29-06-2023

Brussels, 29 June 2023 – IPC has launched a pan -European road-based distribution network, with intercontinental fly-in options, called CRONOS (Cooperative Road Network Optimisation Solution). IPC together with its member posts, developed and launched this network to provide a response to post-COVID air capacity and performance challenges and to ensure a consistent, cost-effective and reliable service.

Holger Winklbauer, IPC CEO, said “The CRONOS ground network will assist in providing higher and more reliable performance quality for posts and their customers, stabilise and optimise transport costs and assist posts in further reducingCO2 emissions.

Letter mail and parcels are transported by vans and trucks from origin posts to destination posts through a dedicated central Hub in Findel, Luxembourg. CRONOS will transport up to 140 tonnes per week on 269 routes.  At launch, the participating origin postal operators are from Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France, UK, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Sweden, Slovenia and United States.

CRONOS will distribute mail product from those countries’ posts to the posts in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, France, UK, Hungary, Croatia, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia and Slovakia. 

Existing IPC services and solutions are used to support CRONOS. IPC Pallet Boxes are used to optimise transport capacity. Visibility is ensured through Pallet Box labels equipped with RFID tags. RFID gates and IPC MRDs (Mail Registration Devices) are installed at the Findel Hub to monitor and track each Pallet Box arriving and departing from the hub. 

The selection of the partners to provide the transportation services and to operate the central CRONOS Hub was secured through an EU public tender. 


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About International Post Corporation

International Post Corporation (IPC) is the leading service provider of the global postal industry that provides leadership by driving service quality, interoperability and business-critical intelligence to support posts in defending existing business and expanding into new growth areas. It is a cooperative association of 26 member postal operators in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. IPC’s solutions and services are used by over 190 posts worldwide. Since 1989 IPC has set standards for upgrading quality and service performance and developed technological solutions that help members enhance service for international letters, packets and parcels. IPC engages in industry research, creates business-critical intelligence, provides a range of platforms and programmes for member post CEOs and senior management to exchange best practices and discuss strategy. IPC also manages the system for incentive-based payments between postal operators. For more information, please visit our website.


For further information, please contact:
Eva Wouters
Communications manager, PR and media relations
International Post Corporation
+32 2 724 71 91
[email protected]

 
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