WIREDGOV

What is happening?

Royal Mail has announced a price increase on1st class stamps by 10p (12%) to 95p, which will come into effect from 4 April 2022. Second-class stamps will also increase by 2p (3%) to 68p.

Why is this happening?

Royal Mail has outlined a number of factors for this considerable increase, including:

• uncertainty experienced by the postal services market in recent times, suggesting a 60% reduction in letter volumes since the mid-2000s
• the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased the financial pressures on postal services
• the growth in the number of delivery addresses it has to deliver to in order to fulfil its universal service
• increases in fuel prices
• changing customer needs from, as well as the increase in online deliveries

How does this affect me and how can CCS help

Public sector organisations are not exempt from the postal price increases.

We encourage you to consider, adapt and implement new ways of operating your posting practices to mitigate the tariff increase. These could include:

• streamlining the amount of post you send
• considering whether your mail output can be sent by second class
• considering if you can apply a mailmark (a 2D barcode that can be scanned) to your mail output to further reduce the postage costs by making these items machine readable (see lots 1 and 2 of our Postal Goods, Services and Solutions framework)
• reducing the size of your mail items, so that they fall into a ‘letter’ size rather than a ‘large letter’ (see lot 3)
• implementing a hybrid approach to your mailing choices: using traditional and digital services (see lot 7)
• running a further competition for your mail services through our framework to get better value for money
• considering changing to courier services with added benefits such as delivery tracking and no size restrictions (our Courier and Specialist Movements framework can help you with this)

At CCS we have a team of market experts who can help you to save money and develop your wider postal strategy. We have a range of solutions and services available through our Postal Goods, Services and Solutions framework.

Benefits of using our framework

Our framework provides you with access to a full range of postal goods, solutions and services, from traditional collection and delivery through to security screening, franking machines, mailroom equipment and international mail. There are also a range of inbound and outbound services available to help you to transition from a paper-based mailroom to a digital environment. This includes hybrid mail solutions that incorporate new technologies and innovation. In addition to postal services, the framework offers audits, efficiency reviews and consultancy services to help you develop your complete postal services strategy.

By using the framework, you can expect savings of between 4% and 30% depending on where you are on your customer journey and the services you currently use.

With 36 suppliers on this framework, you have the choice to run a further competition to add greater value for money or direct award to a supplier of your choice. Our customer guidance document on our webpage will give you a step-by-step guide on how to buy through CCS and our team is also here to help.

Find out more

To find out more about our postal framework:

• visit the Postal Goods, Services and Solutions webpage
• get in touch with us by emailing info@crowncommercial.gov.uk

You can find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.