Royal Mail’s shipping system, Despatch Express, will be replaced by Despatch Manager Online from midnight tonight (Thursday 28th February 2013).
Despatch Express is Royal Mail’s software solution for printing postage, if you use Royal Mail Tracked or similar products you may have been using it. Despatch Manager Online performs similar functions, but with a cloud based solution accessed through the Royal Mail website.
If you currently use a third party vendor’s software solution for printing your Royal Mail labels make sure they’re ready for Despatch Manager Online rather than Despatch Express. It may incur an extra integration charge but if you’re not already set up you won’t be able to print your labels with Despatch Express on Friday morning.
If you currently use Despatch Express you should have already received correspondence from Royal Mail, regarding the steps you need to take to change over to Despatch Manager Online. If you have any queries you can contact Royal Mail on 08456 047 267, Option 3.
2 Responses
DMO was down again on Monday with a server error for at least two hours, busiest postage day of the week. Royal Mail need to get the reliability sorted as there is now no alternative.
Also DMO does not handle foreign characters – it rejects all addresses for Greece and Russia, and any names with accents.
They stated that migration from DE to DMO would require no changes to internal systems (for on demand label production) yet I have spent all this week working on our internal systems to make them work with DMO (been working fine with DE for 4 years).
18 Months ago if you’d have asked me what I thought about Downstream Access operators I would have said they were parasites feeding off of the Royal Mail.
With all the hassle and changes Royal Mail have dished out in the last years I now say – bring it on – give Royal Mail a boot up the backside if they get some serious competition.
I also notice the removal of the 0-250, 250-500, 500-750 and 750-100 for the packets service – just 0-1kg now at a price which is very similar to myHermes for a 1kg parcel.
Its a shame.