175 years in the service of Switzerland
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Swiss Post has been creating connections since 1849: between mountain and valley, between village and city, between the language regions, between young and old, between work and free time. Its bursts of modernization have time and again created positive momentum for progress and innovation in society, the economy and people’s lives. Today, it stands for innovative solutions that serve the development of Switzerland as a whole. Swiss Post wants to continue holding its ground in free competition and in the digital world, and to continue guaranteeing the universal service from its own resources. That’s why Swiss Post is committed to targeted investment and continually expanding its range of services.
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By 2030
Logistics centers throughout Switzerland
Swiss Post has to structure its processing capacity in a way that ensures that it can always respond to fluctuations in parcel volumes. In 2023, it will open three new regional parcel centers, with more to follow by 2030. With these centers, Swiss Post is creating jobs throughout Switzerland. And parcels are sorted where they are posted.
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2022
Logistics partner for the healthcare sector
Swiss Post builds a temperature-controlled logistics center in Villmergen (AG) that is specially designed for the storage of medical and pharmaceutical products. It supplies all utensils, instruments and medicines required for the work of hospitals, medical practices or outpatient clinics. At the right time in the right place. Sensibly sorted, counted and sterilized. And after surgery or care is completed, Swiss Post takes the used materials back.
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2014
My consignments online service
Swiss Post launches “My consignments”, a free service that sends customers an SMS or e-mail (or later also a push notification) when a parcel or registered letter is on its way to them. Customers can also manage their consignments, for example to have them delivered to a different address.
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2009
Three large letter centers
The Härkingen letter center starts operations, following the letter centers in Zurich-Mülligen and Eclépens. This marks the completion of the largest project in Swiss Post’s history. All aspects of letter processing have been redesigned.
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2001
Economy & Priority
Two speeds are introduced for parcel post: Economy and Priority.
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2000
Track & Trace system
Customers can use the consignment number to find out where their consignment currently is or when it will be delivered.
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1999
Three large parcel centers
Swiss Post starts operations at the parcel centers in Härkingen (SO), Daillens (VD) and Frauenfeld (TG). This is a once-in-a-lifetime logistics event in Switzerland. Swiss Post had invested some 450 million francs in cutting-edge technology and an expandable infrastructure. For the first time, parcels can now be sorted automatically right down to the parcel carriers’ individual delivery rounds – revolutionary for the time.
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1992
Postcard Eurocard
The Postcard Eurocard is launched on the market.
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1991
Introduction of A and B Mail
Two speeds, two prices: the customer can decide. An A Mail letter initially costs 80 centimes and is processed within one day, while a B Mail letter costs 50 centimes and is delivered within two to four days.
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1968
First automatic letter sorting system
The first automatic letter sorting system comes into service at the Bern Schanzenpost post office.
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1964
Introduction of postcodes
Postcodes are introduced on 1 October 1964, leading to a massive simplification of sorting. From this point on, in-depth geographical knowledge is no longer required. The postcode system forms the basis for the later introduction of automatic sorting.
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1930s
PostBus brochures for international tourists
Swiss Post is already advertising in French, English and even Persian, encouraging people to explore Switzerland as a holiday destination by Postbus.
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1906
Payment transactions via Swiss Post
Swiss Post is assigned a “Postcheque and giro service”. Thanks to its dense network of 4,000 operating locations, it offers ideal conditions for this. In principle, anyone can now open an account and make cashless transfers.
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1874
Foundation of the Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union is founded in Bern with strong Swiss participation. A Universal Postal Convention is negotiated soon after. International postal traffic is transported by rail and ship. After the Second World War, the aeroplane becomes an important means of transport.
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1870
“Greetings from…”
Switzerland is the fourth country in the world to introduce the postcard. The postage costs just half that of a letter. As tourism takes off, the following decades see a veritable boom in postcards.
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1857
The Railway Mail Service is introduced
From the 1850s, the backbone of postal transport is the Railway Mail Service. Mail is sorted en route in specially designated carriages. Before the introduction of postcodes, this work requires very good knowledge of geography and the PTT transport system. It is later supplemented by sea mail, and from 1920 by air mail.
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1850
First postage stamps valid throughout Switzerland
While individual cantons have been issuing postage stamps since the 1840s, federal stamps now arrive on the market. They allow Swiss Post to collect postage from the sender, not the recipient.
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More journeys back in time
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Image sources:
2001: Priority advertising poster, 2005, Museum of Communication, Bern.
2000: Track & Trace advertising poster, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1992: Eurocard, 1992, PTT Archive, Köniz.
1991: “Lively” stamp with A Mail design, 1996, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1968: First automatic letter sorting system at the Bern Schanzenpost post office, 1968, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1964: Sorting at the Sihlpost post office, 1965, ETH Library Zurich, image archive.
1930s: PostBus brochure for international tourists, 1922, PTT Archive, Köniz.
1906: Postcheque counter at the main post office in Geneva, 1935, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1874: Universal Postal Union logo, PTT Archive, Köniz.
1870: Postcard from circa 1900 with a picture and the inscription “Greetings from Lucerne”, Gebrüder Metz, Kunstverlags-Anstalt Basel (ed.), Museum of Communication, Bern.
1857: Railway Mail Service postal workers sorting en route in an office in a carriage on the Basel-Belfort line, 1926, Museum of Communication, Bern.
1850: The first postage stamps valid throughout Switzerland: Swiss cross, post horn and face value of 2½ centimes. Museum of Communication, Bern.