CEN/TR 15524:2006

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-maj-2007
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Postal services - Customer-directed information including track and trace - General
concepts and definitions
Postalische Dienstleistungen - Kundengesteuerte Informationen einschließlich track-and-
trace - Allgemeine Konzepte und Definitionen
Service postal - Informations orientée client incluant le suivi et la localisation - Concepts
généraux et définitions
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 15524:2006
ICS:
03.240 Poštne storitve Postal services
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

TECHNICAL REPORT
CEN/TR 15524
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
November 2006
ICS 03.240
English Version
Postal services - Customer-directed information including track
and trace - General concepts and definitions
Service postal - Informations orientée client incluant le suivi Postalische Dienstleistungen - Kundengesteuerte
et la localisation - Concepts généraux et définitions Informationen einschließlich track-and-trace - Allgemeine
Konzepte und Definitionen
This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 23 October 2006. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 331.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36  B-1050 Brussels
© 2006 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 15524:2006: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword.4
Introduction .5
1 Scope .6
2 Terms and definitions .7
3 Symbols and Abbreviations .14
4 General concepts.14
4.1 Mail communication system domains.15
4.2 Parties, agents and their roles .16
4.2.1 Party attribute.18
4.2.2 Agent attribute .18
4.3 Physical objects.18
4.3.1 Mail item.18
4.3.2 Mail entity .18
4.3.3 Mail receptacle .18
4.3.4 Mail aggregate.19
4.3.5 Mail set.19
4.3.6 Mailing submission.19
4.3.7 Induction unit .19
4.4 Informational objects .20
4.4.1 Mail entity attribute.20
4.4.2 Mail receptacle attribute.21
4.4.3 Mail set attribute .21
4.4.4 Mail set catalogue.22
4.4.5 Statement of mailing submission .22
4.4.6 Induction unit .23
4.4.7 Electronically exchanged message .23
4.4.8 Observation.23
4.4.9 Observation attribute .23
4.4.10 Expectation.24
4.4.11 Postal product/service .24
4.4.12 Postal product/service attribute.26
4.4.13 Event .26
4.4.14 Event attribute.28
4.5 Processes .29
4.5.1 Mailer domain process.29
4.5.2 Postal domain process .32
4.5.3 Recipient domain process .34
4.6 Interfaces .35
5 Customer-directed information (model of usage) .36
5.1 Observations.37
5.1.1 Observation at outbound facility.37
5.1.2 Observation at outbound facility dispatch.38
5.1.3 Observation at inbound facility entry .38
5.1.4 Observation at inbound facility processing.38
5.1.5 Observation at customs.39
5.1.6 Observation at delivery facility entry.40
5.1.7 Observation at delivery to recipient.40
5.2 Expectation.41
5.3 Events .42
5.3.1 Event at outbound facility.43
5.3.2 Event at outbound facility dispatch.44
5.3.3 Event at inbound facility entry .46
5.3.4 Event at inbound facility processing.48
5.3.5 Event at customs.49
5.3.6 Event at delivery facility entry.51
5.3.7 Event at delivery to recipient .53
5.4 Track and trace .55
6 List of mail entity attributes and corresponding events .55
7 Data Constructs: Representation of Event Information.70
Annex A (informative) Example of CDI application .72
Annex B (informative) Entity relationships diagram .76
Bibliography.78
Foreword
This document (CEN/TR 15524:2006) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 331 “Postal
services”, the secretariat of which is held by NEN.

Introduction
Widespread proliferation of electronic, internet-based data communications provides a cost-effective platform
for the effective integration of a global mail communication system. The essence of such integration is an
automated exchange of computerised information between mailer, postal and recipient domains. Within each
of these domains there is a wealth of information that has been, or could be collected, computerised and
subsequently communicated to other domains enhancing the overall mail system. This information is typically
information about mail entities and it allows for effective control and management of the entire mail distribution
network and integration of mail communications with main business applications in postal customers IT
systems. Specifically, modern postal operators employ sophisticated mail processing machinery and
supporting IT infrastructure. Computerised information describing mail entities and sets undergoing postal
processing, transportation and delivery activities that already exists within postal IT systems does have
significant value for postal customers, both senders and recipients (and their authorised agents). The main
purpose of the present technical report is to define basic concepts associated with collection and distribution
of post-generated information to postal customers (framed using methodology of an entity-relationship model),
and to describe the content and structure of messages that can be used by posts to communicate this
information to its customers using post-mailer interface. This report, however, does not describe specific
messages and protocols that could be recommended for communicating the collected information nor the
methods of its use within sender or recipient environments.
Thus, the main objective of this document is a description of a standardised method of capturing by post and
enabling customer’s access to information within the postal environment. The basis of the method described
in this report is an entity–relationship model that is widely used in the design of modern computer databases.
At the heart of this model is the notion of mail entities and their attributes, the values of which can be captured
at feasible and desirable locations and dates to form observations. Comparison of observations taken at
different locations and dates naturally leads to the notion of events that are triggers for the communication of
information contained in the observations to postal customers. Generalisation of the concept of observation is
the concept of expectation that provides quite a useful way to create a forecast for the future values of mail
entities attributes. Together, expectations, observations and values of mail entity attributes form a basis for a
formal and broad definition of the concept of postal product or service. It is expected that more and more
postal services will be information-rich, meaning that the main added value of such services will come from
computerised information (about postal distribution process applied to mail entities) that will be made available
to postal customers.
The methodology described in this report is also applicable to capturing a broad class of information that is
encountered in mail communication systems, for example information that is important for managing data
exchanges between postal operators and between postal operators and their contractors.
1 Scope
This Technical Report consists of three parts.
The first part defines, describes and explains basic concepts typical to all mail communication systems such
as domains, parties, agents and their role in the system, physical and informational objects, processes,
interfaces and relationships.
The first part does not cover more detailed technical aspects of the main concepts such as:
 detailed description of mail entities and sets, their attributes and methods of collection/capture of their
values;
 applications describing specific use of the information describing basic objects by mailers, postal
operators and recipients;
 data elements, data constructs and message descriptions;
 communication protocols and infrastructure for message transport including transport of messages
through a print-scan channel (or paper channel);
 message security issues related to individual messages: confidentiality and integrity of data,
authentication and non-repudiation;
 printing symbology, physical placement of data elements and symbols, their orientation and dimensions,
and inks and print quality.
The second part of this Technical Report defines the concepts necessary and sufficient to describe customer-
directed information that can be captured by post and made accessible to customers using post-mailer
interface. This report explains and describes relationships between these concepts.
This report provides a comprehensive list of mail entity attributes that are involved in forming observations and
events significant for postal customers. This report describes a methodology suitable for the selection of
observation points within postal domain process where information collected in observations is most useful for
customers. The report does not cover:
 applications describing the use of collected event information;
 messages and protocols;
 communication infrastructure.
The third part of this report describes:
 list of specific events knowledge of which is valuable to postal customers (mail senders and recipients)
and could be made available to such customers;
 underlying mail entity attributes that form corresponding observations;
 data construct supporting practical access to information collected within postal domain about events,
underlying observations and expectations, and in particular information about events, observations and
expectations that are valuable to postal customers.
The Technical Report also provides an example of application that demonstrates the use of specific events
and data constructs.
This Technical Report makes use of XML schema in describing relevant data constructs. Actual
communication messages can be built from data constructs described in this report. However, this report does
not specify the structure of specific messages, nor does it preclude using mechanisms other than XML
schema to describe data constructs.
2 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
2.1
acceptance
process of verification of a mailing submission to ensure its compliance with postal/carrier regulations
2.2
address list selection
process of selecting a mailing address for the intended recipient of the message
2.3
agent
entity involved in a mail communication process that does not have a legal status
NOTE In the context of a mail communication system the major role of the agent is to capture, process, store and
share information.
2.4
agent attribute
characteristic of the agent which is or can be represented by a data value
2.5
authorised third party
party that is authorised by the mail originator to receive information about the mail entity for the purpose of
potential dispute resolution concerning mail entity between the mail originator, postal operator, carrier or their
agents and the recipient
2.6
bank
party that facilitates payment (exchange of funds) between parties for mail entity creation, finishing,
consolidation, transportation and delivery
2.7
collection (posting)
process of picking up mail entities from collection boxes, postal retail facilities or the mailer domain
2.8
communication domain
set of parties, agents, and processes that together play a specific functional role (such as sender, channel or
recipient) in a mail communication system
2.9
consolidator
party that is responsible for consolidating mail entities from a given creator together with mail entities from
other creators
2.10
consolidation contractor
party responsible for consolidating mail entities received from a postal operator or a carrier together with other
mail entities (possibly from another postal operator/carrier) to achieve a desirable grouping of mail entities
such as sortation or containerisation for transportation
2.11
containerisation
process of assembling together and putting mail entities into receptacles for transportation
2.12
creator
party that is responsible for production (creation) of a mail item, a mail entity or a mail set
2.13
customs process
series of activities comprising customs entry, customs examination, clearance, retention or refusal aimed at
processing dutiable cross-border mail entities according to customs regulations
2.14
delivery
process of transferring a mail entity from a postal operator/carrier to a recipient which may result in successful
completion or failure
2.15
delivery clerk (letter carrier, mail carrier)
human agent in a mail communication system who is responsible for delivering mail entities into recipient mail
box (receptacle) or directly into the hands of the mail recipient
2.16
delivery contractor
party responsible for delivering a mail entity received from a postal operator or carrier to a recipient
2.17
destination postal operator/carrier
party responsible for accepting a mail entity from other postal operator/carrier or its contractor and for
processing and delivery of the mail entity to its final destination (a recipient or recipients)
2.18
electronically exchanged message
EEM
electronic message sent or received by a mailer or postal operator during the process of mail creation,
preparation, submission, acceptance, processing and delivery
2.19
electronic interface channel
electronic communication channel designed for the exchange of information between computers operating in
mailer, postal and recipient domains and enabled by a public or private electronic communication network
such as internet
2.20
electronic sortation
process of sorting a list of mailing addresses into groups having common characteristics (such as identical
postal codes).
2.21
event
occurrence of a significant change between any two observations (regular event) or occurrence of a significant
deviation between an observation and an expectation (exceptional event)
2.22
event attribute
set of name-value pairs specifying a significant change(s) or a deviation(s) that trigger the event, the name
and/or identities of the parties responsible for defining these values and the rules governing the decision
concerning the occurrence of the event
2.23
expectation
set of mail entity attribute name-value pairs predicted, derived or assumed for a given date or a date range
2.24
facility entry
process of entering mail entities into postal/carrier processing facilities
2.25
finishing
process of direct printing of information on (or applying labels containing information to) assembled mail
entities, said information concerning payment evidence and endorsements required for the entry of finished
mail entities into the postal distribution network
2.26
incoming sortation
process of sorting mail entities into groups having common internal characteristics such as recipient mail stop
codes or recipient names
2.28
insertion
process of folding printed message(s), assembling the content (that includes the message and optional
additional enclosures) and inserting the entire content into a mailing envelope
2.29
intended recipient
party that is specified in the destination address of the mail entity or otherwise uniquely identified by its
originator
2.30
list preparation (address cleansing)
process of comparing between mailing (postal) addresses in the selected address list and a standardised list
containing corrected and up-to-date postal addresses for the purpose of finding and correcting erroneous
entries in the selected list
2.31
mail aggregate
set of mail entities which has been grouped so as to permit common handling
2.32
mail aggregate attribute
characteristic of a mail aggregate which is or can be represented by a data value
2.33
mail aggregate catalogue
set of all attribute names of a mail aggregate
2.34
mail entity
mail item or collection of mail items which are constrained to form a physical unit
NOTE 1 The means of constraint can be a receptacle such as a tray, roller cage, or some form of packaging such as
shrink wrap or rubber band.
NOTE 2 The definition of a mail entity is recursive in the sense that it makes use of the notion of the lower level mail
entities. At the lowest level mail entities are mail items and the higher level mail entities can be built from lower level mail
entities according to the definition.
2.35
mail entity processing
collection of sequential activities such as culling, facing, cancelling, sortation, printing of ID tags, application of
forwarding labels and containerisation that are performed in postal/carrier processing facilities before mail
entities are transferred for loading and transportation
2.36
mail entity attribute
characteristic of a mail entity which is or can be represented by a data value
NOTE Mail entity attributes could be a single value, a set of values including a simple range of values or a value that
is expressed as a complement to a given set of values. This means that the fact that a given mail entity does not have a
specified value can also be expressed using the concept of mail entity attribute (in this manner, for example, the values
“not within the given range” can be also expressed).
2.37
mail induction/entry
process whereby mail entities are handed over to a postal operator and which results in either the postal
operator taking responsibility for the mail entities concerned or rejecting all or some of the mail entities
presented for hand-over
2.38
mail item
single mailable object that cannot be further broken up (separated) into other mailable objects
2.39
mail item content
physical document or documents and/or an object contained within means of closure such as an envelope, a
box, a wrapper and the like, and intended for the use of the recipient; all objects included in a mail item
2.40
mail receptacle
physical device which may be used to contain or carry mail so as to assist in its handling, transportation,
storage or delivery as a unit
EXAMPLE Mailbags, trays, recipient mailbox, wheeled containers (roller cages), pallet and pallet-based containers
and airfreight containers (ULDs).
NOTE Receptacles may contain mail which is housed in other (lower level) receptacles. For example, a roller cage
may contain trays and/or bags of mail as well as individual (loose loaded) mail items and bundles. Some types of postal
receptacle (e.g. roller cages and ULDs) have a residual value; others need not (e.g. disposable trays).
2.41
mail receptacle attribute
characteristic of a mail receptacle which is or can be represented by a data value
2.42
mail set
collection of mail entities that form a logical unit in the context of a specific application (e.g. sorting,
transportation, accounting, payment, hand-over)
NOTE The mail set is a logical unit. As a unit, it requires specification of commonality between its members. The
commonality is expressed in terms of mail entity attributes and has to be explicitly stated for specific instances of mail sets
with the exception of the case when all mail entities contained in the mail set are individually listed.
2.43
mail set attribute
characteristic of a mail set which is or can be represented by a data value
2.44
mail sorting machine
mechanical agent in a mail communication system that is designed to organise mail entities into groups of
items having identical characteristics
2.45
mailing submission
mail set which has a unique identification and is presented or handed over for processing to a postal operator,
as a part of a single hand-over transaction
2.46
material interface channel
physical communication channel designed for the exchange of information between computers operating in
mailer, postal and recipient domains by printing or attaching electronically stored digital information to a mail
entity and optically or electronically scanning (capturing) information present on this entity
2.47
message preparation
process of preparing data that is designed to be sent as a message (content of a mail item) to the intended
recipient
2.48
observation
set of mail entity attribute name-value pairs captured at a given date
2.49
observation attribute
set of name-value pairs related to or characterising the observation process
2.50
opening and processing
process of mail entity opening, extracting its content (message) and processing information (or object)
contained therein
2.51
originating postal operator/carrier
party responsible for the acceptance of a mail entity or a set from the mail entity/set submitter into a postal
distribution network and possibly for transfer of the mail entity/set to another party for processing and delivery
2.52
originator
party that controls a mail entity’s content (i.e. the message to the recipient) and the mail entity’s destination
address and has the overall legal control and responsibility for the mail entity
2.53
party
legal entity involved in a mail communication process
2.54
party attribute
characteristic of the party which is or can be represented by a data value
2.55
payer
party responsible for payment of postal/carrier charges for processing and delivering a mail item, a mail entity
or a mail set
2.56
payment
process of accounting for charges and transfer of funds from the mail recipient to the postal operator for
services that were not paid by the mail originator or any of its authorised agents (or parties)
2.57
physical sortation
process of sorting mail entities into groups having common characteristics (such as identical postal codes).
2.58
printing
process of printing messages or envelopes (or both) that are to be assembled into sealed and unfinished mail
entities.
2.59
postal product/service
agreed-upon set of rules operating on the values of mail entity attributes governing both actions to be taken on
the mail entity and communication of observations to all authorised parties
2.60
postal product/service attribute
set of name-value pairs related to or characterising a postal product
2.61
post/carrier domain
domain of the mail entity collection, acceptance, processing, transportation and delivery that includes all
parties, agents, processes and their relationships that are involved in these activities
2.62
process in the mailer domain
series of sequential functional activities (or sub-processes) within the mailer domain resulting in a finished mail
item, a mail entity or a mail set being ready for entry into a postal/carrier distribution network
2.63
process in the postal domain
series of sequential functional activities (or sub-processes) within the postal domain including collection,
facility entry, acceptance, processing (culling, facing, sorting), containerisation and transportation resulting in a
mail entity being delivered to a recipient, discarded or returned to the mail originator (or a party authorised by
the mail originator)
2.64
process in the recipient domain
series of sequential functional activities (or sub-processes) within the recipient’s domain resulting in a mail
entity being delivered to a recipient, discarded or returned to the postal domain for exception processing
2.65
recipient domain
domain of the mail entity receipt and after receipt processing including activities when the mail entity has been
received by a party or an agent other than the party specifically indicated by the sender as a recipient. It
includes all parties, agents, processes and their relationships that are involved in these activities
2.66
return
process of returning a mail entity to the postal operator for the purpose of sending it back to the mail entity’s
originator or its agent
2.67
sender/mailer domain
domain of the mail entity creation, finishing and submission for delivery that includes all parties, agents,
processes and their relationships that are involved in these activities
2.68
statement of mail set
collection of mail set attribute name-value pairs assembled for the purpose of a specific application in the
context of which the mail set forms a logical unit
2.69
statement of mailing submission
collection of mailing submission attribute name-value pairs assembled for the purpose of a single hand-over
transaction
2.70
submitter
party responsible for submitting (induction) a mail entity or a set into postal/carrier distribution network
2.71
transportation
process of carrying mail entities (or mail aggregates) from one location to another that can involve carrier
reception, transport vehicle assignment, loading, unloading and carrier hand-over
2.72
transportation contractor
party responsible for transporting a mail entity received from a postal operator or a carrier from one location to
another
2.73
undesirable recipient
party that has obtained the mail entity as a result of illegal or unauthorised activity such as mail theft
2.74
unintended recipient
party that has obtained the mail entity as a result of an inadvertent error that has occurred within the mail
communication system such as delivery to a wrong address or a wrong recipient
3 Symbols and Abbreviations
AOI area of interest
DAB destination address block
DPM digital postage mark
ID (identifier for) identity
ME mail entity
MS mailing submission
MS-ID mailing submission identifier
NULL the value of an attribute meaning, by convention, that there are no known values
OCR optical character recognition
PP postal product
PP-ID postal product identifier
RFID: radio-frequency identification
NOTE Throughout the document, the following notation is used: entity.attribute. For example, the mail entity identifier
is designated as “mailentity.ID”.
4 General concepts
This clause provides the background, motivation and explanation for all concepts and objects that are defined
in Clause 2. General concepts are described referring to a mail communication system diagram presented in
Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Mail communication system diagram
4.1 Mail communication system domains
Communication system is a system that enables a sender to send (communicate) a message to a recipient
using a communication channel. A mail communication system has three basic domains, namely a domain of
the message sender, a domain of the message carrier (the communication channel) and a domain of
message recipient. In the context of a mail communication system, a message constitutes a physical entity
(defined in the present document as the mail entity) and as such, it is understood to constitute a single
physical object (mail item) or to include a broad variety of physical objects such as post cards, letters, flats,
parcels or packages constrained to form a physical unit. Specific to the mail communication system is the
notion that messages frequently have a value other than informational value, for example monetary, legal or
social value.
There are three commonly considered domains, namely Sender/Mailer, Post/Carrier and Recipient. Each
domain can be described in terms of parties, agents, processes and their relationships. In the mail
communication system, parties involved in each domain are usually independent legal entities, that are
nevertheless dependent on each other in the overall system process that involves creation and exchange of
material (mail entities and mail sets) and informational (mail entity attributes, observations, expectations and
their attributes) objects between domains.
4.2 Parties, agents and their roles
Parties involved in mail entity creation, finishing and submission for delivery are:
 originator;
 creator;
 payer;
 submitter;
 consolidator;
 bank (or other financial service institution involved in payment for mail entity creation, finishing and
distribution).
The originator is understood as the party that has a need to use the mail communication system to send mail
entities to (a list of) addresses that are chosen by the originator. The originator is also a primary beneficiary of
communication. In the context of business applications involving mail communications the originator also
controls these applications, for example invoicing or product advertising.
The creator is understood as the party that controls physical process of mail entity creation, typically under a
contract with the mail originator (for example when the mail creator and originators are different legal entities).
The payer is defined as the party that pays for postal products and services and frequently the originator and
the payer are the same legal entity.
The submitter performs a technical role of submitting a mail entity or a set for induction into the mail
distribution network, while a consolidator combines mail entities from multiple mail creators in order to achieve
certain desirable characteristics for resulting mail entity or a set. The most frequent reason and purpose for
consolidation is value added by pre-sort or other work sharing activities. In the vast majority of cases the
consolidator also assumes the role of the submitter.
Finally the bank (which is used here synonymously with a financial institution) is capable of providing
necessary credit and fund transfer functions.
Modern mail communication systems involve computer-controlled electro-mechanical machinery (e.g. sorting
machines), transportation (e.g. delivery vehicles) and computer equipment (e.g. IT systems) and human
participants (e.g. post office clerks). Mail processing machines, equipment and human participants are
designated as agents. Agents involved in mail entity creation, finishing and submission for delivery are various
automated, semi-automated and manual systems and their operators such as inserters (mail assembly
machines), mailing machines, franking devices, mail sorters, containerisation systems, computerised
accounting devices (also known as postal security devices or PSDs), scanning devices and the like. For
example, mail-sorting machines typically organise letters or flats into groups of mail items having identical
postal codes by using information present on mail items, such as a destination address block. Important
technology used by the vast majority of mail sorting machines are either Optical Character Recognition or bar
code reading.
Frequently, post and carriers employ several subcontractors or trusted agents in the complex process of mail
acceptance, sortation, transportation and distribution. Parties involved in mail entity acceptance, induction,
processing, transportation and delivery are:
 originating postal operator (or a private carrier);
 destination postal operator (or a private carrier);
 consolidation contractor;
 transportation contractor;
 delivery contractor;
 bank (or other financial service institution involved in payment for mail entity acceptance, induction,
processing, transportation and delivery functions).
The originating postal operator or carrier may be the only party that is involved in mail entity/set processing,
transportation and delivery. Such is the case when the mail entity destination address is within geographical
boundaries of a country or a territory where the originating postal operator is authorised to provide mail
communication services and when the originating postal operator does not employ any other legal entities to
perform such services. Alternatively, there could be several other legal entities involved in providing mail
communication services such as contractors and other postal operators or private carriers. There could also
be several intermediate carriers and contactors between the originating and the destination postal operators
or carriers, for example transportation contractors described below.
Agents involved in mail entity acceptance, induction, processing, transportation and delivery are various
automated, semi-automated and manual systems and their operators such as cullers, facers/cancellers, mail
sorters, containerisation systems, scanning devices, mail transportation vehicles, railroad cars, airplanes, mail
clerks and the like.
In many instances, a recipient of the mail entity could be a party other than the party intended as a recipient
by the sender or parties that are intended as recipients in addition to the main message recipient. These can
include an unintended recipient (for example when the destination address is wrong), an undesired recipient
(for example in the case of stolen mail) or a third trusted party such as a law enforcement agency. Parties
involved in mail entity receipt and subsequent processing are:
 intended recipient;
 unintended recipient (party that obtained mail entity as a result of an inadvertent error such as delivery to
a wrong address or recipient);
 undesirable recipient (party that obtained mail entity as a result of illegal or unauthorised activity such as
mail theft);
 authorised third parties such as law enforcement agencies and legal institutions (parties that are
authorised by mailers to receive information about mail entities);
 bank (or other financial service institution involved in payment for mail receipt and subsequent
processing).
Parties participating in the mail communication system are usually involved in mail entities physical handling
(e.g. sorting, transportation, delivery), in mail entity-related information handling (e.g. tracking information
capture and communication) and/or in mail entity-related financial transaction handling (e.g. postage payment).
The defining characteristic of a party is its legal status as an entity that is entrusted in the execution of any of
the aforementioned aspects or activities of the mail communication process.
NOTE 1 All parties and agents considered in this document should be uniquely identifiable within the context of given
application. Methods of assigning identifiers to various parties and objects are addressed by ISO Standards (see
bibliography).
NOTE 2 Roles of the parties and agents involved in the mail communication systems can be codified and published (i.e.
made available to all interested parties) in the form of standardised code lists.
NOTE 3 It should be stressed that the list of parties, their agents and their roles is not exhaustive and intended for
illustrative purposes. New parties and agents are continuously introduced when mail communication systems are
undergoing complex changes associated with introduction of new technology, change of ownership (privatisation) or
change in the legal status of protected services (liberalisation). The framework of the present document is designed to
accommodate the introduction of new parties and agents.
4.2.1 Party attribute
Party attribute is a useful concept that allows for the capture and storage of information related to the party
that is not covered by the party name or its identifier. Examples of party attributes are the party’s functional
role in the process, its classification code according to the industry classification system, as an identifier for a
contract that governs party’s relationship with another party or parties, various restrictions concerning the
party’s role and similar parameters.
4.2.2 Agent attribute
Agent attribute is a useful concept that allows the capture and storage of information related to the agent that
is not covered by the agent name or its identifier. Examples of agent attribut
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