In an unprecedented move, The Software Bureau has published the Open Standards for its market leading, Mailmark eManifest management process, GeMMA in a bid to both improve the Mailmark experience and attract more mailers to the bulk mail solution.
Mailmark is now the most cost-effective and accountable way for mailers to send bulk mail, however the lack of continuity between application standards has been identified as a barrier. Each software application can have a different standard or data format, resulting in confusion and unnecessary costs being incurred by mailers having to handle manifest data from different sources. By publishing the open standard to GeMMA The Software Bureau provides the industry with a common platform that brings together the different software solutions, meaning all other postal sortation software solutions can become compatible with GeMMA. Prior to the release of the Open Standard The Software Bureau worked with ONEPOST and Communisis to produce standardised outputs. This is the next logical step.
The Open Standard is hosted within BitBucket, an open source software hosting facility. This will simplify the process of sharing the Open Standard with anyone involved in Mailmark postal sortation software. Developers can access the project via https://bitbucket.org/thesoftwarebureau/gemmaxsd and can also watch for any updates that occur in the future.
Comments Martin Rides, MD of The Software Bureau:
“For the last few years we have worked closely with Royal Mail and downstream access operators to move the industry as smoothly as possible towards Mailmark. This is the latest way that we believe we can help more bulk mailers make the transition. It’s a common sense solution to a criticism that has been levied against the mail sortation industry and we’re confident that it will vastly improve and reduce the costs associated with Mailmark campaigns.”
Comments Sara Peake, Marketing Manager, ONEPOST:
“Introducing compatibility with GeMMA has made the Mailmark process much simpler and clients are experiencing the benefits of reduced costs and quicker turnaround of bulk campaigns. Sharing the Open Standard with the industry is a positive, collaborative move that benefits the whole industry.”
