Glossary

Sales or rental of franking machines with follow-up business, e.g. service and technical support, sale of consumables. More then  62% of FP's revenues are generated by after-sales business and is the solid base for predictable revenues.

Refers to the sorting of letters by postcode, followed by bundling and passing on to a mail delivery centre in order to gain a discount on the franking charge.

Revocation of postage meter certification by the responsible postal authority in connection with changes in technical specifications affecting the machines. Distinction is made between ‘hard’ (the decertification extending to machines already on the market) and ‘soft’ (decertification affecting only specifications for new machines, consequently allowing older machines on the market to remain in use).

Using the services offered by FP iab GmbH mail processing can be digitalised at certain points, i. e., inbound mail can be scanned and archived electronically. Outbound mail is sent electronically by PC to the printing centre, where it is processed into a completed letter.

Also known as electronic franking in window, especially as used by high volume senders. Franking is carried out using the local IT system, whereby all relevant parameters are determined and the letters printed out with the correct franking in one operation.

A digital franking system introduced by Deutsche Post AG in Germany. As from April 1, 2006, the system covers the certification of new franing machines operating digital franking, resulting in greater security.

Companies are increasingly networking on a global scale. Industrialised nations are looking for new markets for high-value products. Manufacturers are relocating production sites so that they are distributed worldwide. As statistics demonstrate, this has resulted in growth in world trade, which increased 27-fold over the last 56 years. Foreign investment also increased dramatically: in the period from 1970 to 2005 this matrix grew from 13 to 900 billion US dollars (source: UNCTAD – WIR 2006). In the period 1980 to 2004, the volume of world trade grew from 2.4 to 11.7 billion US dollars. In 2004, goods worth around 8,900 billion US dollars, and services worth around 2,200 billion US dollars, were exported.

Generic term for solutions in which letters are initially transported digitally, then printed out, inserted and franked. The finished letters are then passed on to a mail delivery centre.

Industrialisation in developing and emerging markets is increasing. This is having the desired effect of producing growth, wealth and social progress. A negative aspect, however, is the increasing drain this causes on natural resources and energy, together with greater environmental pollution. Policy-makers are increasingly reacting to these problems, resulting in new legislation and voluntary commitments being made by states. This development is impacting companies directly, which must now play their part, not just in promoting industrialisation, but also in contributing to environmental protection.

Factors such as globalisation, industrialisation and advances in technology result in the increasing liberalisation of markets, with accompanying changes in law.  The main criteria that apply are competition rules and guidelines. A typical example of such liberalisation is the staged opening of the mail markets in Europe.

The FP Group has defined its core business as Mailroom segment.

Generally understood to include all mail services apart from the franking and inserting business. In the case of the FP Group this covers software solutions and mail services.

As the world becomes increasingly networked, ever greater demands are being placed on security. This relates to personal data, which must be screened off from unwanted intrusion from outsiders, as well as the desire to correspond with others in privacy. The fear of becoming totally transparent and the need to find adequate protection against this are major challenges. Running parallel to this is the wish for the highest possible standard of technology and greater simplification of daily private and business life.