Conquering - UPUnews.upu.int/fileadmin/magazine/2019/EN/revueUnionPostale_Summer_2019_En.pdfand...

Building trust with PosTransfer

Encouraging Posts to venture out of the comfort zone

Cover story

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Conquering the digital divide

Summer 2019

#UPU145

2 3UNION POSTALEMOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875

The WADP Numbering System (WNS)

Postage stamps? Let’s get real!

Find every legal stamp issued by the world’s issuing authorities, with easy access to online philatelic stores worldwide.

Collect with confidence!The WNS is managed by the World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP), through the Universal Postal Union.

More information:

www.wnsstamps.post

BIG DATA

UPU’s big data: How it works and where it’s headedBillions of letters and parcels traverse the globe each year, with Posts exchanging electronic data on everything from their location to the cost of shipping. The UPU is finding new ways to mine this wealth of information.

INTERVIEW

Encouraging Posts to venture out of the comfort zoneFollowing the UPU’s Forum on “Shaping postal financial services in a digital economy”, Union Postale sat down with keynote speaker and FutureLab Consulting Managing Partner, Moses Ma, to talk about how the Post could leapfrog the tech industry, to have a positive impact not only on postal business, but also on society.

IN BRIEF

UPU launches 145th anniversary celebrationsOn 9 October 1874, 22 countries agreed to sign the Treaty of Berne, creating an intergovernmen-tal body committed to developing a single postal territory to serve the entire globe, known today as the Universal Postal Union. In 2019, now with 192 countries, the UPU is celebrating 145 years of “delivering development” to the postal sector.

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SOLUTION SPOTLIGHT

Building trust with PosTransferAcknowledging the role of postal operators in fostering financial inclusion and reducing poverty, the UPU introduced the PosTransfer trademark for postal payment services in 2015 as a means to build trust, particularly among migrant workers seeking reliable and affordable remittance services to send money home to their families. PosTransfer also aims to increase the profile of designated operators in the competitive market of electronic money transfers.

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FOREWORDChoosing the right path

EDITOR’S NOTEA drive for digital

IN BRIEFFirst UPU services to be accessed by wider sector players

Who’s who at the UPU Montserrat Weinig, Receptionist, Telephonist

UPU to hold third Extraordinary Congress

The Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF)

MARKET FOCUSAn Post gives homeless people an address to call their own

Turkish Post’s Post Café brings new look to post offices with traditional hospitality

IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS

DIGEST

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COVER STORY

Conquering the digital divide With billions around the globe still lacking access to the Internet and other essential information communication technologies (ICTs), governments, international organizations and private sector companies alike are trying to answer one of our modern world’s key questions: how can we bridge the digital divide? The Universal Postal Union is working to encourage Posts to be part of the answer by making digital transformation a priority.

FEATURES

The new face of philatelyInnovations and digitization are offering Post’s philatelic programmes increasing opportunities in what has become a multi-billion dollar market.

CONTENTS

UNION POSTALE is the Universal Postal Union’s flagship magazine, founded in 1875. It is published quarterly in seven languages and takes a closer look at UPU activities, featuring international news and developments from the postal sector.

The magazine regularly publishes well researched articles on topical issues facing the industry, as well as interviews with the sector’s leading individuals. It is distributed widely to the UPU’s 192 member countries, including thousands of decision-makers from governments and Posts, as well as other postal stake holders. All regard it as an important source of inform ation about the UPU and the postal sector at large.

UNION POSTALE is also published in French, Arabic, Chinese, German, Russian and Spanish.

The Universal Postal Union neither endorses any products or services offered by third-party advertisers nor guarantees the veracity of any claims made by the same. Opinions expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the UPU.

It is expressly forbidden to reproduce any part of UNION POSTALE magazine (including text, images or illustrations) without prior permission.

Summer 2019Refers to the season in the country of publication.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Kayla Redstone (KR)

AUTHORS: David Dadge (DD), Olena Muravyova (OM)

DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Sonja Denovski COVER PHOTO: Starline/FreepikSUBSCRIPTIONS: [email protected]: [email protected]

CONTACT:UNION POSTALE International Bureau Universal Postal UnionP.O. Box 3123000 BERNE 15SWITZERLANDPHONE: +41 31 350 31 11E-MAIL: [email protected]: news.upu.int/magazine

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FEATURES

Change is not an optionWith over 30 years’ experience in the international postal industry, Derek Osborn is a leading business coach at Whatnext4u, where he facilitates postal business events and “masterclasses” to share industry knowledge and latest developments. He is also a consultant advising the UPU on how to bring fresh ideas and innovation to its World Postal Business Forum held at the Parcel and Post Expo.

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6 7MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875

A DRIVE FOR DIGITAL

Readers may notice a theme across this issue.

Our cover story leads the way, zeroing in on how the Post can play its part in bridging the digital divide and giving case studies of several designated operators already leading the way. An accompanying interview with innovation consultant, Moses Ma, provides encouragement and advice to quicken the pace of innovation.

Features on UPU’s big data activities, the effects of the Internet on the philatelic market and a spotlight on UPU’s PosTransfer solution for postal payments services serve to support the focus on innovation.

Finally, readers will have a sneak peek into the discussions they can expect from this September’s UPU World Postal Business Forum, which will also dig into the importance of digital transformation to the Post’s sustainability.

With this issue we’ve reintroduced something which is long overdue – our annual readership survey. We want to hear what you enjoy about our magazine, but also what you think can be improved. We’re looking forward to your feedback so we can continue to produce a publication that adds value for its readers.

Happy reading.

Kayla Redstone, Editor-in-chief

EDITOR’S NOTE

FOREWORD

Choosing the right path

I see the UPU’s role as an outlier for transformation and renewal throughout the industry, an unabashed cheerleader for digitalization, e-commerce and financial services. Without the industry as a whole making this successful change, however, profitability is that much harder. A tantalizingly close, yet unrealized aspiration. The UPU is making inroads globally, but there is much to do.

The UPU is also driven by one overarching ambition: One world. One postal network. A unified network capable of absorbing the latest technologies and improving our services to customers. To do this, we are road testing a new postal vision in every region. A new approach rooted in retooling the UPU for the 21st Century. There are four key areas: encouraging governments to decrease gaps in postal development; harmonizing regulations; enhancing operational performance and encouraging greater integration of the private sector and public institutions into the international postal sector.

These approaches will hopefully form the Abidjan 2020 strategy and I firmly believe they can go on to catalyze the UPU’s work, as well as the entire sector. But first the interna-tional postal sector has to be courageous enough to choose the right path.

It is worth remembering that in Lewis Carroll’s story Alice tells the Cheshire Cat she wishes to go “somewhere.” As the Director General of the Universal Postal Union I would respectfully suggest that the industry cannot afford to take any path – it must be the right one.

Bishar A. Hussein, Director General, Universal Postal Union

Tokyo Congress, we have striven at every successive Congress to improve and refine the rates. At the Istanbul Congress, in 2016, I thought we had finally settled on a way to resolve this issue to the satisfaction of all. It was not to be. Regrettably, the new rates did not kick in soon enough to convince the United States to follow a different path.

Now, we are having a third Extraordinary Congress in Geneva starting on 24 September to settle this matter and to move on to the many other challenges we face. As the head of the International Bureau, it is not for me to influence the process or the thinking of member countries. These are sovereign issues and we have always respected the rights of member countries to set their own course. Nevertheless, I also feel that, as the UPU’s Director General, I am uniquely tasked to highlight existential threats to the Union and to indicate the need for suitable corrective measures.

Solving the issue of remuneration rates, and hopefully retaining the membership of the United States, is but one step in the right direction. It is crucial because close cooperation and partnership are essential to face down the industry’s numerous challenges. Achieving profitability is the target of every designated postal operator. Some postal operators have managed this goal, while others have not.

When meeting the Cheshire Cat at the crossroads in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Alice declares that she does not care much where she goes. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” replies the Cheshire Cat. Although a certain lack of direction might be acceptable for a character in a work of fiction, a time of uncertainty is not a solid platform for a UN specialized agency that has led the international postal sector for 145 years.

Like Alice, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) currently finds itself at a fork in the road while awaiting a decision that could have a severe impact on the organization’s direction. Since the Government of the United States of America’s announcement to withdraw from the Union – the first country to ask to do so in our long history – I have dedicated myself to working with my senior management team to create a process empowering member countries to discuss and reach agreement on this issue.

We have known for a long time that the remuneration system was not fit-for-purpose, but also that it could not be fixed overnight. This is why, since the creation of the remuneration system at the 1969

I see the UPU’s role as an outlier for transformation and renewal throughout the industry, an unabashed cheerleader for digitaliza-tion, e-commerce and financial services.

8 MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875

UPU member countries attending the Postal Operations Council (POC) and Council of Administration (CA) sessions in April made strides toward granting wider postal sector players access to the UPU’s products and services.

During the sessions, they supported a proposal to allow priority partners such as customs authorities and airlines to access the organization’s supply chain–related IT services. The move will help improve the efficiency of customs clearance, transport and security across the postal network. Until now, these services were only available to designated postal operators of UPU member countries. It will also allow the UPU to develop a centralized platform where supply chain stakeholders can access what they need when they need it.

The proposal included several guiding principles and operational conditions for granting access. For example, the wider access should contribute to the mission of the Union by simplifying the interconnec-tion of designated operators with other stakeholders that play an essential role in the postal supply chain, such as airlines, customs organizations, ground handlers and other transport companies.

The move is the culmination of two years of studies and represents a first step in implementing a mandate given by the 2016 Universal Postal Congress.

In developing an access policy for wider postal sector players, the UPU hopes to enhance cooperation and interaction among stakeholders to ensure that the postal sector keeps abreast with changing customer needs.

Since 2016, POC and CA committees have worked to develop a policy to meet this objective, based on the important general principles of fairness, quality, transparency, openness and data protection, while maintaining the UPU’s integrity and independence. This work involves defining roles and demonstrated access needs for different players and developing the legal, financial and operational conditions for access.

The councils will continue studying the possibility of opening up other UPU products and services to wider postal sector players in the future, such as the organization’s postal payment services, training platform and Online Solution for Carbon Analysis and Reporting. This could include granting access to entities such as customer organizations, postal suppliers and other non-designated operators participating in UPU activities and associated with international postal services. KR

IN BRIEF

First UPU services to be accessed by wider sector players

UPU launches 145th anniversary celebrations

Although the organization’s official birthday – known as World Post Day – is celebrated on 9 October, the UPU has already launched a series of activities to celebrate its 145-year record as a driver of multilateralism for international postal cooperation.

In his official statement on the anniversary, Director General Bishar A. Hussein described the organization as “a byword for postal innovation and creativity”.

He noted that the UPU’s activities and programmes strove to help both developed and developing nations transform in step with the fast pace of technological innovation.

“Against this background, the theme we have chosen for our 145th anniversary year, which best exemplifies our commitment to our member countries and postal operators, is ‘delivering development’,” Mr Hussein added.

“This phrase captures our ceaseless search to find new and innovative ways to deliver value to the international postal network.”

IN BRIEF

TEXT: Kayla Redstone


On 9 October 1874, 22 countries agreed to sign the Treaty of Berne, creating an intergovernmental body committed to developing a single postal territory to serve the entire globe, known today as the Universal Postal Union. In 2019, now with 192 countries, the UPU is celebrating 145 years of “delivering development” to the postal sector.

11UNION POSTALE10 MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875

OutreachRecognizing its role as a United Nations specialized agency, the UPU launched its celebrations on 1 May by unveiling a wall at its Berne headquarters dedicated to the 17 goals under the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Opening the ceremony, which was attended by staff of the International Bureau, UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz underscored the UPU’s commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

“Every day the postal network is supporting businesses and consumers, addressing the need for rural infrastructure and development, and enabling health workers to reach out to disabled people. All of these activities are helping to achieve the 2030 Agenda,” he said.

The UPU joined the UN family in 1948.

Later in May, members of the Swiss diplomatic corps, local government and heads of intergovernmental organizations, as well as UPU staff, gathered for the ceremonial planting of a linden tree in the UPU’s gardens. The linden was chosen because its bark was traditionally used for writing letters.

“Such a tree is a fitting motif for the UPU’s own 145-year history and the emphasis we place on communication, and on building cooperation globally,” said the UPU Deputy Director General.

During the ceremony, musician Felix Peijnenborgh from Berne’s University of the Arts treated guests to an interlude on the post horn, an instrument that was historically used by Posts around the globe to announce a mail carrier’s arrival and departure.

For those on social media, the UPU has launched a campaign to count down 145 days to World Post Day, sharing one fact about each year of the organization’s existence, each day. You can follow along on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn using #UPU145. KR

UPU LAUNCHES 145TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

Senior management poses in front of the new SDG wall.

Felix Peijnenborgh serenades the audience with an interlude on the post horn.

“Every day the postal network is supporting businesses and consumers, addressing the need for rural infrastructure and development, and enabling health workers to reach out to disabled people. All of these activities are helping to achieve the 2030 Agenda.”

#UPU145

Being a UPU gatekeeper is certainly challenging. There are three receptionists at the IB, but normally only one at a time. “This means you have to deal with very different issues by yourself.” For example, they need to perform security functions and have a sixth sense for safety.

“You need to be always very diplomatic, polite and professional,” Weinig says. With many customers entering the UPU’s doors every day, the real challenge is keeping everyone happy. “I never tell anyone ‘I don’t know’ because it’s unprofessional. I say, ‘Let me ask,’ and then I try to do anything to meet their needs,” Weinig explains. The same goes for her colleagues at the IB.

While working at Swiss Radio International she completed psychological training, where she learned how to deal with high stress. “When I come to work, I often do not know what to expect. However, I am always mentally prepared for any spontaneous situation,” Weinig says.

“It’s like you are on a stage and you have to project confidence and positivity regardless of what you are feeling because people coming here can have different emotions. You see more than they tell you.” She adds that the receptionist is often the first person with whom people interact in the morning, and this first vibe needs to be positive. “In a way, it is a little bit like being a psychologist,” she explains.

Weinig is incredibly grateful to work for the UPU. “It is a door to the world. I have learned a lot here and I think I am in the right place. I feel very lucky.”

Weinig plans to retire in a couple years and to pursue her artistic passion. Aquarelle paintings, pottery, handmade interior design, travelling and studying foreign languages are just a few projects on her list. An active environmentalist, she plans to focus more on her interest in recycled fashion. She would also like to dedicate herself to voluntary work, helping people in South America and Africa.

“There are many great people like Mahatma Gandhi who inspire me, but there are also so many little people who I admire for their kindness. I think they understand life. My biggest inspiration has always been my grandmother. She taught me to be humble. I would like to follow her example and to do my little part to make this world a happier place.” OM

Montserrat Weinig joined the UPU 15 years ago. She started her career path at the age of 18 as a technical telephonist at Swiss Post, later working as a receptionist at Swiss Radio International (SRI) for 12 years. During her time at SRI, Weinig really enjoyed working with people from different countries, so she went on to study tourism and worked for a local tourist agency. However, raising two children by herself was quite challenging and compelled her to look for a more stable job. Eventually, she became an ambulance administrator at a Swiss hospital in Burgdorf. “During my career, I have always dealt with people. Working in the hospital, I learned a lot from peoples’ different stories.”

Weinig was delighted to move back to Berne when she found a job at the UPU’s International Bureau (IB), where she is able to work in the type of international setting she so enjoys.

“Every day I come to work with joy. I love it – it is never routine.” She adds that the people she meets at the IB have different mentalities and ways of life, which she says inspires her and keeps her open-minded. “I try making them feel that they are home, that they are not strangers.” Guests to the IB are very important to her and she welcomes them with hospitality. “I never fake my smile,” she says sincerely.

Weinig loves communicating with people and being fluent in so many languages helps. Aside from Catalan, which she considers her mother tongue, she speaks Spanish, English, German, French, Italian and Portuguese. She believes people feel more relaxed and understood when they hear their native language.

Name Montserrat Weinig

Directorate Logistics

Position Receptionist, Telephonist

Nationality Swiss with Spanish-French background

WHO

’S W

HO

WHO’S WHO AT THE UPU

13UNION POSTALE

What are terminal dues?

The terminal dues system was established by the 1969 Tokyo Congress as a means to compensate destination countries for the cost of handling, transporting and delivering letter-post items across borders. The methodology for calculating the rates is typically reviewed and further improved during each quadrennial Universal Postal Congress.

UPU TO HOLD THIRD EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESS

UPU to hold third Extraordinary Congress

would also move all countries into the same grouping in 2020 for the purposes of the application of the terminal dues system. As a second step, Option C would introduce self-declared rates as prescribed in Option B, but with an additional protection based on maximum revenue increases over a period from 2021 to 2025, to avoid price hikes and ensure business predictability for sending countries.

The third Extraordinary Congress will be held this 24-25 September at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG). The Congress will be asked to vote on the possibility of a half-day extension of the meeting to 26 September to allow time for member countries to approve and sign any necessary Additional Protocol to the Universal Postal Convention. An extraordinary session of the Postal Operations Council (POC) will be held on the afternoon of 26 September so it can consider and approve any required changes to the UPU Regulations resulting from the Extraordinary Congress decisions.

For information and updates on the third Extraordinary Congress, please visit www.upu.int/en/congress. KR

The current terminal dues system entered into force in January 2018 as amended by the 2016 Istanbul Congress. The current system applies a methodology based on postal development indexes, with the goal of moving all countries into a single system over time as the quality of postal networks improve.

Revisions under the first proposal, known as “Option A”, would see the continuation of the current methodology and parameters decided in Istanbul, but would accelerate its implementation by bringing forward to 2020 rate increases for bulky letters and small packets mandated for 2021 and by moving all countries into the same grouping for the purposes of the application of the terminal dues system.

Option B would allow countries to self declare their rates on an optional basis as of 2020. Country-specific ceiling rates would prevent excessively high terminal dues.

Option C, also known as the “convergence proposal”, is also a move towards self-declared rates, in a staged way, for their implementation on an optional basis as of 2021. Option C combines important features of both options A and B. As a first step, Option C would accelerate the implementation in 2020 of rate increases for bulky letters and small packets mandated for 2021 and at higher levels than in Option A. It

“This decision underscores the importance member countries attach to keeping the UPU intact and responsive to the needs of all. I am confident that, as always, the UPU will be guided by the spirit of dialogue and cooperation to find the required solutions in Geneva,” said the UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein on the Congress’ announcement.

In April, the UPU Council of Administration (CA) recommended that countries hold an Extraordinary Congress to facilitate discussion and fast track possible changes to the remuneration system for delivering international letters and small packets, also known as the terminal dues system. This was in response to cost-coverage and market distortion concerns raised by several countries, including the United States of America, which cited the remuneration of small packets as its main concern driving its intention to withdraw from the UPU by October 2019.

Three optionsThe Extraordinary Congress will review three proposed options on the future of the terminal dues system sent forward by the CA and the Postal Operations Council (POC) in a joint proposal.

IN BRIEF


In a decision taken by postal ballot, the UPU’s member countries have agreed to convene a third Extraordinary Congress in Geneva this September to discuss revisions to the international postal remuneration system.


The UPU holds a Conference of Postal regulation themed “UPU Remuneration Systems – New Frontiers for an Old World?”, where it hears a variety of stakeholder views on the terminal dues system. A publication on the Conference proceedings is to be published.

9 April 2019

The CA selects three options for the future of the UPU remuneration systems and instructs member countries to choose, by postal ballot, whether they would like to decide on the three options by postal ballot or at an Extraordinary Congress.

10 April 2019

The UPU receives the required number of valid postal ballots to announce member countries’ decision to hold a third Extraordinary Congress.

7 June 2019

The UPU Director General receives a letter from the Government of the United States of America notifying the UPU of its intent to with-draw from the organiza-tion’s treaties effective one year from the date of receipt.

17 October 2018

The CA decides on a work plan to fast-track discussions in the POC and the CA on the UPU’s remuneration system and agrees to submit pro-posals to the April 2019 CA session.

25 October 2018

UPU opens its public consul-tation on the UPU remunera-tion system, calling for papers on the subject for a flagship publication to be released in 2019.

11 December 2018

The POC’s Remuneration Integration Group and the CA’s Expert Team on Remuneration meet in Berne to discuss proposals on the remuneration system and suggest options for deciding on these proposals before the next Congress.

22 February 2019


BUILDING TRUST WITH POSTRANSFERSOLUTION SPOTLIGHT

This revitalized postal trademark is now registered in over 110 countries and is based on real-time technology and high-quality standards thanks to an interconnection platform that links postal operators to the UPU’s International Financial System – a software application designed for the real-time exchange of international electronic postal money orders.

Once deployed by the operator, the technology behind the PosTransfer brand enables customers to benefit from a highly innovative money transfer service, with a favourable pricing mechanism. Furthermore, its adoption facilitates multilateral agreements with other operators using the trademark, speeding up the process of increasing the brand’s geographical coverage.

Adopting PosTransfer means Posts have to comply with agreed quality of service standards, requiring them to deliver money orders within a guaranteed period of time – a draw factor for clients who want to know their money will arrive when their family needs it.

Using PosTransfer also gives operators access to compelling advertising campaign materials to draw customers to the service. Recently the UPU finalized the work on this set of promotional tools, which includes slogans, flyers, posters, roll-up displays, merchandising materials, a PosTransfer animated logo and online ads.

Nine countries – Armenia, Belarus, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, France, Iran, Madagascar and Morocco – are currently in the final stage of adopting the PosTransfer trademark in their operations, based on a regional approach. The network has now established coverage across the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and it continues to grow.

If you would like to learn more about PosTransfer, please contact Sergey Dukelskiy, Financial Services and Financial Inclusion Coordinator, at [email protected].

Building trust with PosTransfer

TEXT: UPU Financial Services and Financial Inclusion Programme

Acknowledging the role of postal operators in fostering financial inclusion and reducing poverty, the UPU introduced the PosTransfer trademark for postal payment services in 2015 as a means to build trust, particularly among migrant workers seeking reliable and affordable remittance services to send money home to their families. PosTransfer also aims to increase the profile of designated operators in the competitive market of electronic money transfers.

Testimonial: HayPost CEO, Haik AvagyanArmenia was one of the first countries to commit to the PosTransfer initiative. What motivated you to adopt the new service so quickly? HayPost CJSC, the national postal operator of the Republic of Armenia, is always open to new opportunities and challenges. We welcomed the initiative to launch a new, modernized money transfer service among postal operators under the common brand Postransfer because of the high demand for such a system by our customers. We have customers who are loyal to postal transfers and, even though there are many competitors with cheaper fees, they prefer to send and receive money transfers from post offices. We are sure the demand will be bigger if we offer a faster, more secure and more affordable remittance service. HayPost believes that PosTransfer represents a new era for the remittance business – that is the reason why we have not hesitated to adopt the service.

How do you think the PosTransfer brand will help build trust among your client base?

As mentioned before, we have a base of customers who are loyal to postal services.

HayPost ensures its presence with 886 post offices working six days per week across the Republic of Armenia, of which 752 post offices have an Internet connection and the remainder operate in an offline mode. Furthermore, HayPost is actively upgrading its infrastructure, and many more offices will be part of the online platform according to our development plans.

Having a wide network allows us to reach clients from urban areas to the most remote rural regions, guaranteeing maximum access to all of our services. Approximately 36% of our population live in rural areas, and they represent the main recipients of the cash flows sent to Armenia from abroad.

These statistics ensure that there will be demand for and acceptance of the product. Based on that, we affirm our willingness and capacity to implement PosTransfer in order to continue strengthening our relationship of trust with our customer base.

How will using PosTransfer enable cooperation with other Posts around the globe?PosTransfer envisages the collection and payment of money transfers through the networks of postal operators, using the latest telecommunication systems. The funds will be available for receipt online, according to common UPU-developed operational and technological standards. The Posts will cooperate with each other in building unique standards as well as helping to organize the full process of sending and receiving money transfers. The Posts will also implement marketing initiatives and campaigns to attract clients and promote PosTransfer.

What would you say to encourage other postal operators to use the brand?We highly recommend using the brand because the more member countries support this initiative, the more the network will grow and the greater the benefits will be, for both member countries and customers. We believe that the brand will become known worldwide and will stand alongside the main competitor systems.

Once deployed by the operator, the technology behind the PosTransfer brand enables customers to benefit from a highly innovative money transfer service, with a favourable pricing mechanism. Furthermore, its adoption facilitates multilateral agreements with other operators using the trademark, speeding up the process of increasing the brand’s geographical coverage.


Near the end of 2018, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) released its latest projections global and regional ICT uptake, estimating by that the end of the year some 51.2 percent of the world’s population, or 3.9 billion people, would be using the Internet. While the figure marks an improvement in global connectivity rates, it shows that half the population is still left behind.

Aiming to find innovative ways to make the so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” an inclusive one, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres gathered a UN High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation to study how technology could be used to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The panel, led by Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Alibaba founder Jack Ma, released its report, “The Age of Digital Interdependence”, in June 2019.

It outlined recommendations in five priority areas: an inclusive digital economy and society; human and institutional capacity; human rights and human agency; trust, security and stability; and global digital cooperation. The group even suggested the need for an 18th UN Sustainable Development Goal focused on digitization.

Envisioning inclusionEager to do their part, UN organizations in Geneva called a meeting shortly after the report’s release to determine actions to help tackle the five areas. The UPU’s Digital Economy and Trade Programme Manager, Paul Donohoe, attended the meeting to

With billions around the globe still lacking access to the Internet and other essential information communication technologies (ICTs), governments, international organizations and private sector companies alike are trying to answer one of our modern world’s key questions: how can we bridge the digital divide? The Universal Postal Union is working to encourage Posts to be part of the answer by making digital transformation a priority.


Conquering the digital divide

CONQUERING THE DIGITAL DIVIDECOVER STORY

19UNION POSTALE

share how the UN specialized agency could contribute, particularly towards building an inclusive digital economy and society. He noted two areas of interest during the discussions where the postal network could bring incredible value.

“One was finding a way to use existing infrastructure and initiatives to implement the recommendations and the other was to develop national IT solutions. The postal sector already active in these areas and has strong capability to enable inclusion,” says Donohoe.

With a network of more than 660,000 post offices around the globe, including in rural and remote areas, and a total staff of more than 5 million, the postal sector has unique access to the world’s citizens. It also has an obligation to provide a set of public services to that population. Its daily presence in communities and its legacy as a public service provider have also led the Post to achieve its customers’ trust.

These three dimensions – access, universal service and trust – make the Post a potential powerhouse for advancing inclusion in many areas and the UPU has worked steadfastly to promote the Post as a partner. Inclusion has been one of the three pillars of UPU’s vision for 2020, setting the basis of much of the Union’s work on digital transformation.

Posts have already proven they can lead in

universal access to physical communication and logistics services. With more than 2 billion people already accessing financial services through the Post, governments have begun to recognize their role in financial inclusion in recent years. Digital is the next frontier in the UPU’s mission to connect underserved populations to essential public services.

State of playThe UPU’s International Bureau has been closely monitoring the development of digital services across the postal sector since 2012. Its recently released flagship report, “The digital economy and digital postal activities – a global panorama”, shows that the Post is beginning to take its role as an agent of digital inclusivity seriously.

Case studies gathered in the report show the linkages between the digital transformation of the postal sector and is contribution to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, making connections between digital initiatives undertaken by postal operators with 10 of the 17 sustainable development goals.

The report, which used data collected from 125 designated operators who responded to the UPU’s 2017 questionnaire on digital postal services, shows that 93 percent of designated operators are now providing digital services – whether it be by themselves or in partnership with others. In addition, nearly three-quarters answered that they have increased their investments in digital postal services.

Governments are also becoming sensitized to the role the Post can play in providing access to essential electronic services, with 62 percent of designated operators responding that their government policies now assign the Post a role in providing citizens with e-services.

COVER STORY

However, according to the report’s findings, more than half of responding Posts still do not believe their current investments are enough to ensure a full deployment of digital services. The study’s warning is clear: if Posts don’t speed up digitization efforts urgently, they risk being left behind as digital service providers for e-government, e-commerce and e-finance.

Driving Posts to become digital organizations and connect their traditional postal services to digital platforms is also imperative if Posts are to stay relevant to connected customers. Having postal services available in digitally-enhanced post offices, as well as on mobile devices, means people can use the Post wherever they are.

This is a message the UPU has repeated over the years, having included digitization

under the second goal of its Istanbul World Postal Strategy for 2017-2020. It is also a point that surfaces at almost every major UPU event, most recently at the April postal financial services forum, titled “Shaping postal financial services in a digital economy”.

Opening the forum’s discussions, UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein stressed the importance of implementing the latest technologies, such as blockchain, to accelerate inclusion.

“We live in a time of extraordinary technological changes. The current climate provides significant opportunities to make a meaningful change to the industry and it is right that we seek to maximize the positive impact that these changes can bring,” said Mr Hussein. The potential is there, but how can the sector maximize it?

“Go a little faster than your comfort zone,” says Moses Ma, Founding Partner with FutureLab Consulting, who gave the forum’s keynote speech.

During his speech, Ma projected that “the killer blockchain app”, or a viral app using blockchain technology, had not yet been invented because of issues in the last mile of connecting people with the technology they need to develop and use such an app.

“The Posts are the last mile to the unbanked and people without ID, so it’s an opportunity to use that position to collaborate with other blockchain companies to enable the completion of the digital revolution,” he said. “If you give postmen mobile phones we can start implementing some of these initiatives right away,” he added.

If Posts speed up just a little bit, they could solve that last mile problem and even leapfrog the competition, he projects.

Leapfrogging gapsLeapfrogging is something that Donohoe and his team try to encourage, especially for developing countries where significant investments would be required to bring traditional infrastructure up to speed. He says a lack of infrastructure can actually motivate countries to rethink the Post’s role and accelerate innovation.

This has already helped some developing countries innovate faster than their developed peers, explains UPU’s Expert on Digital Inclusion and Policy Issues, Daniel Nieto, who co-authored “The digital economy and digital postal activities – a global panorama”.

“Posts in developed countries tend to have huge legacy IT systems, so they need to balance maintaining what they have with investing in new digital technology. An advantage that many developing countries have is that they aren’t bound to an existing solution,” says Nieto.

They recommend that designated operators launch partnerships with start-ups to find ways to overcome infrastructure gaps quickly.

“Start-ups bring agility, but they don’t have access to markets – Posts bring that access,” says Donohoe.

Agility will require a shift of corporate culture, driven by strong leaders with an appetite for innovation and new business models, they advise.

“The digital skills of employees and corporate culture of the Post are actually identified as the main barriers to innovation in the UPU’s new flagship report,” says Nieto.

CONQUERING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Those working on their digitization strategies can take the lead from several Posts who have ventured outside the box with success.

TunisiaIn Tunisia, for example, the Post has become a lever in the government’s national financial inclusion and de-cashing strategy. La Poste Tunisienne was the country’s first financial institution to launch e-payments in 2000 through its digital currency, the e-DINAR. Then, in 2010, it launched its mobile payments platform, which now holds a 95 percent share of the market. The Post is currently working on introducing blockchain to its mobile platform with a fintech start-up.

Houssem Gharbi, the Post’s Head of International Affairs, presented the achievements during the financial services forum, encouraging other

With a network of more than 660,000 post offices around the globe, including in rural and remote areas, and a total staff of more than 5 million, the postal sector has unique access to the world’s citizens.

Three dimensions — access, universal service and trust – make the Post a potential powerhouse for advancing inclusion in many areas

If Posts don’t speed up digitization efforts urgently, they risk being left behind as digital service providers for e-government, e-commerce and e-finance.

Digital is the next frontier in the UPU’s mission to connect underserved populations to essential public services.

The Age of Digital Interdependence outlined recommendations in five priority areas:

1. Inclusive digital economy and society

2. Human and institutional capacity

3. Human rights and human agency

4. Trust, security and stability;

5. Global digital cooperation

MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 187520

operators to enter into public -private partnerships to speed up the implementation of digital technologies. He shared that the Post was even beginning to think of itself as an incubator for start-up companies.

“We’re trying to see ourselves as a place where start-ups can begin to find their feet,” he said.

La Poste Tunisienne is not only a model digital service provider, but a case study in modernizing postal operations. Donohoe explains that the operator is working on equipping all of its postal workers with mobile phones to move away from inefficient paper-based processes and bring the Post’s services right to the doors of its customers.

Côte d’IvoireCôte d’Ivoire’s La Poste has also made leaps and bounds in transforming its approach to business, focusing its modernization plans on innovation and digital technologies.

“For those who have known La Poste’s services, the simple fact of rethinking our strategy to put digital at its centre was itself a great innovation,” says the operator’s CEO Isaac Gnamba Yao.

The Post has transitioned both its front- and back-office operations from manual to completely digital processes, including automating

some procedures. In 2017, the operator introduced a special department responsible for supporting the organization’s digital transformation. Gnamba Yao notes that change management has also been a priority for the Post, which has implemented plans to guide staff through the transition to a digital working environment.

Recently, the Post has established online e-government services through its documents.ci platform,

and developed an e-commerce platform, sanlishop.ci, to enable Ivoirians to sell their goods online. La Poste has taken a hybrid approach to its ICT infrastructure, partially hosting its applications in the cloud to ensure availability.

It has worked with start-ups on its last-mile delivery application, such as a project to facilitate free internet connectivity on the 2G network, and a platform to provide secure postal payments.

“La Poste de Côte d’Ivoire is open to any proposal for innovative solutions. For that purpose, it partners with start-ups that can come up with solutions that meet its needs,” says Gnamba Yao.

SwitzerlandSwiss Post, which has won the top spot in the UPU’s postal development ranking two years in a row, is a known pioneer of postal innovations. It operates a bottom-up approach to sharing ideas, encouraging staff to try new things.

A spokesperson for Swiss Post shared insight into the Post’s innovation-centred corporate culture, which he said was based on openness, collaboration, networking and personal responsibility.

The organization facilitates this by operating a biennial innovation programme where employees can submit business ideas and receive professional support to execute

them, holding camps where they can test their ideas with customers, establishing a residency programme allowing staff to work on projects in other leading companies and operating an online platform where they can submit ideas anytime.

It is no stranger to the public-private partnership approach to innovation. Last year the company launched a pilot project with start-up Matternet to deliver lab samples from hospitals in several cities via drone. The project was so successful that it garnered interest from private courier UPS, which recently launched its own project with the start-up in the United States.

Swiss Post’s advice for partnering with start-ups includes ensuring that the teams working with these small companies properly understand them and to make sure they have enough autonomy to ensure things move quickly with start-up partners. Project delays can be harmful to start-ups, who rely on success cases to win new investors. It also recommends that postal operators first conduct a meticulous risk analysis before entering into

such a partnership. After the conditions are set, an honest and transparent working relationship will be key to success.

At the moment, the Post’s financial subsidiary, PostFinance, is working on a new blockchain solution to allow landlords producing solar energy to power buildings to bill the electricity costs back to their tenants. The solution, called “Blockchain for Utility” or B4U, is a response to new legislation in Switzerland allowing homeowners to directly use the sustainable energy they generate, but still keeps the local electricity company in the process.

UPU supportTo promote digital transformation across all of its 192 member countries, the UPU offers different kinds of technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives for those Posts at the beginning stages of digitization.

As a member of the UN family and an intergovernmental agency, the UPU is in a unique position to unite all postal stakeholders towards the common goal of digital inclusion.

Donohoe and Nieto have been travelling around the globe holding digital transformation and diversification workshops in all regions. The meetings gather Posts,

COVER STORY CONQUERING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

To promote digital transformation across all of its 192 member countries, the UPU offers different kinds of technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives for those Posts at the beginning stages of digitization.


About The Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF) The Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF) is a UPU-led initiative focused on advancing financial inclusion by providing accessible digital financial services (DFS) through the postal network.

With support from Visa Inc. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UPU launched FITAF in 2017 to help expand Posts’ capacity to offer digital financial services to citizens and small businesses.

FITAF supports Posts on several fronts in relation to digital finance, including assistance with:

DFS assessments

Software acquisition

New product development

Capacity building

The Post is a strong actor in the financial services market

Studies have already shown that Posts are strong players in the financial services market. • 91% of designated postal operators offer financial services• 2 billion people access financial services through the Post• Postal operators still have one of the largest physical networks

3

Through digital transformation and diversification, Posts can add even more value to national economies

Financial services offered by Posts are affordable and efficient. By focusing on developing a digital services offering, Posts will be able to support anyone, anytime, anywhere – allowing small businesses to expand their horizons and adding value to every country’s economy.

4

Postal financial inclusion can help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

FITAF is a gateway to better health, better education and better lives. Posts are an engine for sustainable development, thanks to their reach and their role as public service providers. FITAF works with Posts to help them become a one-stop shop not only for financial services, but also for government services, such as health and social insurance payments.

5

Despite some improvements, hundreds of millions of people remain excluded from financial services

According to the World Bank, 1.7 billion adults still lack access to formal financial services. A disproportionate number of those excluded are rural populations, women and young people. FITAF is helping to ensure that traditionally excluded people are brought into the financial fold.

1

Posts connect communities to society

With a global network of more than 670,000 outlets, the Post has an unparalleled reach into even the remotest areas, making it a perfect partner for expanding financial inclusion. By building the postal network’s capacity to offer digital financial services, FITAF connects rural communities to the world, empowers women by granting them financial access, and ensures small businesses have the money to grow.

2

Adding VALUE to every country’s economy.

Objectives

Advance financial inclusionDrive the digitization of postal financial services

www.upu.int/en/FITAF

COVER STORY

regulators and ministries together to sensitize countries to the role postal networks can play in their national digital transformation plans.

Countries also have the opportunity to benefit from a number of programmes, such as the Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Facility (FITAF) – a UPU-led initiative which supports Posts to advance financial inclusion by providing accessible digital financial services through the postal network. FITAF is

already operating projects with nine countries in Africa and Asia-Pacific with funds provided by Visa Inc. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Partnerships with other UN organizations and its membership in the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) also ensure that the UPU and its members are a part of the global digital inclusion movement.

Following the Geneva meeting on the UN report, there are also plans to organize an awareness-building event to show international organizations, the diplomatic community and other international actors in Geneva that the Post can be a partner in bridging the digital divide. KR

Read “The digital economy and digital postal activities – a global panorama” for more information on how Posts can bridge the digital divide:

http://www.upu.int/en/ DigitalPanorama

Read “The Age of Digital Interdependence”:

https://www.un.org/en/pdfs/DigitalCooperation-report- for%20web.pdf

The Age of Digital Interdependence 1

the age of digital interdependenceReport of the UN Secretary-General’sHigh-level Panel on Digital Cooperation

93% of designated

operators are now providing digital

services

2 B people already

accessing financial services through the

Post

62% of designated

operators responding that their

government policies now assign the Post a

role in providing citizens with e-services.

22

25UNION POSTALE24 MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875

INTERVIEW BY: Kayla Redstone

Encouraging Posts to venture out of the comfort zone

INTERVIEW

Blockchain has become a common buzzword across industries in recent years. Following the UPU’s Forum on “Shaping postal financial services in a digital economy”, UNION POSTALE sat down with keynote speaker and FutureLab Consulting Managing Partner, Moses Ma, to talk about how the Post could leapfrog the tech industry to have a positive impact not only on postal business, but also on society.

In your speech to the forum you mentioned that the Post could help solve the “last mile problem”. Could you explain what that problem is and how the Post can help?If you look at a typical mobile phone company, they sell to people who can afford cell phones and that market is pretty much saturated at this point. The next challenge is to sell phones to people who don’t have them. There is probably a market for between well over a billion smartphones in the $200-300 USD price range.

The problem is that there is currently no way to get to these customers. You cannot advertise to them and there is no established retail network. If you go through your typical mobile telephony distributors, they can reach the people they have already reached, but for them to retool to go into every village in Africa or India would be cost-prohibitive. My belief is that the best and possibly only channel to the unbanked and undocumented people of the world is via the Post.

Unless the Posts collaborate with mobile telephony companies, they will not be able to reach the final one billion people on the other side of the Digital Divide. These people need to be connected to the network in order for humanity to make it to the next step. This is because the Posts have honoured the concept of the universal service agreement for centuries.

Because of this, the postal network also has an unparalleled ability to bridge the last mile to the “unbanked”. There are more than a billion unbanked people in the world. Imagine if the Posts could not only connect people to the tools they need to access modern digital financial services – mobile telephones – but also develop these financial services themselves using blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies and bring those to areas that are still unreached by traditional financial institutions. The postal network was essentially the first internet,

and spent decades developing this network to reach everybody, and this core competency is what the Post will be able to use to leverage its way to much greater relevance in the future.

Is this what fuels your interest in working with the Post?Yes, it is my pet project to get things moving for the Posts. There is a film called the Bad News Bears and it is about a little league baseball team in last place making it to the championships. It’s a much more fulfilling challenge to help an industry that is known to be very slow to change, to not only make small changes, but to catapult to number one. These kinds of turnaround stories are what inspire and uplift humanity.

But the challenge here is enormous. A while ago, I was talking to the chief technology officer of a very large Post and he said that they stopped partnering with young innovative companies. When I asked why, he said that they had a history of killing more than 100 start-ups by partnering with them. This large Post had set very difficult requirements to work with them. Start-ups had to borrow heavily to qualify for an assurance bond, would deal with incredibly slow processes and red tape, and in the end, almost never actually shipped any products. The result was that 100 start-ups were destroyed by that one Post alone and that’s when they said they were going to stop partnering – because he realized they were doing more harm than good.

Unless the Posts realize that they can actually do more harm than good if they don’t speed up a little bit, that’s going to be one of the greatest inhibitors to growth. The head of innovation at a major US bank told me that innovation is a lot like snowboarding or learning how to ride a motorcycle. It’s actually safer to go a little faster than your comfort zone. When you try to do it within your comfort zone, you’ll fall over much more often. Innovation works the same way. By forcing everyone to go at a speed that’s comfortable, the innovation initiatives fail, and then managers say, “See? We tried. But innovation does not work.” This is the key cultural shift that needs to happen: the willingness to venture a little outside of the comfort zone.

Do you have any practical advice to help Posts change their mentality when it comes to innovation? You can only change culture in one of two ways, one is that you can start doing serious innovation training. The training we do is called the ‘design sprint’. Our way of doing blockchain design is based on this process, an agile design sprint, which is the secret weapon of every company in Silicon Valley from Google to Apple. Google Ventures actually published a book about how they do it. This process – done right – creates a new way of looking at things that is very customer-centric and results-oriented. The first thing we recommend is that Posts learn how to do agile design sprints and then spread that “culture shift” throughout the organization. Also, the Posts need to start involving themselves in more training about decentralized thinking, AI, optimization and other things like that.

The second thing is finding the right technology to embed into an organization to adhere to a more agile and nimble culture. This is a long story, but a good example of how technology impacts companies in unexpected ways:

I once had this consulting assignment with a large company that was rather slow. In fact, they would take months to even set up a first meeting with anyone with an innovative idea. I managed to speed up the process with the help of the CEO, and got a meeting in one month. At the meeting, I began to explain the project, which IT needed to approve, and the manager says, “Hold on there!” I stopped, and he added, “You can’t talk about what you want to do in this meeting. This is the meeting to set up the meeting.” When I relayed this story to the CEO, he sighed, “Welcome to my world.”

As a result, I was also asked to look into why they were so slow. So I asked a few of the managers, “How long has this been happening?” and they said that because of technology impacting the world, over the last two or three years, things had become crazy busy. So I asked if I could look at their online calendars. I noticed something odd. Virtually every middle manager had eight meetings a day, five days a week. They were coming in at 6 a.m. to do their email for two hours before their first meeting. The average number of meetings per day in the US is three, so this was not a normal thing.

ENCOURAGING POSTS TO VENTURE OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE

It’s actually safer to go a little faster than your comfort zone. When you try to do it within your comfort zone, you’ll fall over much more often. Innovation works the same way.

My belief is that the best and possibly only channel to the unbanked and undocumented people of the world is via the Post.

My analysis found that the problem started happening when the business switched to Microsoft Outlook. Outlook has this feature where any co-worker can see your calendar and request time that is free. Before then, people would defend chunks of time for thinking, email and other activities, but now, everyone’s calendar was fair game and this explosion of meetings resulted. When they heard about my root cause analysis, they said, “Oh my god, you’re right. When we migrated to Outlook, we had no idea what we were doing and the effect it would have on our culture.”

27UNION POSTALEMOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 187526

How do you see the UPU’s role in helping Posts leapfrog?I think the UPU’s role, simply put, is this: The UPU exists not only to negotiate contracts, but also to find technologies that would help their member Posts become more efficient and more profitable. That’s what’s possible with blockchain technology.

The most important thing postal executives need to remember is that it isn’t just that the Posts need to adopt and master blockchain technologies for survival. Blockchain needs the Posts too, in order to solve the most difficult challenge – bringing the Information Revolution across the Digital Divide by providing universal digital service to the rest of the world. The Posts could be the key success factor in a singularly promising opportunity to bring transformation and prosperity to the entire world. KR

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

If you’d like to find out more about this vision, please contact Sergey Dukelskiy at [email protected] or Moses Ma at [email protected].

The happy ending was that this company started putting limits on Outlook, and started developing the concept of a ‘SMART meeting’. A smart meeting has the following features: (1) Stop and think – do we really need to meet? (2) Manage time. (3) Assess attendance and make sure the right people attend. (4) Respect people by arriving on time and ending in 50 minutes instead of on the hour, so they have time to walk to the next meeting and not start late. (5) Track progress by turning decisions into action items, which should start at the 45-minute mark.

In this case, installing technology without thinking about it negatively impacted their business process and made them less efficient. But installing technology wisely can positively impact business processes so you are not only more efficient, but more innovative as well. This is entirely possible by installing and using innovation management software, just like you install and use project management software or accounting management software.

But these two, innovation training and collaborative technology, are key to serious innovation. However, you need a more comprehensive approach be powerful enough to reprogram an organization’s cultural DNA so that innovation becomes a core capability. I have this mnemonic I call the eight C’s for a comprehensive approach: customer centric design, evocative executive

communications, collaboration technologies, rethinking compensation to reward creativity, unleashing core creativity, constructive leadership, continuous learning, and courage. The courage to move out of the comfort zone - that’s the most important one.

It is hard to wrap my head around the idea that Posts that do not even have basic connectivity could leapfrog to advanced technologies such as blockchain. Is there a base level required for leapfrogging?The term leapfrogging came from South Korea. The country had no wired telephony infrastructure, but they flipped a disadvantage into an advantage, because this meant they did not have established, entrenched telephony operators to slow down a transition to mobile telephony. With thoughtful investment and training, they jumped from last place to one of the most innovative countries in the world because of it. Leapfrogging is the goal for ‘slow’ countries or emerging economies, or slow industries, like the postal industry.

However, I think that if you had a couple of designated operators that were willing to blaze a trail of leapfrogging, it would change the perception and it would enable the Post to speed up. By having a couple of quick, low-hanging fruit wins, the Posts could reposition themselves and rebrand as technology leaders – because the reality is that a number of the Posts are already technology leaders.

The most important thing, in terms of blockchain, is that a Post should get out of the comfort zone of building an easy, low-risk, first-generation blockchain, when the market leaders are working on second-generation blockchains. I think you need to start with customer requirements and then hire the right people to figure out what a third-generation blockchain application might be.

What do you mean by “third-generation” blockchain?The third generation includes elements like decentralized identity, verifiable claims, reputation services, machine learning and optimization. When those things are embedded into a blockchain, you’ll start seeing more efficient use of blockchain technology because the blockchain is just a glorified database, it’s really nothing more than that. If you just have a database, it’s not that interesting an application. To see what third generation blockchain apps could do, you need to affect a “mindshift” to decentralized thinking.

Let’s compare blockchains to websites. When banks saw the first websites they were quite intimidated, so they paid the early web developers over a million dollars to build sites that you could replicate today for free with Wordpress. But if you took those same bank executives after they built one, they kind of knew what they were doing and they didn’t need to hire anyone to do it for

them. This is because learning can only happen by doing. I think blockchain is the same way. Right now you have to spend a fraction of a million dollars to build one, but many solutions are coming from Microsoft and IBM and many others. In the future, you will be able to use your credit card at a blockchain cloud site and pay about 50 bucks a month have your first blockchain. When people have developed an intuitive “gut feeling” for this technology, we will start seeing truly interesting applications for blockchains. For example, if you lose a pet, there should be a blockchain for lost pets and people should be rewarded for returning them. It would be useful to have a central place to do that, right?

What are the greatest inhibitors to the uptake of blockchain?The greatest inhibitor is that fear to move beyond the comfort zone. The Posts are used to an exceptionally large comfort spot that other companies can’t enjoy, due to their monopolies. But at some point, even a monopoly can’t defend you from the future. If you don’t want to be a dinosaur in the Ice Age, you have to start moving to warmer places. As I said before, you don’t have to move at light speed or to be reckless with risk, you just have to move a little bit faster than your comfort zone, which is actually more safe than forcing everyone to move in your comfort zone.

ENCOURAGING POSTS TO VENTURE OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE

Also, blockchains only make sense between companies. It doesn’t make sense to put a blockchain inside a company because it’s like saying “I don’t trust myself!” I believe that the killer app for postal blockchains is between Posts, which is why the UPU is the ideal partner for such an endeavour. Blockchains are software for consortia. I think the Posts are in a very remarkable position that promises great success, but they have to actually do something and not just talk about it.

Can you explain a bit about your work with the UPU?At this time, of this interview, it’s still very early in the process, but the vision of where I would like to go with the UPU is forming a global blockchain consortium for the postal industry. I mean, pretty much every other industry already has one. The banking industry has their consortium, the insurance agencies have their consortium, the shipping companies are doing their consortium. It’s about time the Posts did one too.

The trick here is that, to leapfrog, we need to be smart and not do it like everyone else. You have to find key leverage points that play off of the strengths of the Posts. The Posts know how to do certain things in its sleep that could drive companies crazy. Think about universal service. Think about international standards. Finally, I think whoever has the best data wins. The Post has a huge amount of data to inform AI and machine-learning systems how to optimize operations, so we need to figure out how to make that data more accessible to researchers in order to increase the core efficiency of postal delivery systems.

Finally, my favourite question to ask a client is “What is the iPhone for your business? What delights your customer?” For the Post, it has to be “We deliver things on time. We’re trusted. It’s the lowest cost for financial services. I’m happy with the Post.” With that said, you have to focus on things like network efficiency, new products that are customer-centric, and fewer cases where technology is looking for a solution. I think the problem is, when someone sees a hot technology like blockchain, they go “Where can I use it?” instead of thinking “What do my customers really need?” and then trying to find the right technology and the right vendor to fit. I think it needs to be much more customer-centred.

Innovation training and collaborative technology, are key to serious innovation.

I have this mnemonic I call the eight C’s for a comprehensive approach: customer centric design, evocative executive communications, collaboration technologies, rethinking compensation to reward creativity, unleashing core creativity, constructive leadership, continuous learning, and courage.

The third generation [blockchain] includes elements like decentralized identity, verifiable claims, reputation services, machine learning and optimization.

Watch the full-length keynote speech here: https://youtu.be/d3OT-8zsUus

SMART meeting1. Stop and think – do

we really need to meet?

2. Manage time.

3. Assess attendance and make sure the right people attend.

4. Respect people by arriving on time and ending in 50 minutes instead of on the hour, so they have time to walk to the next meeting and not start late.

5. Track progress by turning decisions into action items, which should start at the 45-minute mark.

INTERVIEW

29UNION POSTALE

Change is not an option With over 30 years’ experience in the international postal industry, Derek Osborn is a leading business coach at Whatnext4u, where he facilitates postal business eventsand “masterclasses” to share industry knowledge and latest developments. He is also a consultant advising the UPU on how to bring fresh ideas and innovation to its World Postal Business Forum held at the Parcel and Post Expo.

TEXT: David Dadge

“LIT TLE HANDS” WIN BIG PRIZE


During the second session, participants and panelists debate the many challenges offered by both megacities and isolated rural areas. Osborn contends that Posts have an immense role to play in reducing emissions, meeting environmental standards and upholding the Universal Service Obligation.

Participants in the final session discuss cybercrime, which poses a direct threat to the trusted nature of Posts, a key pillar for e-commerce delivery. “We are all conscious of security system vulnerabilities, as well as the impact of financial fraud and the calamitous damage that can be done by cyber-attacks,” notes Osborn. He says a robust response is needed to protect the trusted position of Posts in the eyes of their customers.

Osborn is adding greater interactivity to the forum’s sessions. He feels participants should be able to walk out of the forum having gained from the experience and feeling their voice was heard.

“Experts will be used to trigger conversations among the participants who will be encouraged to contribute to discussions with their experience as well as obtain new knowledge, new contacts and information that can help solve the industry’s big issues.”

When asked about the synergies between the Parcel and Post Expo and the forum, he says that postal leaders can exchange ideas, and at the same time, be exposed to the tremendous opportunities in new technology; including, AI, robotics, cutting-edge equipment and digital platforms.

“The range is almost endless,” says Osborn. “There are new things to discuss every year.” DD

This year, Parcel and Post Expo, the leading international gathering on parcels and logistics, opens its doors at the RAI Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 30 September to 3 October. In an interview for this magazine, Osborn describes the Parcel and Post Expo as “The postal sector’s only truly global event allowing experts and senior industry leaders to view the latest technological advances, as well as discuss future developments and trends.”

Asked about the importance of the UPU’s World Postal Business Forum, he says it provides experts from the digital, parcel and postal sectors, transport, logistics, and many other areas, with essential insights into the postal industry’s future positioning. “The UPU’s annual event is a crucial forum for distilling postal strategies and clarifying for industry leaders what they should be doing to bring beneficial change to the industry,” he says.

According to the experienced consultant, digital transformation is front and centre for every designated operator. Osborn points out that every postal operator is wrestling with the twin problems of how to transform and how to provide digital access to customers. “Change and being digitally enabled are simply not options in today’s environment,” he stresses. “They must be embraced.”

The 2019 Forum, titled “Sustainability in the age of postal innovation”, digs deeper into these issues and will generate debate, while connecting to the industry’s many challenges and opportunities. The first session examines how digital disruption and innovation stimulates growth in the postal sector. Osborn is keen to point out that, for the e-commerce market, postal operators are able to offer a trusted digital platform, as well as one of the world’s largest global infrastructures.

FEATURES

31UNION POSTALE

THE NEW FACE OF PHILATELY

The new face of philately

FEATURES

collecting all items related to a specific subject can now simply search for the subject online and find numerous thematic products for purchase, including stamps.

Some 65 percent of 95 responding Posts in a recent UPU survey answered that they operated an online shop, showing that postal operators are working to take advantage of the opportunity to reach collectors. Posts have also ramped up their online marketing and communication efforts to reach new consumers, with 69 percent of respondents answering that they now use social networks to promote their products.

Though the Post has a monopoly on the primary market, Mokaddem emphasizes that they should not ignore what happens to their products after they’re sold.

“Posts have an indirect role to play in the secondary market and more operators are beginning to monitor the activities of dealers, collectors and other stakeholders in the second life of their stamps,” she explains.

As a result, more operators are beginning to improve their philatelic programmes, increasing the quality of their stamps with innovations in printing, materials and technological supports.

The World Association for the Development of Philately – led by the UPU – is working to facilitate relationships between all philatelic stakeholders through conferences and forums to ensure both markets continue to thrive and fuel each other’s growth. KR

The invention of postage stamps revolutionized the postal service, simplifying the tariff system for paying the cost of letters service and cutting losses to postal operators. The world’s first adhesive postage stamp was released in the United Kingdom in 1840, known as the Penny Black for its price and colour.

Today stamps are so much more than just a means of paying for a service; they have become the focus of a global market comprising many different stakeholders.

According to UPU statistics, designated operators’ philatelic revenues reached 1.8 billion SDR (2.5 billion USD) compared to just under 1 billion SDR (1.4 billion USD) in 2004. The secondary market – occupied by traders, dealers, collectors and others buying second-hand philatelic products – is estimated to be worth as much as between 3 billion SDR (4.2 billion USD) and 10 billion (13.8 billion USD).

Olfa Mokaddem, manager of the UPU’s Philately Programme, explains that the invention of the Internet and e-commerce has contributed to increased interest in philatelic products.

“Online activities have opened up the market and accelerated growth,” says Mokaddem. “Philately has become a good business and Posts are starting to take advantage of this.”

Introducing stamps to the e-commerce market has granted global collectors easy access to purchase international stamps they may have had difficulty finding through traditional dealers.

Whereas traditional collectors were philatelists interested in the heritage and cultural value of stamps, she explains that e-commerce has led to the development of new types of collectors. For example, someone interested in

Check out the WADP World Numbering System (WNS), www.wnsstamps.post to browse more than 95,000 stamps from around the world.

Innovations and digitization are offering Post’s philatelic programmes increasing opportunities in what has become a multi-billion dollar market.


Case study: Austria A leading example of a Post that has monitored and moved along with the market is Österreichische Post.

Noting the importance of online activity, the designated operator launched its online shop in 2012. The Post generated 2 million EUR (2.2 million USD) from its e-shop in 2018, according to spokesperson Ingeborg Gratzer, who adds that philatelic products comprise 99 percent of goods found on the platform.

The company has taken several measures in its approach to production and marketing to attract customers. The first is that its philatelic programme aims to release one technical innovation per year. Its latest innovation is a crypto stamp. Others have included an embroidered Styrian hat stamp, an oak wood stamp and a stamp containing 4.5 billion year-old meteorite dust. Creating new types of products, such as stamp booklets, is another priority.

“These products have an important impact on our company’s reputation and generate a lot of attention in the media,” she says.

In addition to this, Gratzer says the Post cooperates with one of Austria’s top newspapers to launch stamp design contests.

The operator also appreciates the growing importance of collectors, the Post’s most important target group. To this end, Österreichische Post does its best to ensure the right mix in its issuing programme to attract collectors, in-store visitors and new, younger customers. KR

Posts sometimes prepare stamp issues to mark important events, such as the first visit of the UPU Director General to the island of Nauru.

Swiss Post innovates with a stamp that can play the country’s national anthem

Österreichische Post celebrates its heritage with an embroidered Styrian hat release.

The Faröe Islands Posta has used real cod skin in one of its releases.


32 UNION POSTALEMOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875

MARKET FOCUS

An Post gives homeless people an address to call their own

Address Point is a simple and practical solution that provides a fixed postal address to those without a fixed home completely free of charge. In cooperation with Irish charity organizations and service providers, a personal address is instantly generated online based on a person’s choice of a local post office. The words “Post Office” do not appear in Address Point addresses to avoid stigma.

This post office also becomes a letter collection point for customers. In order to pick up mail they need only present their photo identification. Their mail cannot exceed 100 grams in weight and will be kept at the post office for up to 20 days. If the customer moves, they can obtain a new address linked to a chosen post office in their new location.

According to the postal operator, this service is the first of its type in Europe, and 200 of its 950 post offices across the country are already offering it.

A postal address is normally taken for granted. However, it is crucially important because it provides a person with an identity. It gives access to basic social services such as medical care, school correspondence, employment applications, rent allowance, opening a bank account or even simply being able to read in a library. A postal address also makes it possible to keep in touch with family and friends.

Thanks to Address Point, the operator can now help people in need to get back on their feet.

“We are keenly aware of the difficulties which can result from people not having a reliable, secure mailing address or letter collection point … As a major Irish company with world-class expertise and a deeply-connected, community-conscious body of staff, our purpose is to be a force of good, wherever we can,” Debbie Byrne, Managing Director of An Post Retail stated in a press release announcing the service.

TEXT: Olena Muravyova

Photo: Shutterstock

In the same release, Francis Doherty, Head of Communications at Peter McVerry Trust, one of Ireland’s largest charities supporting homeless people, said, “This is a personal and practical service that will make a real difference to people’s lives … Having a secure address may seem like a small thing, but it brings huge benefits to people who are homeless and to others living in temporary accommodation”.

An Post provides informative leaflets about Address Point to all institutions working in the area of homelessness on a nationwide basis with in order to increase awareness of the new service and to help them explain the service to their clients.

Homeless charities have welcomed the new initiative because of its expected positive impact on the lives of more than 10,000 homeless people living in Ireland, one-third of whom are children. Since its launch in April, more than 1,000 people have used the online facility to create their unique postal address.

In a video introducing Address Point, Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy Focus Ireland, explained that for those experiencing homelessness the service would “make a big difference in terms of their ability to survive while homeless and also their ability to get out of homelessness. In that sense, it gives people an anchor.”

According to Sam McGuinness, Dublin Simon Community CEO, An Post’s Address Point has given people in need “a sense of identity that they have not had in a long time.”

It also provides them with a sense of dignity because they now have somewhere to call their own. OM

An Post has launched a new service allowing people who are homeless or living in temporary accommodation to obtain a personal postal address.

[A postal address] gives access to basic social services such as medical care, school correspondence, employ-ment applications, rent allow-ance, opening a bank account or even simply being able to read in a library.

MARKET FOCUS

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OM

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Hidden corners of the global postal service

Follow UPU’s social media + check out news.upu.int to learn more:

#UPUPhotos

In celebration of 145 years of the UPU and the 50th celebration of the UN awareness day for the Post, World Post Day, the UPU is calling for participants from around the world to submit their best postal-related photos for the UPU’s 2020 calendar.

35UNION POSTALE

Turkish Post’s Post Café brings new look to post offices with traditional hospitality

Turkish Post has launched Post Café, an innovation that is part of the operator’s new post office concept and an important step in its modernization process. The initiative is aimed at improving customer satisfaction.

In recent years, Turkish Post has been updating its products and services according to modern requirements in order to enhance the value of its brand and to strengthen its position in the market. It developed the idea of a Post Café after carrying out customer feedback studies.

To start, the operator has planned to inaugurate Post Cafés in major post offices with high customer traffic and wider product and service offerings. The first branch of the Post Café was established in 2017 at one of its major post offices in Bursa. The operator has since expanded the project, opening a Post Café at the Gazi University campus in Ankara in September 2018.

“As Turkish Post, we will continue to be present in every service area that will facilitate the lives of young people,” said Kenan Bozgeyik, Director General of Turkish Post, on the second café’s inauguration.

Bozgeyik also stated that as a local and national organization, Turkish Post aims to provide favourable services to students. He added, “We will continue offering our letter

mail, parcel, banking, and mobile services in much more convenient ways.”

It is expected that Post Cafés will soon appear on all university campuses across Turkey, offering visitors a pleasant environment to socialize. Now, waiting in line at such a post office, customers can enjoy its welcoming atmosphere, giving the traditional post office a new look that promotes the well-known warm spirit of Turkish hospitality.

Turkish Post has carried out a number of other interesting social projects, which have enhanced the operator’s role in the international community. For example, in 2018 and 2019, it donated 40 motorcycles and accessories to several other postal operators in order to help them improve the quality of mail deliveries and to develop cooperation.

Under the charity project “Don’t Throw Away,” which was launched in 2017 in cooperation with philanthropist Muammer Kavazoğlu, Turkish Post has been delivering parcels with repaired and renewed toys to hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centers, and other social institutions all across Turkey completely free of charge. Some 3,500 toys have been already delivered and the operator’s goal is to reach out to 1 million children in need. OM

TEXT: Olena Muravyova

MARKET FOCUS

WORLD POST DAY9 October19

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Photo: Turkish Post

36 37MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875 UNION POSTALE

BIG DATA UPU’S BIG DATA: HOW IT WORKS AND WHERE IT’S HEADED

Today, organizations are using big data for everything from statistics, to data science to machine learning, says Silviu Lita, senior software architect with the UPU’s Postal Technology Centre (PTC). Lita works with four others on the UPU’s big data team.

“In ‘old-school’ or relational databases, you had to bring data to a calculation tool, but with big data systems we can now send calculation logic to the data to generate analyses,” says Lita. “This allows us to work with larger amounts of data,” he adds.

The PTC implemented the organization’s first big data tool, QCS BigData, based on electronic data interchange (EDI) exchanged through Post*Net, several years ago to handle growing pressure on the UPU’s traditional databases. The new system stores the hundreds of millions of EDI messages on geo-location, postal tracking, customs, aviation, transportation and finance, exchanged using the UPU’s different IT solutions. All of this information is stored on the UPU’s own infrastructure.

Today Post*Net contains global data on postal exchanges between member country Posts and supply-chain partners, and even includes historical records dating back several years. This information is currently used to generate reports on mail exchange quality or postal payment transfer quality,

operator performance and postal development – 2IPD – and to develop tools monitoring real-time postal or financial exchanges.

Data integrationWith the right partners, integration of data sources and, importantly, resources, the potential value of postal big data is enormous.

UPU economist Mauro Boffa explains successful cases where, when matched with other data sets, has provided fruitful insights on wider socio-economic trends. For example, postal data has been used to determine the impact of price fluctuations on e-commerce trade flows and to show how postal flows could be used as a proxy for determining a country’s socio-economic wellbeing. He says the UPU is now working with the International Civil Aviation Organization on research combining postal big data with data on plane schedules to zoom in on opportunities to improve logistical efficiency.

“By crossing our big data with ICAO’s, we can see how much time postal items spend in airports, define ways to improve the efficiency of the logistics supply chain and therefore facilitate international e-commerce,” says Boffa.

He notes that the UPU has already established research partnerships with other international organizations such as the World Bank, UNCTAD and UN Global Pulse, among others.

Lita suggests that artificial intelligence and machine-learning is the next frontier the UPU will strive to reach with its big data tools. “Machines can detect patterns that humans cannot,” he says.

Boffa and his colleagues in the UPU’s Strategy and Research Programme are now working on a building a predictive dashboard prototype that can analyse the UPU’s EDI messages and put them in comparison with other trends in real time, allowing member countries to forecast things such as delivery times or postal volumes, for example.

The technological advances in big data and better communication between Posts and Customs authorities could enable a big leap in which AI could contribute to ensure the safety of customers and postal workers.

“The fascinating thing about big data is that once you start adding different types of data together, the questions and possibilities begin to expand,” says Boffa. KR

UPU’s big data: How it works and where it’s headed


Billions of letters and parcels traverse the globe each year, with Posts exchanging electronic data on everything from their location to the cost of shipping. The UPU is finding new ways to mine this wealth of information.

At a glance: 4 Vs to understand UPU’s big data

Volume There were 17 billion events recorded by UPU between

2013 and 2018. By 2025, UPU predicts it will have doubled the

amount of data it has today.

Velocity There are hourly updates of new tracked messages.

Value New products, market insights,

better service for members.

VarietyCombination of different standards, textual data,

postal volumes and delivery information.

Photo: Shutterstock

39UNION POSTALE

Q4

Q32019 IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS

1-3 OctoberParcel & Post Expo

Amsterdam, Netherlands

9 OctoberWorld Post Day Ceremony

Berne, Switzerland

10-11 Oct.EMS Cooperative Global Workshop Berne, Switzerland

10-11 Oct. PostEurop Plenary Assembly & Business Innovation Forum

Jersey

14-18 Oct.Postal Operations Council

Berne, Switzerland

21-25 OctCouncil of Administration

Berne, Switzerland

During CA S6 UPU Conference on Postal Regulation “New technologies for providing postal financial services – Regulatory and policy considerations”

Berne, Switzerland

4-8 November4th Operational Readiness for E-commerce (ORE) Workshop for Asia Bangkok, Thailand

5 NovemberPostEurop Remuneration Forum, Customs Working Group Meeting

Vienna, Austria

6 NovemberPostEurop Data Integration Day Vienna, Austria

7 NovemberPostEurop Quality of Service and Operations Working Groups Meeting

Vienna, Austria

11-13 Nov.Disaster Risk Management Workshop Bangkok, Thailand

18-22 Nov.EMS Performance Improvement Workshop Bangkok, Thailand

18-22 Nov.PUASP Executive Council Montevideo, Uruguay

26-28 Nov.UPU Global Conference on Cross-Border Cooperation in an E-commerce World

Xiamen, China

3-4 JulyEMS Symposium for the Arab region

Beirut, Lebanon

8-12 JulyOperational Readiness for E-commerce (ORE) Workshop for French-speaking countries Lomé, Togo

9-10 July Regional Strategy Forum for Europe

Minsk, Belarus

22-26 July Operational Readiness for E-commerce (ORE) Workshop for English-speaking countries Cairo, Egypt

23-24 July Regional Strategy Forum for the Arab region

Cairo, Egypt

12-13 AugustRegional Strategy Forum for the Americas San José, Costa Rica

20-21 AugustEMS Symposium for Asia-Pacific Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

2-5 SeptemberJoint UPU-WCO Security Workshop for the Latin America Region Montevideo, Uruguay

2-6 SeptemberAsian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU) Executive Council Meeting

Tokyo, Japan

9-12 SeptemberITU Telecom World 2019 Budapest, Hungary

9-12 SeptemberPostal Reform and Regulation Workshop

Montevideo, Uruguay

10 SeptemberIssue of the EMS 20th anniversary commemorative joint stamp Berne, Switzerland

16-20 Sept.Operational Readiness for E-commerce (ORE) Workshop on Small Packets and Supplemen-tary Services Tunis, Tunisia

24-25 Sept. UPU 3rd Extraordinary Congress

Geneva, Switzerland

26 September UPU 3rd Extraordinary Congress – half-day extension to be decided by the Congress

Geneva, Switzerland

26 September Extraordinary Postal Operations Council Session

Geneva, Switzerland

26-29 Sept.Joint UPU-WCO Postal Security Capacity Building workshop Tunis, Tunisia

30 SeptemberUPU World Postal Business Forum Amsterdam, Netherlands

26-28 November 2019

UPU Global Conference on Cross-Border Cooperation in an E-commerce World

Xiamen International Conference Centre HotelXiamen, China

OM

AustraliaAUSTRALIA POST has entered into a four-year partnership with the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) to help end road accidents. The operator, which announced the partnership during Australia’s National Road Safety Week, will work with the ATA on educational programming for young drivers, including hands-on activities, virtual reality technology and small group sessions. As part of the partnership, Australia Post will also provide a 200,000 AUD (140,000 USD) sponsorship to the Volvo ATA Safety Truck travelling road safety exhibition, targeted toward young, inexperienced drivers. The exhibition will begin its roadshow in October 2019. om

AustriaÖSTERREICHISCHE POST has released a crypto collectible stamp, the first stamp in the world to be authenticated via blockchain technology. The stamp has two functions. Its left side, which displays a multicoloured unicorn, the symbol of the Ethereum blockchain, works as a regular stamp and can be used to send mail. The right side contains the digital counterpart stored in the blockchain. The postal operator has issued 150,000 stamps at 6.90 EUR per piece. They are available at post offices across the country and through the Post’s online store. om

BarbadosBARBADOS’ MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS and the BARBADOS POSTAL SERVICE are working with the UPU to reform the country’s postal service. The project will have the country rethink the Post’s universal service obligation, develop postal sector policy and update its legislation. The reform is expected to lead to the development of a post bank, improve addressing, and allow for better regulation of the sector. kr

CroatiaHRVATSKA POŠTA has purchased 20 new electric quadricycles for postal deliveries. The vehicles, produced by Ducati Energia SpA, are designed for driving in narrow streets. Their practi-cal features and ease of operation make them perfect for postal deliver-ies in city centres. With the new vehi-cles, the operator will reduce air pollu-tion and urban traffic noise and improve the energy efficiency of transportation. The quadricycles will also help decrease CO2 emissions by 7.5 tonnes annually. om

GermanyDEUTSCHE POST has concluded a contract with Siemens Logistics to integrate the VarioSort cross-belt sorting machine into the existing infrastructure at the postal operator’s Frankfurt Airport sorting facility. The new machine can sort 18,000 parcels per hour, including even lightweight items weighing 20 g. Moreover, the innovative ARTread address recognition software by Siemens will enable reliable reading of addresses and labels, helping the operator cope with growing inbound and outbound volumes. om

CanadaCANADA POST has installed new packet sorting machines in Vancouver and Toronto, the country’s biggest induction facilities for domestic and international mail, in response to significant increases in small packet volumes. The postal operator also intends to equip Montreal, the third major induction point in Canada, with a new packet sorter. Overall, the operator is planning to invest 2.3 billion CAD (1.8 billion USD) into its infrastructure development within 10 years in order to expand parcel-sorting capacity at its largest hubs to keep pace with customer needs. om

GhanaGHANA POST is helping to support local entrepreneurs with its new e-commerce online platform. Unlike other shopping websites, the operator’s postshop.com.gh provides entrepreneurs with affordable rates for postal deliveries, opening Ghanaian markets to customers abroad. The purpose of this innovation is to attract foreign and local retail companies and to enhance the visibility of Ghanaian products in the world. Customers can pick up their orders at their nearest post office. om

DIGEST

Korea (Rep.)KOREA POST plans to integrate blockchain technology into its postal payment service. The new service will be as easy to use as the existing services but will now keep customer data on a blockchain when they scan their QR code to make a payment. The pilot project will start in the Korean “Innovative City” Naju, first targeting small restaurants. In the future, the Post plans to extend the project to public institutions and local businesses. The operator also plans to reach the overseas remittance market with the new platform. om

KyrgyzstanKYRGYZ POCHTASY has received 18 vehicles from the UPU to improve the quality of postal deliveries. According to Kyrgyz Post Director General Mars Naspekov, “Kyrgyz Post is the only company in Kyrgyzstan whose cars can reach the Chinese town Kashgar”. The new vehicles will help shorten the wait time for the delivery of goods ordered from online stores by as much as 15–20 days. om

UkraineUKRPOSHTA has won two World Post & Parcel Awards 2019 in the categories of Corporate Social Responsibility and Postal E-Commerce. Recognized in both categories, the Ukrposhta E-Export School’s support programme offers special tariffs and a cumulative discount system for local small and medium-sized enterprises to deliver their e-commerce items. More than 20,000 people across Ukraine have attended the school’s workshops and over 100,000 have completed its online courses. om

United Arab EmiratesEMIRATES POST GROUP (EPG) has started a partnership with logistics technology platform FarEye and retail organization Landmark Group to improve postal deliveries in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. FarEye will develop an intelligent delivery platform to ensure timely and more affordable deliveries. EPG’s new data-driven routeing plan will increase deliveries per hour and allow customers to track their shipments in real time. om

UzbekistanUZBEKISTON POCHTASI has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Samsung Electronics to modernize its postal infrastructure. Samsung will digitalize the existing postal infrastructure and develop mobile workplace systems for postal employees. The move represents an important step towards digitalizing the Post’s workflows and will help improve its management system, making it more efficient and transparent. om

United KingdomROYAL MAIL will install the United Kingdom’s first-ever postboxes built to fit parcels. Some 1,400 parcel postboxes will appear all across the UK, including in Birmingham, Leeds, Aberdeen and Cardiff, starting in August this year. All parcel postboxes will be rolled out within six months. Using the new postboxes, customers will be able to send pre-paid parcels or return parcels with barcodes the same way they normally send letters. om

SwitzerlandSWISS POSt has established a partnership with Migros, the largest retail company in Switzerland. Now, Swiss Post customers who have an online account with the postal operator can collect their online orders at 300 Migros branches across the country. After logging into their account, they can choose the branch at which they would like to send or receive their parcel or registered letter. This new initiative will also connect customers with Migros’ PickMup service, allowing them to buy Migros brands and pick them up in-store. om

PolandPOCZTA POLSKA will deliver parcels through a new parcel locker network created by Danish parcel locker and software operator SwipBox. Nearly 150 lockers have already been installed in Biedronka stores, the largest discount supermarket chain in the country, and customers can now use them to pick up their parcels during daily shopping. Poczta Polska is the only Polish courier and logistics company operating in Central and Eastern Europe. Its market potential for last-mile deliveries totals almost 1 billion Polish zloty (267.3 million USD) per year. The new delivery method is expected to contribute to the operator’s goal of doubling this revenue by 2023. om

DIGEST

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SEPT. – OCT. 2014 / N°3

Money matters in Eastern Europe

How to facilitate trade by UNECE

Posts & Customs

Behind the scenes

DECEMBER 2017 / N°3

New partnership with Visa

World Post Day 2017

CEOs talk strategy

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Speakers' Corner

Cover story

Envisioning a postal future

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Moving the postal sector forward since 1875

July 2018 | Nº4/17

Formidable force: CEOs look toward alliance building

Asia-Pacific: no country left behind

Cover story

World Postal Business Forum

10

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August Nº1/18

Looking to Addis

Inclusive capacity building with Trainpost

Cover story

Ethiopia captures historical moment

10

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December Nº2/18

Countries forge spirit of solidarity

JUNE 2017 / N°1

Postal statistics update

UPU shares new approach to

developmentcooperation

Cutting the red tape on exports

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Terminal dues milestone reached

JUNE – DECEMBER2016 / N°2

Postal Big data

Double Eleven heaven

Push out the digital envelope

UPU*Clearing is 10 years old

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How tolock in profits

SEPTEMBER 2013 / N°3

Messages électroniques pour le développement

Statistiques 2012 encourageantes

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Sur la piste desdonnées postales

de masse

DÉCEMBRE 2013 / N°4

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JUNE 2015 / N°2

Finding the perfect financial partner

Strategy discussions progress

Customers justwant to choose

Working togetherto keep mail safe

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DECEMBER 2015JANUARY 2016 / N°4

Postal revenues increase

World Post Day round-up

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Quality information from innovation

GMS Measuring mail performance with RFID technology was just a dream for many UPU member countries. Not anymore. Thanks to GMS, Posts can now benefi t from a state-of-the-art solution that uses passive RFID at a very affordable price.

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