mail.
SPECIALIZED MESSAGING: Type of post service given independently of the official posts networks of the national and international mail that requires the adoption and application of specific characteristics for the reception, recollection and personal delivery of the correspondent shipments and other post objects, transported by surface and/or air in the national territory and in connection with the outside countries.
Features:
• Individual registration of each shipment.
• Home pick-up
• Delivery Guide.
• Proof of delivery
• Short delivery time: 24 hours. Urban 48 hours. National, 72 hours.
SMALL PACKAGE: Objects with special characteristics, like for example, a gift or free samples of a product, objects that do not have any commercial value.
SENDER: Is the person who sends the letter and whose name should be specified on the upper-left side of the shipment.
POST CARD: Object of consistent nature with specific form and conditions, it has no envelop, and it has message and direction.
INTERNATIONAL. UPU DEFINITIONS
Hybrid mail: Processes that combine the physical delivery and electronic technologies to send messages. The basic process could be described like the generation of correspondence by computerized tools, transmission through communication networks to the post operators, and finally the transformation of the electronic information to the physical media by impression. It’s an easier process that represents a better cost-benefit relation for the users and operators.
Traditional mail: Normal services related to the communication of a message such as letters and printed documents. Because their contents could be replaced by the digital media, they compete with other existing facilities like for example: telephone, fax, e-mail, EDI, etc.
Parcels: Delivery services that do not have the technology to replace the conventional transport because of its nature. Thanks to the intensification of the international commerce and specially the electronic commerce, this segment has expanded and attracted great private investors and operators from different places around the world and also air and surface transportation companies and couriers.
Express: It is a correspondence and objects door to door delivery service in extremely short time with an added value which includes tracking of the shipments from the origin to the final delivery.
Financial: Represents a set of financial services possible because of the wide postal infrastructure, an example of this is the Postal Bank.
Logistics: Integrated service solutions for important clients whose shipments precise a specific postal treatment. It involves a value-added chain from the movement of shipments between subsidiaries of a client or between clients and their markets to the automation of storage and supply.