|
|
 |
 |
HOME
Where it all begins!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| COSTA RICA
NEWS BRIEFS
|
Tuesday 15 February 2011 |
 |
|
|
|
Correos
de Costa
Rica
"Mid
Way" In
Its Plan
To
Transform
Costa
Rica's
Addresses
Correos
de Costa
Rica
(Costa
Rica’s
Post
Office)
reports
it is
now
almost
halfway
through
a
complete
transformation
of the
address
system
for the
country.
Correos
says it
has had
to deal
with a
“folkloric”
state of
affairs
in which
letters
and
parcels
are sent
to
individuals
bearing
a set of
directions
for
delivery
staff to
follow,
rather
than a
modern
formula
of
building
numbers,
street
names
and zip
codes.
The
Costa
Rican
post
office
delivers
around
28
million
postal
items
each
year,
depending
on post
office
boxes
for much
of its
deliveries.
Because
of the
lack of
a proper
address
system
faces a
high
rate of
returns
– around
17% of
items –
it has a
very
poor
customer
satisfaction
rate.
The
absence
of
proper
addresses
has also
meant a
complete
inability
to
automate
mail
sorting
and
processing
systems,
leading
to large
delays,
high
costs
and
inefficiency.
Geovanni
Campos,
postal
distribution
director
at
Correos
de Costa
Rica
said the
lack of
an
address
system
has been
costing
the
national
economy
us$720
million
year, in
a
country
with
just
under 5
million
inhabitants.
But, he
said
after
five
years’
work on
a us$4.8
million
address
development
plan,
Correos
had now
completed
addressing
for
around
452,000
of the
country’s
1
million
addresses,
covering
an area
in which
70% of
mail
volumes
are
delivered.
“We are
in the
presence
of a
cultural
change –
not only
for the
mail
staff,
but for
all the
citizens,”
Campos
said.
It is
not just
about
assigning
each
household
and
business
with a
new
number
and
creating
entirely
new zip
codes
for the
country’s
provinces,
cantons
and
districts
– it has
also
involved
detailed
cartographic
surveys
to
identify
and
classify
individual
streets
and
buildings
across
the
country.
Roads,
streets
and
avenues
have
been
given a
brand
new
numbering
system –
and new
street
signs
installed
bearing
the new
street
numbers,
many of
which
are
being
funded
by local
municipalities
by
selling
corporate
sponsorships.
As well
as
improving
service
quality,
the new
address
system
is
expected
to pave
the way
for
Correos
de Costa
Rica to
provide
new
direct
mail
services
and
improve
e-commerce
deliveries.
Campos
said the
work
Correos
was
carrying
out
would
provide
the
“ideal
platform”
for
making
use of
the mail
service
for
marketing
purposes.
The
postal
distribution
director
at
Correos
was
speaking
last
week at
the
World
Mail and
Express
Americas
conference
in
Mexico
City. At
the same
conference,
consultant
Bernard
Markowicz
spoke of
the
importance
of good
validated
addresses
for
direct
marketing,
which he
said was
at an
“embryonic
stage”
in Latin
America.
Carlos
Modesto
Guzman,
the
director
general
of
Instituto
Postal
Dominicano
also
spoke of
his
company’s
work to
improve
the use
of
addresses
in the
Dominican
Republic.
The
campaign
involves
the
development
of zip
codes to
improve
the
efficiency
of
postal
processing
and
delivery.
“A lot
of money
is
wasted
because
addresses
are not
being
well
written,”
he
explained.
“It’s
not just
a
problem
for the
public
sector,
but also
for the
private
sector –
it
affects
everybody.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
Costa Rica's Daily English News
Source
Apdo. 2133-1000, San José, Costa
Rica
Tel: (506) 2231 3205 / (506) 8399
9642
Fax: (506) 2232 6337
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Insidecostarica is an independent news media
portal featuring news of Costa Rica, Central
America, Latin America and other wonderful
and weird stuff. External links are
provided for reference purposes.
Insidecostarica.com is not responsible for
the content of the external sites.
If you need more information or to provide
recommendations, write to
[email protected]
|
|
|
|
|
Join
our Facebook page