Equipped with a scanner app on their letter and parcel scanner, letter carriers will be able to read electricity, water and gas meters in Swiss households while on their daily rounds upon request by regional utility companies. The new service is based on a partnership between Swiss Post and the IT service provider Avectris: Swiss Post will be responsible for on-site meter readings, while Avectris will bring its technical expertise in developing the app and digitizing the service. From October 2016, Swiss Post will take on its first contract to read electricity meters for Elektrizitätswerke des Kantons Schaffhausen AG (EKS). Until the end of the year, readings will initially be limited to specific regions, before being expanded to EKS’s entire Swiss supply area in January 2017.

Supplementing and supporting the core business

With new services such as electricity meter reading, Swiss Post is striving to supplement and support its core business. As letter carriers visit over four million Swiss households on their delivery rounds almost every day and enjoy the great trust which customers place in them, Swiss Post is perfectly positioned to develop such supplementary and supporting services. A recent example is regional product delivery. As part of this service, Swiss Post delivers products such as fruit and vegetables to environmentally-conscious consumers living in the vicinity of farmers and producers.

Source: Swiss Post