Flat files are item level reports and the data source for the performance reports and the payment reckoners. They also offer additional information including rejected events, items that were carried-forward to the next month, or items for which there is a RESDES but not an EMD.

The flat files are created only for PRIME agreements’ signatories. Flat files exist for Registered, Exprès, Tracked, but not for Insured.

There are 6 types of flat files:

  • Pay item: Here you will find the items that were included in the reports and reckoners. The items are those that qualified for payment in the reporting month = items with EMD in the reporting month and items carried-forward from the previous month. This flat file contains the origin and destination of each item, its barcode, the date and time of each of the scans received (EDI events) and both the on-time info return status and the on-time delivery status, which are considered for performance calculation. From January 2019, the FF also shows the delivery/collection postcode and the delivery standard associated to that particular postcode. On-time info return status is shown in column Y. It can be “Info on time”, “Late info return”, or “Not available”, which the system catches as on-time. On-time delivery status refers to the delivery status of each item and is shown in column X. It is calculated against the delivery standards provided by each Post. Status can be one of the following:
    • No delivery info: No delivery events were sent for this item.
    • No-standard: If an item received an EMD scan in an OE that is not included in the delivery standards or if it received a delivery event (EMH/EDH/EMI) in a postcode that is not included in the delivery standards.
    • Out of sequence: If an item received delivery scans prior to the EMD scan.
    • On time: If delivery took place within the time considered in the delivery standards for the delivery postcode.
    • Delayed 1 day, Delayed 2 days, Delayed > 2 days: If an item was delivered late considering the delivery standards for the delivery postcode.
  • Carry-forward (new since 2021): shows items that are carried-forward to the next reporting period. If an item receives an EMD but no delivery events in the reporting month, it will be carried-forward to the next reporting run. If the item gets delivery events in the next month, it will be reported and calculated in sequence. If the item is still missing delivery, it will then be reported as missing delivery info.
  • Held en route: shows items that are carried-forward to the next reporting period, where the reason is ‘Held in customs’ or ‘En route’. For these items the last event was an EME (Held in customs) or an EMF (En route).
  • Import terminated: shows items for which there was an EDX event after an EMD and no further delivery events. These items are excluded from the volume in delivery calculation to avoid them from penalizing destination operators’ performance. If an item receives delivery events after the EDX, it will apply for payment and therefore be included in the reports as usual.
  • Rejevn: shows events (not items) that were rejected in the system. It can be due to an invalid barcode, to a duplicated event or to invalid population of any field in the EDI message. The reasons for an event to be rejected are explained in columns I and J. Only one event of each kind is considered for each item, so if an item receives, for instance, 3 EMH events, the 2 latest ones will be reported in the rejevn FF. If the sender and receiver country do not match with the origin and destination of an item in the EDI message, the event will be rejected and reported in the rejevn FF.
  • RESDES no EMD: shows items that received a RESDES scan but didn’t receive an EMD scan.  This flat file contains the dispatch and receptacle information, to help to identify if and why EMD scans are being missed at the OE. It also shows if customs or delivery events were transmitted for these items. Items contained in this file and having delivery events could have potentially applied for payment, but EMD is mandatory for an item to apply for payment.