ADDRESS FORWARDING FOR PARCELS

A method for sorting parcels may include reading, during a first sortation pass, machine readable indicia applied to the parcel prior to mailing and at least a portion of delivery address information on a parcel. The method may also include selecting a reference indicium from the machine readable indicia and creating an entry, corresponding to the reference indicia, in a first database, the entry including a portion of the delivery address information for the parcel and a value corresponding to the reference indicium. The method may also include determining whether the delivery address information has a corresponding forwarding order, and, if a corresponding forwarding order exists, modifying the delivery address information in accordance with the forwarding order. The method may include forwarding the entry to a second database different from the first database, the second database corresponding to the delivery address information. The method may include reading the machine readable indicia during a second sortation pass, subsequent to the first, identifying the reference indicium and retrieving the entry corresponding to the reference indicium from the second database, and sorting the parcel according to the portion of the delivery address information in the entry retrieved from the database. The method may also include delivering the parcel to a location corresponding to the delivery address information retrieved from the database, even if the delivery address information differs from the destination address originally applied to the parcel.