German electronics giant Siemens has been awarded the contract to supply Australia Post will the Open Mail Handling System (OMS) for flats sorting, as part of Australia Posts’s rationalisation of its postal service.

The postal service is investing in new post processing equipment such as the OMS to reduce the maintenance costs of its older sorting machinery, some of which has been in operation for over 10 years. Australia Post has recently announced major financial losses of AUD $222 million, though this is partly due to investment to tackle the drop in flat mail demand and changing demands of customers.

A statement from Siemens Postal, Parcel and Airport Logistics (SPPAL) said, “Particularly attractive features of the OMS are the high degree of flats automation together with fast sequencing and sorting processes in an ergonomic environment.”

Australia Posts had looked at a range of sorting machinery that is on the market and have said that the OMS is one of the most flexible systems available, and is able to handle a wider range of flats than its competitors.