The SAFEPOST Project

The SAFEPOST Project in a nutshell
Programme area: EC DG Enterprise and Industry
Status: On-going
Duration: 2012-2016
Contract number:  FP7-SEC-2011-285104

Summary

SAFEPOST, “Reuse and development of Security Knowledge assets for International Postal supply chains”, is a four year Integration project addressing the FP7-SEC-2011.2.4- 1 International Postal Supply Chains. The project started on the 1st April 2012 and is funded by the European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry.

The aim of the SAFEPOST project is to further raise the current level of postal security by integrating innovative detection and screening solutions. SAFEPOST will provide the necessary and sufficient security level to satisfy evolving international regulations and standards while efficiently supporting the complexity of the evolving postal services market across Europe. Very importantly, it will do this without increasing costs, as the improvements in processing time will more than compensate for increased screening requirements, both in terms of elapsed time and overall distribution cost.

Starting from the perspective of the partner postal operators, the project will use a cost-benefit method to identify the main security gaps and will describe security measures to maintain or augment the efficient and secure operation of these posts. After making an inventory of security gaps these will be developed into generic postal security models which will be integrated into a European Security Framework for Postal Supply Chains, which will enable postal operators, customs and other relevant actors to securely exchange information related not only to security but also optimization of postal flows.

Expected Results

 SAFEPOST will provide and showcase a novel solution for postal security combining:

• Security performance enhancing solutions for postal operators;
• Postal operations efficiency improvements to compensate for time lost in screening;
• EU coverage to raise level of postal security across all member states;
• A Postal Security Platform facilitating interoperability and integration of solutions across all domains.

The results of the SAFEPOST project will have a strategic impact as it is designed to make a significant contribution in the following areas: 

• Improving the EU’s awareness and coordination of activities within and between EU Member States in the field of Postal Security and developments in Supply Chain Security;
• Linking EU projects from DG MOVE, DG TAXUD, DG JLS, DG ENTR or DG JRC11 and national efforts, to exploit synergies and created a coordinated approach to security throughout the entire supply chain;
• Encouraging all European post offices and related authorities to assume responsibility in securing their own processes within a European wide cooperative distributed model;
• Creating transparency on the way postal security measures are enforced, and providing benchmarks;
• Establishing a Europe wide forum to discuss and agree on a Postal Security Target Operating Model which will provide the basis for standardization

Publication

SafePost Brochure