Leading postal operators want to profit from e-commerce opportunities by offering consumers aseamless, global e-commerce delivery network through product simplification, closer integration
with retailers and cross-border cooperation, speakers agreed at IPC’s annual conference on ‘Building a New Compelling Position for Posts’.More than 50 delegates, including over 20 CEOs of International Post Corporation (IPC) members,discussed postal transformation and future challenges and opportunities driven by e-commerce growthat the conference in Oslo last week. Guests included UPU Director General Bashir Hussein and HisRoyal Highness the Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.
The participating postal operators agreed on their key role in driving e-commerce by providingreliable cross-border delivery service networks through collaboration between the internationalposts.
Herbert-Michael Zapf, President and CEO of IPC, explained: “The postal industry continues toface enormous challenges in turbulent economic times and it is therefore critical that postaloperators proactively manage their companies’ transformation. But economic and societaldevelopments also offer opportunities: Posts are uniquely positioned to capture a big chunk fromthe growing e-commerce business since postal networks reach virtually every household in everycountry.”
He highlighted the extensive reach of postal networks which is even higher than the internet aseven in mature economies only 78% of households are connected to the internet. “As e-commercebusiness knows no borders, posts need to offer customers a seamless service and this can only beachieved through stronger cooperation, closer collaboration and more business integration.”
The conference featured speakers from the postal industry including New Zealand Post’s CEO BrianRoche, USPS Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe, Ingeborg Sætre, Elected Officer of theNorwegian Postal and Communications Workers’ Union (Postkom) and PostNL CEO Herna Verhagen. Allspeakers focused on the need for a change while considering the individual requirements, challengesand opportunities of each market.
Dag Mejdell, Chairman of the IPC Board and CEO of Norway Post, said in his closing remarksreflecting the general optimism during the conference: “In today’s economy, the consumer is king.In order to grasp the e-commerce opportunity, we need to enhance our service level as an industry,not as individual operators. This way, consumers will have an insight in all we have to offer themand rely on our services to support them in their increasingly digital shopping behaviour. If weembrace this change, we are going to prosper, I am convinced of this.”
Zapf concluded by reiterating the importance of mutual cooperation: “IPC is committed to supportits members throughout this process of intensifying international collaboration towards thedevelopment of a commonly supported, seamless e-commerce solution. That way we can strengthen ourposition and remain the service partner of choice for the ever evolving consumer.”
IPC’s 2014 annual conference, due to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland, is expected to furtherbroaden the focus on the postal role in e-commerce with the title ‘e-Commerce, The New Normal?’.
International Post Corporation is a cooperative association of 24 member postal operators in theAsia-Pacific region, Europe and North America. Over the past two decades, IPC has collaborated withits members to upgrade the quality of mail service by developing technology systems that bringtransparency to the mail processing system and delivery chain. IPC represents the majority of theworld’s mail, with its members delivering about 80 per cent of global postal volumes.
