The Royal Mail has implemented an online pricing
application to handle the changes it made to its letter and package
pricing last month.
The changes in the pricing structure, the first in 100 years,
link the cost of postage to the size and weight of an item, rather
than its weight alone.
Technology supplier Selectica redeveloped the Royal Mail’s
legacy online pricing calculator and used Java code to support the
new Pricing in Proportion structure.
The system, which is used by organisations that have large,
complex mailing requirements, uses Selectica’s Java-based pricing
and configuration engine, the Pricing Configurator, which
integrates into Royal Mail’s existing Java-based portal, which uses
software from ATG.
The Pricing Configurator will also link into new online
applications, such as Stampnow, which allows users to buy and print
their own postage stamps once they have calculated the correct
price.
Royal Mail has worked with Selectica since 2001 and was using a
vanilla version of its pricing software, which was not integrated
into the postal service’s e-commerce platform.
Explaining the initial lack of customisation, Dennis Greene,
head of e-business at Royal Mail, said, “At the time, the business
was losing money and we were in the midst of a recovery plan.
Investment in IT was limited.”
He added that integration with the ATG environment would allow
Royal Mail to support a wide range of evolving online products and
offer more personalisation, customisation and content targeting.
Royal Mail will also be able to offer online users a more reliable
and faster service, he said.
Ian Mahoney, principal consultant at Selectica, said it deployed
and tested the application on its own application and web servers,
then ported it to Royal Mail machines.
The application itself runs as an Enterprise Java Bean – a
self-contained Java programme – embedded in Royal Mail’s ATG
environment. It also draws on Royal Mail’s Oracle database and uses
XML messaging to transfer data.
Greene said Royal Mail’s e-commerce team would continue to focus
on developing customer self-service technologies in the future.
Royal Mail put 70 applications online last year and ran 150 IT
projects. It plans to complete 170 IT projects this year. “Despite
the squeeze on investment, we have made some significant
improvements,” said Greene.
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