Poste Italiane tracking

Italian postal service since 1862 with financial activities

Poste Italiane is the national postal operator of Italy. Founded in 1862 shortly after the unification of the country, this institution has evolved from a simple public postal service into a modern and diversified group with multiple activities. While remaining at the heart of mail and parcel distribution in Italy, Poste Italiane also offers large-scale financial and insurance services, establishing itself as one of the largest service companies in the country. Thanks to its vast network of post offices spread throughout the Italian territory, Poste Italiane plays an essential role in the daily lives of citizens and the national economy.

History

The history of Poste Italiane dates back to the creation of the national postal service on May 5, 1862, when it was established to unify and modernize mail distribution in the new Kingdom of Italy. For over a century, the Italian Post (then known as Ente Poste Italiane) fulfilled a public service mission, playing a vital role in connecting people and institutions across the country. During major historical periods (notably the two world wars), the Post maintained communications and delivered mail under often difficult conditions, demonstrating its strategic importance.

In the second half of the 20th century, Poste Italiane undertook a gradual modernization of its infrastructure and methods, adopting automation and computing to improve mail processing efficiency. A major transformation occurred in the 1990s: in 1997, the public body was restructured into a joint-stock company under private law, while remaining majority-owned by the state. This change in legal status allowed Poste Italiane to gain management flexibility and expand its offerings beyond traditional postal services. Subsequently, the company continued to diversify (notably in banking and insurance) and improve its profitability. In 2015, a portion of Poste Italiane's capital was listed on the stock exchange as part of a partial privatization, opening a new market-oriented era. Today, while remaining under majority public control, Poste Italiane combines its legacy of universal service with a modern commercial approach.

Group structure and diversifications

Over time, Poste Italiane has developed an organizational structure covering several business sectors, making it a group with varied services:

• Postal and logistics services: The core business of Poste Italiane remains the collection, sorting, transportation, and distribution of mail and parcels. The company provides the universal postal service throughout the Italian territory, meaning it serves all areas of the country, from major urban centers to rural villages, for the delivery of mail and packages.
• Financial services: Poste Italiane is also a major player in the Italian financial sector through its BancoPosta division. In post offices, customers can open checking accounts and savings books, make transfers, pay bills, send money orders, and use Postepay payment cards. This local financial presence is particularly important in areas where banks are less represented.
• Insurance services: Through its subsidiary Poste Vita and other entities, Poste Italiane offers a variety of insurance products, such as life insurance, home insurance, car insurance, and health insurance. It relies on its vast distribution network to market these insurance products to the general public and businesses.
• Telecommunications: The group has expanded its offering to mobile telephony services with PosteMobile, a virtual operator that offers mobile services (calls, SMS, data) and mobile payment solutions. This diversification into telecoms is part of Poste Italiane's strategy to offer a complete range of services to its customers, beyond the postal sector.

Thanks to this diversification, Poste Italiane has become an integrated service platform. The different units of the group collaborate by leveraging the national network of post offices, allowing customers to access postal, banking, insurance, or telephony services under one roof. This versatile approach strengthens Poste Italiane's presence in the daily lives of Italians while contributing to the company's economic viability.

National presence and logistics network

With more than 12,000 post offices spread across Italy and a workforce of about 120,000 employees, Poste Italiane has the largest service network in the country. This extensive presence ensures that even rural or remote municipalities benefit from the group's postal, financial, and other services. The Poste Italiane brand inspires great trust among the Italian public, with its 160 years of history and tens of millions of regular customers.

On the logistics front, Poste Italiane relies on an extensive and modern infrastructure to ensure the efficient processing of mail and parcels. The group operates numerous automated sorting centers and strategically located distribution centers across the peninsula, allowing for optimized mail and package flow. To speed up long-distance shipments, Poste Italiane owns its own air transport company, Poste Air Cargo (formerly known as Mistral Air). This fleet of cargo planes dedicated to mail and parcels provides night flights between major Italian airports, so urgent shipments can travel overnight and be delivered the next morning. This entire network (combining road, rail, and air transport) gives Poste Italiane a logistics capability covering the entire national territory, with a high level of reliability.

Postal and delivery services

Poste Italiane offers a wide range of shipping services, tailored to the different needs of customers, whether individuals or businesses. For domestic shipments in Italy, several mail and parcel options are available, each with its own delivery and tracking characteristics:

• Posta 1: This is the fastest mail service for domestic shipments. Delivery is generally scheduled for the next business day after dispatch. This priority service is very reliable and suitable for urgent letters or small parcels requiring express delivery.
• Posta Prioritaria: This standard priority mail service aims for delivery in about 2 to 3 business days. It is commonly used for sending letters, documents, or small packages when timing is important but not necessarily express.
• Posta Raccomandata: This registered mail service provides proof of dispatch and receipt (recipient's signature upon delivery). The delivery time is generally 3 to 5 business days. Posta Raccomandata is preferred for important documents or valuable shipments, as it ensures detailed tracking and basic insurance in case of loss or damage.

In addition to these basic postal services, Poste Italiane offers specialized options, such as Posta Assicurata (insured mail). This service allows sending valuable items with ad valorem insurance and secure handling throughout the journey. Postage rates and shipping conditions vary depending on the chosen service, the weight and dimensions of the shipment, and its destination. It is recommended to consult the official Poste Italiane website or inquire at a post office for the most up-to-date rates and information before any important shipment.

For international shipments, Poste Italiane also offers a range of services tailored to the destination and urgency of the shipment:

• Posta Prioritaria Internazionale: Priority shipping service for abroad. Delivery time varies depending on the destination country, generally around 5 to 10 business days for many destinations. This service is used to send mail internationally economically while benefiting from some priority.
• Posta Raccomandata Internazionale: The international equivalent of registered mail, this service offers proof of deposit and delivery against signature in the destination country. Transit can take an average of 6 to 12 business days depending on distance and possible customs delays. It is a safe choice for sending important documents or parcels abroad with the ability to track their journey.

In addition to these classic solutions, Poste Italiane has express courier services to meet the needs of ultra-fast shipments. Domestically, its dedicated subsidiary SDA Express Courier handles express parcels and fast deliveries across Italy, with delivery times of about 1 to 2 business days depending on the national destination. These express shipments benefit from real-time tracking and generally delivery against signature for added security. For international shipments, Poste Italiane participates in the EMS (Express Mail Service) network, a global express postal service. EMS allows parcels to be sent abroad in much shorter times than standard priority mail (for example, in a few days to Europe or North America), relying on cooperation between national postal services of member countries. Furthermore, Poste Italiane has established a strategic partnership with the logistics group DHL to strengthen its parcel distribution capabilities, particularly for international e-commerce. This partnership includes, for example, the implementation of automated parcel lockers in Italy and the optimization of cross-border flows. All these express services and collaborations allow Poste Italiane to offer reduced transit times and better global connectivity for urgent shipments.

It should be noted that, despite the efficiency of Poste Italiane's logistics network, unforeseen events can sometimes impact the announced delivery times. External factors such as customs formalities, weather conditions, strikes, or periods of very high activity (for example, the Christmas period) can cause delays. Poste Italiane therefore invites its customers to use the online tracking system to stay informed of the status of their shipment in real-time and be alerted to any potential setbacks in the delivery process.

International capabilities and cooperation

On an international scale, Poste Italiane relies on cooperation between postal operators to ensure the transport and distribution of mail and parcels beyond Italian borders. As a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the Italian Post adheres to global agreements that facilitate the exchange of mail between countries. Specifically, when a parcel or letter is sent from Italy to another country, Poste Italiane transports it to the destination country (often to the nearest international exchange center to the recipient), then hands it over to the postal administration of the destination country, which will handle the final delivery. Conversely, shipments from abroad to Italy are handled by Poste Italiane once they enter Italian territory, whether via airports or international postal exchange centers.

Beyond this standardized collaboration between national postal services, Poste Italiane develops specific partnerships to improve its international logistics capabilities. For example, in 2021 the group acquired a majority stake of 51% in Sengi Express, a specialized logistics company based in China, to streamline and accelerate the distribution of e-commerce parcels between China and Italy. This type of initiative enhances the efficiency of the postal network in the context of booming cross-border parcel volumes. Similarly, the partnership with DHL mentioned earlier aims to leverage the expertise of this global logistics leader to develop innovative solutions in Italy (such as locker networks for parcel pickup) and to optimize the delivery of international packages. By collaborating with other postal operators and transport companies, Poste Italiane expands the reach of its services while maintaining a high level of quality for customers.

It should be noted, however, that Poste Italiane's services abroad may differ from those offered on Italian soil, as they depend on agreements with local partners and the infrastructure available in each country. Nevertheless, the sending or receiving customer generally benefits from service continuity thanks to shared shipment tracking. Indeed, a tracking number issued by Poste Italiane is usually recognized by the postal service of the destination country, allowing the shipment's progress to be tracked even once it is handled by the foreign post. This interconnection between tracking systems ensures that, for the end user, the delivery experience remains as seamless as possible, wherever the parcel is located.

Shipment tracking

Shipment tracking is an essential service offered by Poste Italiane to provide transparency and peace of mind to senders and recipients. Each important shipment (parcel, registered mail, etc.) is assigned a unique identification number, called a tracking number, which allows its journey to be traced from the initial deposit to the final delivery. Generally, the format of an Italian Post tracking number conforms to international postal standards: it starts with two letters, followed by nine digits, and ends with two additional letters. Often, these last two letters correspond to the ISO code of the country of origin, for example, IT for Italy. A valid tracking number example could be RA123456789IT - in this example, "RA" typically indicates a Raccomandata (registered) shipment, the digits form a unique identifier, and "IT" confirms that the shipment is handled by the Italian Post.

Armed with this number, customers can track the progress of their shipment at each stage. Poste Italiane provides an online tracking portal on its official website, as well as a mobile app, where simply entering the tracking number provides the latest available information. Each time the parcel or letter progresses through the postal network, its status is updated. For example, tracking will indicate when the shipment was accepted at the counter or picked up by the postman, when it was sorted at a postal center, if it left a transit center, if it is undergoing customs clearance (for international shipments), if it is en route for final delivery, or when it was actually delivered to the recipient. These real-time or near-real-time updated information allow senders to verify that their shipment is following the planned course, and recipients to prepare for the receipt of their parcel.

From a technical standpoint, tracking is made possible by the systematic scanning of shipments at each point of passage. Each tracked parcel or letter has a barcode label (or a QR code) that is scanned at key stages: acceptance, entry and exit from sorting centers, customs presentation, delivery setup, etc. Each scan generates a timestamped status update in the computer system. In the case of international shipments, Poste Italiane transmits tracking data to the postal network of the next or destination country via international exchange systems (such as the UPU's ITMATT system, used to share tracking and customs information between posts). Thus, the same tracking number will generally allow the parcel to be tracked even once it arrives abroad, with information available either on the Poste Italiane website or on the destination country's postal website. This tracking interoperability ensures continuity of information for the customer.

Below is a list of the most commonly encountered tracking statuses during the journey of a Poste Italiane shipment, with their meaning in English

Common tracking statuses