Posts are setting out to seize the opportunities presented by e-commerce but the e-business caseis not yet proven, industry experts said at a recent IPC conference which also featured a lively
debate on sustainability issues.More than 140 delegates, including postal executives, academics and other experts, presentedcase studies and discussed how the industry is trying to benefit from the opportunities ofe-business and e-commerce at the ‘Trends in Innovation in the Postal Market’ conference at the EPFLcampus in Lausanne, Switzerland, last month.
Prof. Dr. Matthias Finger from EPFL, said that while e-commerce is changing the whole valuechain, posts remain a valuable intermediary and are uniquely positioned to connect the physical andthe digital worlds. But there are still many questions about e-business, he warned. Numerous postshave invested and tested a lot in digital services but visible results and benefits are stillmissing, he said.
E-commerce is booming but Posts still only have a relatively small share of the e-commercemarket (10-15%) and will need to increase their efforts to succeed in this highly competitivemarket, several speakers pointed out. IPC CEO Herbert-Michael Zapf told the conference that Postsneed to become leading e-commerce partners, work together and innovate in order to succeed in thisfield.
Sustainability was another major topic at the conference. Katarina Tomoff, manager of DeutschePost DHL’s GoGreen programme, presented the group’s strategy and various activities, including the ‘ Street Scooter’, a newly-developed electric vehicle for stop-and-start local mail and parceldeliveries that is currently being tested and could be introduced into the operational fleet in2013. Tomoff also highlighted the collaborative Green Freight Europe project, inspired by the USscheme Smartway. “We are also trying to set up a similar initiative in Asia with customers andpartners,” she disclosed.
GeoPost’s John Acton presented the French group’s ‘Total Zero’ CO2 emission reduction programme,admitting that the first idea had been to copy DHL’s GoGreen concept but then it was decided to gofurther to a total zero concept. Customers had reacted “very positively” so far, he said. AustrianPost’s head of investor relations Harald Hagenauer said his company, which had about 100,000 tonnesof CO2 emissions in 2010, was “taking the road to CO2 neutrality” with a combination of emissionsavoidance, better efficiency, offsetting and compensation. Austrian Post plans to have a1,300-strong electric fleet by 2015, he said.
Other topics at the conference included urban logistics and innovative operational technology,while new Swiss Post CEO Susanne Ruoff and Norway Post CEO Dag Mejdell were speakers at the eveningevents.
The closing panel discussion concluded that the paths for postal operators to take are asdiverse as the countries they operate in. Investments in digital business remain necessary forposts to secure their relevance but are not enough on their own. Posts need to respond to consumerdemands in the market and explore new opportunities offered by e-commerce and digital, but at thesame time they should respect their core capabilities as it is the primary source of their brandimage and consumer confidence.
The TIP 2013 conference, from 11 to 13 September, will again focus on e-business and e-commerce,including sessions on changing customer demands and innovative solutions.
