Direct Entry Solutions (DES), which was established in 2003 and provides a wholesale mail distribution and translation service, has signed a contract to act as an extra-territorial office of exchange (ETOE) in the UK.

The deal, signed on 1 June, effectively makes Heathrow-based DES a branch of Austrian Post, which will operate in the UK from July.

This is Austrian Post’s second international branch. The first, in Bonn, Germany is wholly owned by Austrian Post.

Chief executive of DES Phil Coleman said of the deal: “It’s huge. We’ve spent that whole time [since 2003] being an office-based supply management company,” adding that Austrian Post would benefit from its experience in international post. Coleman himself has also been in the market since 1996.

“The UK is a highly competitive market, one needs to know the buying and selling landscape really well. We’re also an industry established within the UK. We have established relationships and a very good reputation.”

Coleman said he believes DES’s commitment to wholesale and its supply chain monitoring software PostPort, which enables clients to log and manage the individual mailings of their clients, will give the Austrian Post service an edge over other suppliers. Similarly PacketPort offers clients a global deferred track-and-trace parcel delivery service.

He said as much as 75% of the cost of a printed campaign is postage, so knowing they can get a competitive price and will not lose the business to their client is key to DM printers.

 “We are going to support the wholesale industry 100%; we’ll only deal with printers, mailing houses and agencies, not their clients,” he said.

Thomas Auböck, Austrian Post Mail & Branch Network senior vice-president, key and business accounts, said: “We see a major opportunity here with DES to offer wholesalers a viable and trusted postal service. The UK is an important market and DES is a respected player and a reliable partner of Austrian Post.”