You rent a physical postal address (there are free and premium options) and get your post sent to it, just as you would with a traditional mail forwarding service. If you want to know how forwarding works with mail redirection, you should read our explainer about post redirection, as this is a separate service on its own.Īs a standalone service, mail forwarding is simple and straightforward.
That’s it - no artificial intelligence or robotic hamsters, just an outdated method improved using the internet and technology. In reality, and in this instance, it’s merely used to say that part of the mail forwarding process takes place online. What is “Virtual Mail Forwarding” and “Online Post Management?”Ĭhuck around the word “virtual” and people tend to think of the future - a world where robots have saved humanity, or destroyed it, depending on your outlook. The features of your forwarding address will depend on the supplier, but think of it as a pit-stop for your mail that you can then action and organise as and when you need to. When used in combination with online mail management and the ability to action your mail on the move, it becomes particularly useful. Your mail forwarding address is somewhere you can receive mail, ready for it to get forwarded to another location. It’s no wonder that it’s been the focus of innovation. So to summarise - it’s expensive, inflexible and slow. If the final destination isn’t in the UK, you’ll be waiting a while for it to turn up. It’s also inflexible you set an address for your post to be forwarded onto and that’s where it’ll go if you want it sent somewhere else, you’ll at least need to fire off a few emails or get on the phone to change your preferences. The combined service and outbound carriage fees prevent many from considering it as an option. Typically, the cost of traditional mail forwarding is too high for many small businesses owners and individuals.
What’s wrong with traditional mail forwarding? You’re not restricted to one forwarding destinate, and you’ll also benefit from supplementary features such as managing your post online, document scanning etc. Post forwarding allows you to forward all of your mail from one location to another, whereas virtual mail forwarding means you can forward each individual item on a case by case basis. The difference between post forwarding and virtual mail forwarding? When items arrive they’re forwarded on to the address of your choosing. Often set up to work in conjunction with a Royal Mail Redirection, you get a new physical address which can be used to receive both redirected and direct mail.
Mail forwarding is the process of post being sent to one address, then posted on to its final destination. In this post we look at what Mail forwarding is and how the internet, along with technology companies, have changed it forever. Mail forwarding and post management in general is no different. The internet has revolutionised many industries, making things cheaper, faster and on the whole better. You can now use virtual addresses to receive your mail, ready for you to forward on. Mail forwarding services in the UK have been around for decades, but it’s only in the last ten years that we’ve seen a huge step forward in how they work.