Understanding Royal Mail services for your eCommerce business.
Royal Mail Group operates through two core divisions: UKPIL and GLS. UKPIL (United Kingdom Parcels International & Letters) operates in the UK. Collecting and delivering parcels and letters through two main networks; the Royal Mail Core Network and Parcelforce Worldwide.
GLS (General Logistics Systems) operates in continental Europe and the Republic of Ireland.
The UK based carrier offers a range of services that can be categorised into the following services:
- 24 & 48-hour untracked services
- 24 and 48 hours tracked services (tracked high vol.)
- Special Delivery
- International
- Standard Tariff Letters
Royal Mail 24™ aim to deliver the next working day. Royal Mail 48™ aim to deliver the majority of items within two working days, with a small minority delivered within three working days. The tracked versions enable optional SMS or email and complete tracking of the package. Special Delivery is a time guaranteed service (or your money back). Depending on the service and the category they reside in there may be the following variations:
- Signed and Unsigned
- 1st & 2nd Class
- Tracked & Untracked
Special Delivery Services can be separated further into:
- Special Delivery Guaranteed by 9 am
- Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1 pm
International services can be classified as follows:
- International Signed
- International Tracked
- International Tracked and Signed
- International Standard
- International Economy
Furthermore, there are different package types per service. Each package type influences the price and service limits on weight and dimensions of the package. Royal Mail package types can be:
- Letter
- Large Letter
- Parcel
(Some of the Standard Tariff services also allow for Small Parcel and Medium Parcel)
If you would like to know more about how Scurri integrates with Royal Mail contact us directly.