CEN/TS 14631:2003

This Technical Specification specifies a mechanism for the unique identification of individual receptacles. It defines the method of construction of the identifier, referred to as the receptacle asset number, and specifies one required and a number of optional methods by which this identifier may be associated with (affixed to) the receptacle itself.The receptacle asset number is defined in accordance with the specification of data identifier number 5B, B being the data identifier category associated with container information.The Technical Specification also identifies a number of receptacle attributes, or characteristics, which it may be useful to communicate between parties making use of the receptacle concerned.A coded representation of one of these attributes - equipment qualifier - is integrated into the recommended structure of the receptacle asset number. The others are not defined in detail in this document. Precise definitions and encoding formats for them will be developed over time, as a result of practical experience of use of the Technical Specification. The definitions will be included in an appropriate reference specification, such as UPU standards S25 [16] and M82 [9], which serve as baseline definition documents for attributes used in postal industry communications about postal items, mail aggregates and receptacles.