Safety First

Moving the postal sector forward since 1875 JUNE 2012 No 2

Anatomy of a postal strategy

Colour-coding quality of service

ISSN 0041-7009 ISSN

Safety first

Contents

Cover story Safety first UPU is proposing new norms to secure international airmail 8

Case study Barbados puts colourful twist on quality of service 14 Island operation uses simple yet effective way of improving service levels

The interview Anatomy of a postal strategy Canada Post’s Terry Dunn demystifies the Doha roadmap 16

Features .post takes a leap forward Registry operator signed in important technical step 20

Inventory charts green future Latest results from UPU survey on 2010 emissions 21

Bright idea lights up Togo Post Cover: Postal workers, How solar energy is powering postal operations 22 Kabul, Afghanistan, 2011 (Photo: Jonathan Saruk / gettyimages) Departments In brief 4

Editor’s note 5

Market focus 24

June 2012 Manager, Communication Programme: Rhéal LeBlanc (RL) Editor-in-chief: Faryal Mirza (FM) Contributors: Ruby Pratka (RP), Kayla Redstone (KR) Union Postale Photographers: Alexandre Plattet, Noel Tadegnon International Bureau Design and layout: Die Gestalter, St Gallen, Switzerland Universal Postal Union Union Postale is the Universal Postal Union’s flagship magazine, Printer: Gassmann, Biel, Switzerland P. O. Box founded in 1875. It is published quarterly in seven languages and takes Subscriptions: [email protected] 3000 BERNE 15 a closer look at UPU activities and features international news and Advertising: [email protected] SWITZERLAND developments from the postal sector. The magazine regularly pub- lishes well researched articles on topical issues facing the industry, as The UPU neither endorses any products or services offered by third- Phone: well as interviews with the sector’s leading individuals. It is distributed party advertisers nor guarantees the veracity of any claims made by +41 31 350 35 95 widely to the UPU’s 192 member countries, including thousands of the same. Fax: decision-makers from governments and Posts, as well as other postal Printed on FSC Mixed Sources paper using environmentally friendly +41 31 350 37 11 stakeholders. All regard it as an important source of information about processes and ink. E-mail: the UPU and the postal sector at large. Opinions expressed in the articles are not necessarily [email protected] those of the UPU. Website: Union Postale is also published in French, Arabic, Chinese, German, Material may be reproduced with prior permission; please contact http://news.upu.int/ Russian and Spanish. the editor-in-chief. magazine

2/2012 Union Postale · 3 in brief Remittances Technical bridge facilitates money transfers

The technical solution connects post offices. Money can be coll the UPU’s International Financial ected at destination in local curr System (IFS) network – used by 56 ency within 48 hours. Egypt Post Posts, including Egypt’s – and will not charge a fee to convert Eurogiro’s network, used by Poste euros to pounds. Italiane and 64 other Posts. Thanks to the technical bridge, any Post Extended benefits connected to the IFS system can UPU Director General Edouard transfer money to Posts on the Dayan underlined the importance of Eurogiro network. money transfers. “Remittances have Mosad Abd El Ghani, Egypt Post’s chair, centre, transfers At the first service’s launch in a significant economic impact on money from Rome to Cairo (Photo: Poste Italiane) Rome in May, Poste Italiane CEO- communities and countries and con- Massimo Sarmi said Italy’s tribute to poverty reduction. Mak- Poste Italiane and Egypt Post have 92,000-member Egyptian commu- ing remittances more accessible launched the first electronic money- nity could now “benefit from a sys- through the postal network is a UPU transfer service using a technical tem that will guarantee efficient priority,” he said. RL bridge created by the UPU and money transfers at competitive Eurogiro to interconnect their finan- fees”. The service is available in cial networks. 14,000 Italian and 4,500 Egyptian

Who’s who at the UPU Anticipation is key to success

Name: Virginia Bernardini it should be in terms of accuracy, lan- After working in the director gen- Position: Executive assistant, Office of the guage, format or even tone,” she says. eral’s office for nine years, its hustle Director General Bernardini is often a trouble- and bustle keep things interesting, she Nationality: American shooter and has a keen eye for wrinkles says. “It’s not a job where you can just that need smoothing. “I can see who wait for your boss to give you some- needs what and who doesn’t under- thing to do. You have to constantly stand what the other person said,” look ahead and anticipate what he says Bernardini. “Ideally, I can put out might need or what could go wrong,” the fire before it burns,” she says, she remarks. smiling. What Bernardini enjoys most is After two degrees in vocal per- the UPU’s multicultural atmosphere formance in America, Bernardini pur- and welcoming visitors from all over (Photo: Alexandre Plattet) sued a career in singing. When she the world to the International Bureau. If you want to send something to moved to Switzerland with her family, “No matter what background people Director General Edouard Dayan, you circumstances made it hard to con- come from, there’s a common denomi- are going to have to get it past Virginia tinue down that path. nator, a sort of humanity we all share. Bernardini first. “I manage everything Her English skills landed her a job And I really like meeting and trying to that goes to his desk,” she says. at the UPU, although she also speaks help people from all these different As Dayan’s executive assistant, French. Bernardini started at the Inter- countries.” she’s the last set of eyes to approve national Bureau in 2002 as a part-time, And, although a new director all correspondence going through his secondary secretary in the postal general will arrive at the UPU in Janu- office. “It’s really important that we financial services programme. A year ary 2013, Bernardini says the last eight are not sending out or submitting later, she moved to the director gen- years have been a pleasure. “Mr Dayan something for him to sign that isn’t as eral’s office. is a very steady and kind person. He is the ultimate diplomat.” KR

4 · Union Postale 2/2012 Editor’s note

When a crisis occurs, sometimes what follows is a very In other news, the main interview demystifies the human tendency to act quickly and in isolation. The Doha Postal Strategy, the global roadmap for the very mandate of the international organization enables Union’s future activities. A case study from Barbados it to hold out its hand soothingly to those forging their Post reveals a cost-effective and beautifully simple way own crisis plans, fashioning a coordinated response of sorting mail. that reaches beyond borders. And, as the world meets again in Brazil for dis- When certain actions reverberate across the world, cussions on sustainable development, the UPU presents creating difficulties for the global supply chain, it is not the latest snapshot of the postal sector’s carbon foot- for the international organization to point fingers but print. Showing how one country is taking the results to step up and facilitate the creation of a solution. This to heart is Togo Post’s successful foray into solar ener- is a key theme of this issue’s cover story, which shows gy to power operations. it pays well to be coordinated when extraordinary Faryal Mirza, editor-in-chief, Union Postale magazine events occur, throwing the normal order into chaos.

Quality of service Asian Posts get good marks

Members of the Asian-Pacific Postal demanding integrated and secure Union (APPU) are on the right track international postal services,” Dayan in advancing quality of service and said. The .post initiative, which is postal financial services in their now entering the implementation region, according to UPU data. phase, will be one way the UPU can “Quality of service in the Asia- help countries “bridge the gap Pacific region is progressing very well, between the physical and electronic both in terms of actual results and the dimensions of the postal network as use of quality testing and enhance- Service with a smile Posts move online”, he added. ment solutions,” said UPU Director (Photo: Hongkong Post) As the region looks onwards to General Edouard Dayan, in a speech the UPU Congress, it has chosen the before the APPU’s executive council there are 36. Only 16 countries used following priority areas for 2013 – meeting on May 14 in Hongkong, internet-based inquiry systems for 2016: improving quality of service China. parcels in 2008; today there are 28. and remuneration systems. The UPU data reveal that the region Asia-Pacific is also performing director general said the UPU will is improving on several key quality of well in EMS. On-time deliveries continue to work closely with the service indicators. More Posts are remained steady at 90.8 per cent last APPU to tackle these goals. tracking all classes of mail, including December and the region has an The APPU is a UPU restricted registered letters and parcels, and 98.9 per cent rate for timely custom- union, which facilitates and improves using the UPU’s systems to exchange er-service response. postal relations between 40 desig- electronic data interchange mess Not to be forgotten is the rise of nated operators in the Asia-Pacific ages and better manage their mail e-commerce, a market that Asia- region. KR flows. In 2008, only 15 countries had Pacific dominates. “Customers know active track and trace on parcels; now no borders and are increasingly

http://www.facebook.com/universalpostalunion

2/2012 Union Postale · 5 in brief 25th Universal Postal Congress All systems go for Congress The Qatari minister of culture, arts pulling out all the stops to ensure it and heritage has assured the UPU is a success.” all necessary measures will be taken Abdul Rahman Al Aqaily, Qatar to ensure the success of the 25th Post chair and designated Congress Universal Postal Congress. It will be chairman, says his priority is to held in Doha from 24 September to ensure the Congress goes well. “Our 15 October 2012 under the patron- goal is to make sure everyone is age of the Emir of Qatar, His High- QNCC at night (Photo: QNCC) happy during and outside meetings. ness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa When we have a conference, every- Al-Thani. before Congress to discuss logistics, one is a guest of Qatar, not just a Meeting a delegation from the security and communication with delegate,” he says. International Bureau (IB) in early the Qatar team. “The preparations The 25th Universal Postal Con- June in Doha, Minister Hamad Bin are well advanced – proof of the gress will officially open on 24 Sep- Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari assured his host country’s commitment to mak- tember. A ministerial conference on guests that Qatar has vast experi- ing the Congress a success,” said 8 October will see a number of high- ence in organizing international Nel. “We have seen the Qatar level participants discuss the impact conferences. With just three months National Convention Centre (QNCC) of technology on communication, to go before the 25th Universal rise from the dust since our first visit how the postal sector can foster Postal Congress begins, prepara- two years ago. Today, the QNCC economic and social inclusion and tions are indeed on schedule and offers all the necessary state-of-the what the future holds for Posts and Qatar is fine-tuning its plans to art facilities to ensure a pleasant the UPU. welcome some 2,000 UPU dele- meeting environment,” added Nel. In the lead-up to the event, the gates to its capital. For his part, Le Goff added: Qatar team urges all delegates to The IB delegation, including “Content aside, logistics is key to make their travel arrangements, Juliana Nel, director of the executive the success of Congress, in terms of such as hotel bookings and visa office and communication, and accommodation, transportation, applications, well in advance to Daniel Le Goff, director of logistics, food and working conditions. Qatar avoid unnecessary delays or diffi- travelled to Doha one last time is very conscious of this and is culties. RL

Postal sector UPU continues to meet global postal sector’s needs As the only representative of the than 900 billion USD in 2012. global postal industry, the UPU is “Online sales are growing, as are well placed to serve the current and small packets and parcels volumes,” future needs of the sector, its dep- Huang said. uty director general, Guozhong The deputy director general Huang, recently told Posts from emphasized that the UPU would not industrialized countries. Shanghai played host rest on its laurels. “There is still “At the end of the day, cus- (Photo: gettyimages) room for the development of ser- tomers will use the service providers technology negatively impacting vices, such as e-signatures, elec- offering the best quality and secur- the traditional business, Huang said tronic notification of deliveries, ity,” Huang added. The UPU would new doors were opening for Posts. online address changes, registered continue to closely monitor econ- “The first sign [of the internet era] electronic mail, electronic customs omic, social and market develop- was a drop in traditional letter-mail documents and digital identities,” ments and to prepare its members to volumes as a result of substitution he added. respond effectively to future chall- by email and mobile phones,” Huang was speaking at the enges and changing customer needs, Huang explained. International Postal Corporation’s said the deputy director general. However, e-commerce would annual conference in Shanghai, increasingly provide more business China. This private company’s share- New doors for Posts. Financial services provider holders are 24 postal operators Despite the financial crisis and JP Morgan estimates that global from industrialized countries. RP & FM the rise of new communications e-commerce could be worth more

6 · Union Postale 2/2012 Time you subscribed?

Since 1875, Union Postale has reported news from the international postal sector for the benefit of stakeholders across the industry. Readers include chief executives, regulators, operational experts, managers, strategic thinkers, post-office employees, suppliers, academics, philatel- ists and anyone else with a keen interest in Posts.

Join the ranks of thousands of satisfied readers now. Sign up for four issues a year of our flagship magazine in one of seven languages.

Private subscribers anywhere in the world can subscribe for CHF50 a year. Special discount rates apply to Posts from UPU member countries.

Fax us your order now on +41 31 350 37 11 or email us at [email protected] with the following details:

Name Language version desired:

Position English

Organization/Operator French

Full postal address Arabic

Chinese

German

E-mail address Russian

Telephone Spanish

Fax Safety first (Bloomberg/gettyimages) Cover story

In October 2010, a series of events outside the universal postal network went on to interrupt the flow of international mail to the United States. The UPU’s response was to seek a coordinated response from all stakeholders to find a solution fitting for everyone.

Less than two years later, an extraordinary flurry of activ- with the ICSG’s work has enabled us to work closely with By Faryal Mirza ity has seen a myriad of discussions take place among the postal sector to develop standards that will meet all key players from the UPU community as well as the avi- our needs,” says Jim Marriott, chief of ICAO’s Aviation ation world, customs authorities and governments. Security Branch. Ebbe Andersen, Post Danmark’s head The result: draft standards, which, if accepted by of security and ICSG chair, echoes this. “We had good Congress later this year, will set a minimum baseline in meetings with the stakeholders. Everyone agreed they postal security with the goal of making international air- had to help each other, solve the problem and get the mail safer. The norms will reinforce existing UPU stan- mail and goods flowing. It was great,” says Andersen. dards, which are recommendations only. Shortly after the ICSG was set up, Janet Napolitano, Member countries will have the final say on whether head of the US Department of Homeland Security, the new norms S58 and S59 should be universally praised UPU efforts to create global security standards. applied. If adopted, compliance would be mandatory. “We should all support the work underway within the S58 covers security measures of a more general nature UPU,” she told delegates at a meeting of the WCO in for the Post, covering areas such as structure, windows, June 2011. doors, locks and procedures for handling dangerous Napolitano also underlined the importance of not goods. S59 relates to risk assessment and actual physical impeding international trade. “The global supply chain screening of items. system must be able to continue to function and quickly recover from major disruptions, because the efficient Heeding all views functioning of the global logistics system – of real-time The Inter-Committee on Security Group (ICSG) was set inventories – is essential to the global economy.” up in April 2011 as a joint ad-hoc working group between Part of the Department of Homeland Security, the the UPU Council of Administration and Postal Operations TSA was the organization forced to rapidly introduce Council after an urgent call from the International tougher security measures on mail destined for the US Bureau. Its mandate: to create new postal-security stan- in the aftermath of intercepting packages containing dards. explosives on private-courier planes in October 2010. The views of all stakeholders were carefully considered when drafting the norms. “We took the time Safety first and effort to develop these standards with a lot of input Public safety and safeguarding employees were and from many countries and other international organiz- remain at the forefront of deliberations in both the post- ations to come up with norms that suit the postal sec- al and aviation sectors. The UPU is keenly aware of these tor’s needs,” says Akio Miyaji, UPU director of operations dual requirements. and technology. “Airlines have responsibilities and cannot accept the The international bodies consulted included the transport of dangerous merchandise, which might put Safety first International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – the the lives of passengers and crew at risk,” says UPU Direc- UPU’s aviation counterpart – the International Air Trans- tor General Edouard Dayan. “We, too, have a responsi- port Association, the US Transportation Security Admin- bility to the public and cannot take the risk of distribu- istration (TSA), the World Customs Organization (WCO), ting dangerous goods among them. We must also ensure the World Trade Organization and the European Com- that postal staff work in safe conditions,” he adds. mission. “The security of airmail and ICAO’s involvement

2/2012 Union Postale · 9 (Bloomberg/gettyimages) Draft norm S58 covers physically securing postal infrastructure, such as sorting facilities (Bloomberg / gettyimages)

The same holds true for ICAO. “One of the main Africa will be able to implement the minimum standards, operational challenges faced by the aviation industry is once they are approved,” says Nathan Mkandawire, to ensure that airmail meets safety and security require- PAPU’s head of quality of service and customer care. ments before being carried on an aircraft. It is obviously Mkandawire added that Posts in Africa were not left of vital importance that shipments of airmail do not con- untouched by the TSA’s measures in 2010. “We were tain dangerous goods or restricted articles that could very much affected because some of the mail originating endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight,” says ICAO’s from this region and going to other parts of the world Marriott. was returned or subject to severe delays. When we As for the proposed standards themselves, many enquired why this was happening, it was clear that some voices in the postal sector believe they are achievable. of our organizations were not applying security standards “I think they are quite acceptable. An ICSG survey looked in place in some of the countries [to which international at existing levels of security in postal operators. The mail was being sent],” explains Mkandawire. responses proved that, especially at offices of exchange, But that was not all. “We lost the confidence of cus- 60 per cent of Posts already have a lot of security in tomers and that impacted the revenues we collected. It place, including in developing countries,” said Andersen. was a spiralling effect on all our mail activities, so we According to David Bowers, the UPU’s postal secur- were glad the UPU took the initiative to come up with ity programme manager, the majority of industrialized minimal security standards with which all countries will countries are already probably meeting the proposed comply, assuming the Congress proposal passes,” he standards. Some least developed countries (LDCs), how- adds. ever, would require more support to comply, especially in the area of training. Ghana review Compliance is possible for some LDCs, says the Pan While the draft UPU norms were being refined, it was African Postal Union (PAPU), a UPU restricted union. It time to test the concept with an inspection of postal counts 26 LDCs among its members and is a strong facilities. With PAPU’s support, Ghana opened its doors supporter of introducing universal standards in postal to a two-day security assessment of their Accra office security. “Speaking from experience, many countries in of exchange and international airport.

10 · Union Postale 2/2012 Cover story

The UPU inspection team, supported by resources airports and relevant offices of exchange comply with from the UPU’s Postal Security Group, were encouraged the South African programme to protect airmail from by what they saw. “One telling result was that physical unlawful interference, says Janras Kotsi, the South infrastructure did not need an upgrade but processes did. African Post Office’s group executive for the mail These included areas such as business continuity plans, business. This, in turn, meets the requirements of ICAO’s for example, in case of flooding, or training in dangerous Annex 17 to the Convention on International Civil goods,” says Bowers. “In my mind, those things are easier Aviation (Safeguarding International Civil Aviation and cheaper to improve and handle than changes to the Against Acts of Unlawful Interference) – the definitive physical infrastructure, such as putting up a wall or intro- standard for airline security. ducing card access or changing buildings,” he adds. Kotsi says his country has learnt much from partici- For its part, Ghana Post welcomed the opportunity pating in the UPU’s postal security group. “It’s global, to participate in the review. “Our objective has always not regional and not continental. As a result, it touches been to improve on what we have. At any point in time, more parts of the world. It can’t come any better than we want to assess [our operations] because no one wants this,” he says. “It is not only about learning what you their postal administration to be blacklisted by others need to do in your country but also about what others for [alleged] movement of prohibited items,” says are experiencing, so that you can implement measures Abdulai Abdul-Rafiu, its managing director. proactively to make sure the same things do not happen As for the review’s results, the Post accepts that in your country,” Kotsi adds. there is room for improvement. “We are certainly happy but we are not just going to rest on this. There is no perfect system but we should always make the effort to improve whatever we are doing,” the managing director explains.

Practical concerns Ghana Post already operates a scanner in the office of exchange at the international airport in Accra, screening outbound international mail not only for itself but also for nearby countries, such as Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. Training staff to detect dangerous and prohibited goods on a regular basis remains a challenge. “Staff operating the scanner need to be well-trained and abreast of current changes because certainly those involved in that kind of business are always trying to devise new ways of beating the system,” Abdul-Rafiu says. Game-changer The Ghanaian managing director is confident that the proposed norms can be implemented. “At the end of the day, it is for our benefit and the survival of the industry. After the 2010 incidents, we have all learnt our lesson. If we do not have minimum standards that meet Packages containing explosives bound for the US the requirements of every country, then we are bound were discovered on planes belonging to private to have a lot of problems in moving mail from one des- couriers in October 2010. As a result, tougher tination to the other,” he says. screening measures came into force on all mail Canada Post’s Peter O’Neill, charged with capacity- destined for the US. building under the ICSG, said the Ghana exercise was Posts worldwide had to change their oper- an important one. “It is all very well creating standards ational procedures overnight. Some Posts stopped but what about the practicalities? What resource impact accepting or delayed US-bound mail items, while will there be in both human and financial terms?” others faced higher transportation costs and the He added that the Ghana review proved that “it was shutdown of major mail transit hubs. This caused not that daunting after all for countries to step up” and mail backlogs around the world. solutions could be found for any potential issues. More than 400 million letters, packages and express mail items are sent to the US annually. Southern Africa hub In another part of the continent, South Africa serves as a hub for outbound and international mail for no less than nine southern African countries. Its highly sophis- ticated systems ensure that the mail is as secure as possible before leaving the continent. Its international

2/2012 Union Postale · 11 No standard is an island In the meantime, discussions are continuing on fully har- monizing the new standards with ICAO’s Annex 17. “S58 and S59 cannot be standalone standards because we are part of a global supply chain,” says Miyaji. In the run-up to Congress, an interim group is ensuring that the work of the ICSG continues, including activities in the area of customs and electronic information exchange, potentially benefitting both border and transport security. An ongoing collaboration with ICAO is also vital. The two organizations signed a memorandum of under- standing in 2009, enabling them to work better on issues of common interest. “Of critical importance is the UPU’s input to the ICAO processes for setting international A postal worker unloads mail from a cargo plane standards, recommended practices and guidance materi- (Peter Macdiarmid / gettyimages) al for aviation security,” says Marriott. “It is then the task of the authorities in each state to ensure that effective security measures are being implemented for airmail,” he adds. A strengthening of relations is on the cards, with a Congress proposal on forming an ICAO-UPU contact committee. “ICAO and the UPU have a long history of working together to ensure the efficient and safe move- ICAO Secretary General ment of air mail… We look forward to continuing that work to ensure our respective measures are harmonized to the greatest degree possible and to enable postal Raymond Benjamin operators and regulators to deliver shipments of mail that meet the needs of aviation security in the twenty- on air security first century,” emphasizes Marriott.

Global response

As for some postal representatives, it was a pleasant surprise to see how rapidly the proposed security stan- ICAO’s first priority is to develop and promote the dards came into being. “These results were achieved so “ implementation of aviation security measures that quickly. With the International Bureau’s support, it was are effective at countering the evolving threat and done in a way that was acceptable to everyone and that inspire confidence in the security of the avi- maybe that’s the way forward for other tough ques- ation industry as a whole. tions,” says Andersen. At the same time, ICAO remains conscious of And international coordination shall prevail, says the the need to apply practical counter-measures that UPU director general. “The work will never end because do not impose excessive burdens on travellers, the problem is not to simply act but also to anticipate in shippers and the air-transport industry. the face of threats. That is why it is necessary for us to Air-cargo security has come under increased reinforce our role not only in action but also prevention scrutiny following the discovery in 2010 of a plot and international cooperation,” Dayan emphasizes. “The to sabotage two freighter aircraft using explosive question of security has to be addressed not only nation- devices hidden inside parcels. This incident was ally but also internationally,” he says. “There is a risk yet another sign that terrorists will exploit any per- that individual countries cannot find appropriate sol- ceived vulnerability in the air transport system. utions in an effective way, which is why coordination at In light of the real risk of explosives being an international level is required, bringing all the affected planted inside cargo during multimodal shipping stakeholders together.” FM processes, regulators and the industry alike agree on the need to establish more effective and comprehensive supply chain security. Appropriately, ICAO Annex 17 has been amended and now requires that each member state establish a formal supply chain security process. States are also required to apply security controls to cargo and mail, including appropriate methods of screening.”

12 · Union Postale 2/2012 Cover story

Raising awareness

Preventing dangerous goods from entering the mail stream remains a challenge. That’s why training postal employees to be vigilant is crucial.

Proving that the UPU takes this need seriously is the travelling by air in the international mail stream. UPU By Faryal Mirza inclusion of a provision in the draft standard S58 on member countries, however, requested changes to this awareness and training measures. This calls upon the rule, in view of the growth in e-commerce, to be able to designated operator to implement a dangerous goods better meet customers’ delivery needs. training programme that complies with ICAO Annex 18 Together with the amended UPU Convention, the and its Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of revised ICAO rules will allow the air transportation of Dangerous Goods by Air (Doc 9284) or their national postal items containing some lithium cells or batteries civil aviation regulations. that are properly packed from January 1, 2013. This was “E-commerce is developing rapidly, as is the fulfil- a result of the UPU and ICAO working together to har- ment of these orders by Posts, but there can be no monize their respective legal instruments on the matter. growth in volumes without increased security. An entirely From 2013, If a Post decides to handle goods secure postal network will contribute to the growth of containing a limited number of cells, it will have to sending online purchases by post,” said UPU Director coordinate staff training in this area. Dangerous goods General Edouard Dayan. handling procedures and training programmes need to be approved by its country’s national civil aviation Targeting staff authority (CAA). After the CAA’s approval, the Post Training is to be given to all postal employees and con- will then be able to accept international mail items tractors, such as acceptance personnel and ‘individuals, containing equipment with up to four lithium cells or who interface with the public for mail induction and two lithium batteries, providing the latter have already individuals handling mail articles at the office of been installed. exchange’. One particular area of recent concern is the rise of Public view electronic goods containing lithium cells or batteries However, another challenge looms: persuading the pub- being sent by airmail. Evidence shows that, if cells or lic of the dangers of sending electronic items containing batteries are not packaged carefully before shipping – lithium cells or batteries through the post. for instance if they are loose and not installed “If you try to convince customers that lithium within electronic equipment – fires may cells or batteries are dangerous, they do occur. not understand because today these Currently, in accordance with batteries are everywhere: in your ICAO rules, equipment with lithium mobile phone, computer, camera cells and batteries is listed as dan- or mp3 player,” explained Ebbe gerous goods prohibited from Andersen, head of postal security at Post Danmark. FM

2/2012 Union Postale · 13 Barbados puts colourful twist on quality of service

This island Post uses a simple yet effective way of improving service levels.

Since 2007, Barbados Post has been using processing standards, says Michael By Kayla Redstone reusable tags in different colours, called Ashby, Barbados Post’s postal super- Service Quality Control (SQC) labels, to sort intendent, letter mail. “Before the Photos: letter mail. When mail arrives at the pro- introduction of the SQC labels, it was Barbados Post cessing plant, supervisors mark the mail challenging at times to determine the with a label denoting the day it was receiv- correct order for sorting during heavy ed. The Post deals annually with 17 million mail flows,” Ashby says. “This resulted pieces of letter mail, some of which are in mail being sorted out of sequence.” sorted by hand. This means the labels facili- Now, senior management can see at tate the process of prioritizing which mail a glance how time-bound mail is sorted goes out first. when they enter the mail room, he Sorted in Barbados! Barbados Post marks letter mail to indi- adds. cate whether it arrived in the morning or afternoon, Monday to Friday, adding separate labels for Inspiration priority mail and ‘no tab’ mail (items that have already But Barbados wasn’t the first to simplify the sorting pro- been physically counted). Flats and packets are not cess. The Post was inspired by a Canadian example, called marked with SQC labels because they are sorted daily. the Service Industry Standard (SIS) labelling system. When Though the new sorting system has not necessarily Canada Post was transformed from a government depart- sped up the sorting rate, it has increased efficiency and ment to a federally owned enterprise in 1981, one of the

14 · Union Postale 2/2012 Case study

Service Quality Control labels from Barbados Post

first problems identified was poor quality of service, says Cultural shift Rochelle Duhaime, a former employee, who went on to Duhaime explains the biggest challenge to implementing help create the SIS labelling system. “Service, as it was the system was the cultural shift from a budget to ser- measured by the test-mail system, was always perfect, vice culture. Previously, supervisors were told to put their yet there were many complaints from customers that the efforts into meeting budget requirements and service service was bad,” says Duhaime. was left by the wayside, she says. One issue was that mail was tested internally and The cooperation of the Post’s sorters was a vital part easily identified as test mail. The Post’s first step was to of making the system work, she explains. “All [the SIS] develop an independent measurement system. Next, the does is show you where your problems are, so you need Post designed a sorting method that would help improve to be ready to move in and do what the system is telling service; that’s where Duhaime and the SIS came in. “The you needs to be done,” says Duhaime. colour-coding system was designed so that as mail came Barbados took a different approach. The smaller into the plant and as it was offloaded from the truck, a Post has placed responsibility for the SQC labels with colour code was put directly on the big cage of mail,” three supervisors. “The staff has recognized the import- says Duhaime. ance of the labels, however it is the responsibility of the Canada Post tagged mail containers according to supervisors, who have been trained to ensure that quality the day they should leave the plant. “The origin day plus standards are maintained with regard to the correct two was how we designed the system, so that on a Mon- insertion, use of the priority label and the first-in-first- day, all the mail that came in would have a Wednesday out system,” says Ashby. tag,” she says. “We would talk about blue, orange or Duhaime has some words of wisdom for other Posts pink mail and everyone knew instantly what that meant.” interested in adopting a similar system: “You must be Before implementing the SIS, Canada Post was committed because it’s easy to put in [but it is not simple meeting on-time delivery standards at around 60 per to make it] work well. You need to be viscerally engaged cent, remembers Duhaime. Once the system was fully about improving your service because it is going to get implemented, the Post had increased that rate to 90 per tough,” she said. KR cent, she says. Kayla Redstone is currently an intern with the UPU Communication Programme. 2/2012 Union Postale · 15 The interview Anatomy of a postal strategy

Member countries are gearing up to determine the future course of the Union. Their most important task at Congress is to discuss and approve the Doha Postal Strategy, the roadmap for the UPU’s work from 2013–16. Terry Dunn, general manager, international relations, Canada Post, as chair of the Council of Administration/Postal Operations Council joint committee on strategy, describes what to expect.

Union Postale: Is the Doha Postal Something old, something new, adapt and build capacity, to be By Faryal Mirza Strategy (DPS) a seismic shift or something borrowed…? more nimble and flexible so it can business as usual? The DPS is much more than busi- deal with the pace of change, add Terry Dunn: Actually it is a bit of ness as usual. A key building block ress current risks and seize oppor- both. From a business-as-usual- was a series of strategic analyses. tunities. point of view, you’ll see some fam The first examined global develop- iliarity with the Nairobi Postal Strat- ments, including those of a political, What are the most significant egy (NPS). economic, social, legal and environ- trends affecting the sector? The strategy committee deci mental nature. These developments Customer needs and market real- ded very early on that there was no are relevant given the UPU’s inter- ities are changing and the UPU need to start from scratch. Many of governmental nature. needs to react. Ensuring the satis- the areas of the NPS remain ex- A second was an examination faction of customers’ changing tremely relevant; as it represented of key trends directly linked to the needs is very much a component of a major change from previous postal sector. These included the UPU’s mission. strategies, we incorporated a changes in global postal volumes Technology is also providing number of its key components into and product mix, such as declines in opportunities for greater access to the DPS. These include, for letters but growth in merchandise postal services as well as opportun- example, the three-dimensional fulfilment services. The pace of ities for operators to better serve network – a real strength of the or- change has accelerated since the customers. It is also helping drive ganization – and the axis of inter- NPS and this is expected to con- convergence and compatibility of connection, governance and devel- tinue. Technology is obviously a key the UPU’s three-dimensional opment as supporting core focuses driver of change. [physical, electronic, financial] net- of the UPU. And the final [aspect] looked at work. That said, the world has the UPU’s strengths, weaknesses, More and more, the lines are changed since 2008 and our strat- opportunities and threats. [They all] becoming blurred between the egy also needs to change with it. point to the need for the UPU to physical, electronic and financial

16 · Union Postale 2/2012 parts of the network. For example, if you think about an electronic network, it can, but does not necessarily, mean standalone e-services. It can mean using information communication technologies and electronic-data-interchange messaging to support core physical services under the universal service obligations. Take basic things like being able to scan items and use this scanning information to serve our customers.

What else lies ahead? A huge opportunity – and we are living it already today – is e-commerce. Perhaps it is the golden nugget designated operators are looking for at a time of globally declining letter volumes. At its very basic core, e-commerce is you or I going online and Terry Dunn ponders the future (Illustration: Sascha Tittmann) ordering something, which in turn creates the demand for fulfilment and, in most cases, physical de- My message is this: an import- Let’s look at this from a per- livery. The delivery of that order is ant first step is having the inter- spective outside the UPU. E-com- a core service under the universal national postal network organized merce customers order merchan- service obligation that is regulated to ensure we can collectively meet dise; they do not order packets or internationally by the UPU. That’s customer needs for secure, reliable parcels. Customs and border secur- an opportunity we can’t miss. and quality-delivery of items or- ity officers are similarly not con- From a government-policy per- dered through e-commerce. We cerned about internal UPU defini- spective, facilitating e-commerce need to get this right, including en- tions and rules for parcels versus offers opportunities to support and suring that all members share in packets. All they see are goods and build regional, small business and the benefits and opportunities of they often have their own pro- trade-based economic growth and international e-commerce ex- cesses for handling and inspecting social inclusion. changes regardless of being the im- merchandise versus documents. But we have to get it right and porting or exporting country. It is important that we remind get ourselves organized fast be- ourselves and approach what we cause there are alternatives out Do changing times require adapt- do at the UPU cognizant of the there. ing the UPU’s structure? perspective of those using the ser- E-commerce as a concept can Let’s look at how the UPU and our vices and those we count on as mean different things to different work are structured today. We part of the broader supply chain. people. For example, there are have definitions, regulations and Are existing definitions appro- some very comprehensive end-to- structures based on letter post, priate for the current times, are end e-commerce solutions today parcel post and other services. there opportunities to consolidate that involve hosting a web-mall These definitions and structures and streamline regulations across and an online-payment facility. have served us well over our history services and how do we ensure fair Depending on individual market but the environment is changing. and efficient remuneration systems needs and national policies, this Twenty years ago, packets in the to secure a long-term sustainable may be an interesting and worthy letter-post concept often were model that supports the mainten- aspiration. But I also know that bulky letters and documents, but ance of a universal network? such an ambition for many coun- today the packets we are seeing tries could appear overwhelming as internationally are goods fulfil- a short-term goal. ment.

2/2012 Union Postale · 17 The interview

What about the work on reforming In a perfect world, we would love to The DPS is global and yet the the Union? do everything, but we can’t. This is regions are setting their own During this work cycle, the Council a real challenge and I understand priorities… of Administration and the Inter- how difficult prioritization can be. It is a global strategy for the UPU national Bureau made a deliberate However, the postal sector is but there is a key recognition that and concerted effort to better align more complex today than in the it must be implemented on a the work on strategy and reforming past. There are more and more de- regional basis. Each region went the Union. Strategy led on ‘here’s mands on the organization, and the through a process at the 2011 where we want to go’ and reform capacity for UPU members to in- strategy round tables to identify on ‘what do we have to do to make crease their funding for the UPU is their respective priorities for their sure we have the best chance of challenged by economic realities regional development plans. This succeeding’. worldwide. was to ensure that when we come [This covers] proposals dealing out of Doha, we can get moving with organization of Councils, What help is at hand? immediately; the regions’ priorities budgeting and process improve- A starting point for Doha will be a will already be known. ments, including how we make Congress document that sums up This is different to the NPS, decisions, run meetings and man- the resources required for all the where the global strategy was age documents. On first reading, proposals to be considered. This adopted in 2008 but it was only this may not sound like ground- will provide members with in- after the Geneva Congress that we breaking stuff but it will very much formation before Congress on the went through the process of trying influence the success of implement- possibility of a potential resource to prioritize the activities. ing the strategy. gap, which they can consider dur- For example, documents requi- ing deliberations on proposals. How will the results of the DPS be ring decisions need to be available If, however, we end up in a measured by indicators? to members well in advance of situation where what has been The indicators are an incredibly meetings, ensuring insightful dis- approved in the various commit- important part of implementing cussions and reaching informed tees requires resources that exceed the strategy. If we don’t know decisions as opposed to just reach- what has been adopted, a process where we want to get to and don’t ing decisions. The absence of docu- will be followed to help Congress have benchmarks along the way, ments was an issue raised on many consider this outcome. then we are just driving down a occasions during the current cycle at road, hoping it will take us some- Postal Operations Council and What are key areas to prioritize? where nice and [that] we arrive. Council of Administration meetings. While I have my own personal Measuring and evaluating views, ultimately, it will be up to results are very important. The What UPU weaknesses did the ana- members at Congress to decide starting point was to ensure at lyses leading to the DPS reveal? which proposals to adopt and least one indicator for each of the A significant weakness is the UPU’s prioritize. proposed DPS programmes so that inability to prioritize. At the 2008 There are opportunities out we are ready to start measurement Congress, decisions were made to there for the postal sector but on day one of work. approve work that required resour waiting four years to get ourselves During the current cycle, there ces far in excess of the ceiling app organized is far too long. I can say, was considerable work done to roved by the very same Congress. as chair of the Strategy Committee, identify as best we could a set of Trying to do everything without the that member countries still see the indicators for the DPS. Admittedly, required resources is noble, but it quality of the various postal ser- some areas were much easier than sets us on a path that dilutes overall vices we offer as a prime driver. others to address. Are they all per- focus. Markets are demanding con- fect? Perhaps not, although they Should this scenario repeat sistent reliable performance, so are all based on active input from itself in Doha, I believe a key stra- [quality of service is] an area where members. I anticipate there will be tegic issue for Congress will be: how the UPU will continue to focus. opportunities in the next cycle to do we wish to go forward as an This means getting the basics right, build on this work. We are going to organization? Do we continue to which is quality, and looking for learn as we go forward. FM dilute ourselves by trying to do opportunities to grow, such as a little bit of everything or do we leveraging e-commerce. These focus on a fewer number of things things fit together nicely. but do them extremely well and really move the organization forward?

18 · Union Postale 2/2012 Doha Postal Strategy

Goals Improve interoperability of international postal net- Promote innovative products and services (develop 1 works 3 three-dimensional network) The UPU should ensure that postal networks can operate Postal operators that have diversified their activities and efficiently. This includes the postal sector’s physical, elec- invested in the postal network’s three dimensions have tronic/digital and financial networks. fared better than other operators. The UPU should con- In the physical sphere, the efficiency and integrity tinue to encourage its members to take advantage of of the global supply chain should be continually improved opportunities for diversification and foster innovation. through an integrated and coordinated approach to addressing the issues facing the circulation of postal items.

Provide technical knowledge and expertise related Foster sustainable development of postal sector 2 to postal sector 4 Sustainable development has now been redefined Exploit UPU expertise to position the organization as a more broadly for the next cycle. It should be understood key forum for the exchange of ideas and best practices in its broadest sense to encompass the sustainability of and the development of analytical tools, such as stat- postal business models and not only environmental or istics. social issues. This explains why improvement of remuneration between Posts appears as a priority under this goal.

Regional priorities 2013–16

Africa Latin America 1 Improve quality of service of international mail; 1 Improve operational processes and implemen- promote use of Quality of Service Fund tation of quality-of-service plans 2 Stimulate growth of designated postal operators 2 Reform postal sector by developing e-commerce and parcel and small packet services

Caribbean 1 Improve quality of service Asia-Pacific 2 Develop human resources through training 1 Enhance quality of service, reliability and efficiency of postal networks 2 Improve remuneration systems between desig- Europe and the CIS countries nated postal operators (RCC member countries) 1 Improve quality of service and efficiency of postal network 2 Develop e-commerce Arab countries and observer 1 Modernize and diversify postal parcels service 2 Develop and modernize money transfer service Europe and CIS countries (PostEurop member countries) 1 Enhance quality of service, reliability and efficiency of postal network 2 Improve remuneration systems between designated postal operators

2/2012 Union Postale · 19 Feature .post takes a leap forward

The UPU has chosen Afilias, a global provider of internet infrastructure services, as the registry operator for .post, the organization’s privileged space on the web for postal e-services.

The agreement, signed on June 1, innovation that is likely to be By Faryal Mirza brings the UPU’s sponsored top- unleashed as a result of .post level domain (TLD) one step closer going live.” to implementation. Under the “We completely believe in the terms of the agreement, Afilias .post vision of preparing the will operate the technological postal services of the world for infrastructure required to enable the future. We dedicate ourselves .post to go live. to help bring this to life,” added A registry operator handles Roland LaPlante, Afilias’ senior the technical aspects of ensuring a TLD runs in a manner vice president and chief marketing officer. that maintains the safety and security of the internet. Afilias specializes in providing domain-name regis- Among many behind-the-scenes activities, the registry try services and internet infrastructure services to TLDs maintains the master database of domain names and across the globe. It started business in 2001 with the their matching internet protocol (IP) addresses for a par- launch of the .info TLD, which it manages along with ticular TLD. IP addresses are the numeric equivalent of the .mobi and .pro TLDs. Currently, Afilias provides ser- domain names; they enable computers to direct traffic vices to 17 TLDs with more than 20 million domains, to the address indicated by the domain name. including almost eight million .info domains and one million .mobi domains. Afilias also supports the .org, Crucial partnership .aero and .asia TLDs, among others. UPU Director General Edouard Dayan emphasized that choosing a strong technical partner was crucial to mak- Road ahead ing .post live. “If we are able to adapt postal services to Before .post can become operational, the .post registry the new technical and commercial environment, we are must undergo a period of technical testing. Once com- creating value for our members and we will also be in plete, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and line with the times in which we are living,” Dayan said. Numbers (better known as ICANN) will officially dele- At the signing, Ram Mohan, Afilias’ executive gate the .post domain to the UPU. After this, it will be vice president and chief technology officer, said: “We possible for eligible entities to register and use .post are excited to be part of what is likely to be the next domain names, subject to specific application pro- generation of the evolution of Posts and about the cedures and conditions of use approved by the UPU. FM

20 · Union Postale 2/2012 Feature Inventory charts green future

In the fight against climate change, knowledge is power.

The UPU has released the results of its third global inven- nation from 33 then to 16 today. “There was an immedi- By Ruby Pratka tory of greenhouse gas emissions, estimating that the ate and significant reduction in emissions and fuel costs,” world’s postal activities emitted 56.5 million tonnes of says Peechen. Other measures include using energy-

carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2010 or 0.15 per cent of total efficient lightbulbs and recycling batteries and waste- global greenhouse gas emissions. As a comparison, the paper. “All these little things that we and other oper- maritime sector produces 3.3 per cent of total global ators do form a big pyramid of action; all these little

emissions or 1.02 billion tonnes of CO2. The aviation things together are going to change the world,” he adds. sector produces 2.2 per cent of total emissions or 705 For La Poste du Togo, participating in the inventory million tonnes. is one way to contribute to the global push for sustainable development (see page 22). “It’s part of the overall Postal footprint modernization of our operations, which will address Posts in North, South and Central America, Western pollution, eco-driving [and] sustainable purchasing,” says Europe, South Asia and Oceania account for 95.5 per Martin Kwasi, auditing director and sustainable devel- cent of the sector’s emissions. Postal operators in Afri- opment project manager. ca, Eastern Europe and North Asia account for the rest. 2010’s inventory was far more thorough than pre- Assistance vious ones as it included rail and sea transport for the After receiving their inventory results, operators may ask first time. Posts from 133 countries participated in the the UPU for help in devising concrete ways to reduce voluntary survey, nine more than the previous year. emissions. Correos del Ecuador has taken that route. Participation in the inventory can help Posts prove “The amount of emissions that our Post produces has to clients and governments that they are taking measures caused staff and management to worry about the [envi- to protect the environment. It also provides a spring- ronmental] impact of our work,” says Diego Rendon, board to take concrete action to go green. head of corporate social and community responsibility. “History tells us that those who do not measure do “We still don’t know what concrete changes we will not go forward,” says Patrick Widloecher, head of the make but we will make changes.” UPU sustainable development working group during this Correo Argentino took part in the inventory for the work cycle. “You can’t develop actions to reduce first time, consequently setting up a working group to emissions if you don’t know what your starting point is.” tackle emissions. “We have already started to switch all Mauritius Post has participated in each of the three our office lighting to energy-efficient bulbs,” says Luis carbon inventories. “As nature lovers, the inventory gives Brodin, international operations director at the Argentine

us a forensic insight into the amount of CO2 that we emit operator. and allows us to take corrective measures,” says Maur- For the next inventory on 2011, the UPU is cooper- itius Post’s operations manager, Mike Peechen. ating with the International Civil Aviation Organization After the first inventory, the operator launched an to gain a view of emissions stemming from airmail. RP ambitious plan to consolidate mail routes on the island Ruby Pratka is currently an intern with the UPU Communication Programme.

2/2012 Union Postale · 21 Bright idea lights up Togo Post

During West Africa’s 2007 energy crisis, waves of power outages hit Togolese post offices. Such happen- ings are now almost a thing of the past, thanks to solar energy.

By Ruby Pratka Frequent power cuts would plunge employees and cus- computers and printers, which allow us to render ser- tomers into darkness, cutting off inter-office communi- vices in real time,” said Kwasi. cation for hours at a time. Postal financial services, which The panels have a steady supply of sunlight, as peri- rely on an internet connection, also ground to a halt. ods of three or more days without sun are almost But Martin Kwasi and his colleagues noticed one unheard of in Togo. “We’ll be able to progressively light never went out: the sun. “We tested two solutions replace polluting generators with solar energy, which is – generators and solar energy – and found that solar clean,” says Kwasi. energy worked best,” says Kwasi, auditing director and But the project’s benefits go far beyond helping the sustainable development project manager at La Poste environment. Several offices now provide mobile phone du Togo. charging points, according to Kwasi, an essential service Of the country’s 80 post offices, 12 are now gener- in a country where landlines reach only three per cent ating electricity from rooftop solar installations. The cho- of the population. Some post offices in rural areas have sen offices are mostly in rural and suburban areas where become a popular gathering place in the evenings. Stu- power cuts are more frequent. “The panels power all of dents, whose own homes lack electricity, come to study our equipment, notably the routers, modems, in front of the lit postal buildings, says Kwasi.

Postal operations in Lomé, Togo (Photos: Noel Tadegnon/EPA/keystone)

22 · Union Postale 2/2012 Feature

Solar panels are installed at a rural post office in Pagala, Togo (Photo: Bernard Béroud)

“In western Africa, there is almost never electricity in around 21,000 CHF (USD 22,630). Eleven installations the villages and even the cities are sometimes affected,” were financed out of the operator’s own budget. The says Bernard Béroud of Swiss-based Ingénieurs et Archi- most recent, which came into action in February 2012, tectes Solidaires, which fitted three of the solar instal- was financed by Swiss Post. lations. “The post offices are central to the villages.” Kwasi believes solar energy could be the way of the They are the centres of money and communication, future for African posts. “Especially for Posts in devel- where electricity is essential. oping countries where the question of electricity is “We have been able to break the isolation of sev- crucial, I would advise using solar energy. Particularly in eral rural communities,” Kwasi adds. “It’s a way to fight Africa, where we have sun on a permanent basis!” RP financial and social exclusion of vulnerable communities.” Ruby Pratka is currently an intern with the UPU Communication Programme. Future plans The goal is to fit out 50 of Togo’s post offices with solar panels. Kwasi says the main obstacle to the project’s expansion is cost – each solar panel installation requires

Postal operations in Lomé, Togo (Photos: Noel Tadegnon/EPA/keystone)

2/2012 Union Postale · 23 Market focus Digest

Austria convenient for customers with a new service Italy Austria Post has expanded its direct mail that drops parcels off even if no one is at Poste Italiane saw a decrease in profits for network, acquiring a Polish unaddressed-mail home. Customers may request parcels are left 2011 but reported that revenues remained company and a 26 per cent stake in a Bulgar- in a safe place, such as a shed or garage. stable. Net profits declined from over one bil- ian hybrid-mail specialist. Poland’s Kolportaz More than 200,000 people have signed up lion EUR (1.3 billion USD) to 846 million EUR, Rzetelny claims a 36 per cent share in the for the service. while revenues declined 0.5 per cent to 21.7 country’s direct mail market. Bulgaria’s billion EUR. Postal revenues decreased five M&BM Express sent 65 million hybrid-mail The Post is also being proactive in cutting its per cent, but Poste Italiane saw growth in its items last year. KR carbon footprint. In a period of four weeks, financial and insurance services. KR Post Danmark said it cut energy consumption Chile from heat and electricity by nearly 20 per Lithuania CorreosChile has rolled out its first 24/7 cent, saving 1.26 million DKK (217, 000 USD) Lithuania Post generated 405,000 LTL parcel terminal pilot project, Citybox. The and nearly 300 tons of carbon dioxide. Post (148,000 USD) in net profits for the first three

Post unveiled five installations at petrol Danmark hopes to cut CO2 emissions 40 per months of 2012, compared to a 2.2 million LTL stations and supermarkets across Santiago, cent by 2020. KR loss in the first quarter of 2011. An increase in the Chilean capital. Customers making tele- sales – more than 50 per cent from the uni- phone or internet purchases with businesses Finland versal postal service – and courier-service rev- linked to Citybox can choose which terminal Itella is expanding its network of self-service enues were responsible. KR their package is delivered to. When the parcel parcel terminals in Finland and Estonia. This arrives, they receive an SMS and email with year, the Post will double the number of exist- Malaysia their access code and have three days to pick ing terminals in Finland to reach 100 and will Pos Malaysia has launched a new prepaid up their goods. KR add 10 in Estonia to reach 62 terminals. Itella parcel service. Some 300 postal outlets now has struck a deal with Finnish retailer, Kesko, offer envelopes in two sizes and prepaid to install terminals in its 75 current K-citymar- boxes in three sizes. The Post says all parcels ket stores and any future stores by the end of will be delivered the next day, where possible, 2013. KR or within an additional one to three working days in less accessible areas. KR France La Poste has expanded its e-commerce ser- Mauritius vices by acquiring Mixcommerce, a Parisian Mauritius Post employees have been clean- company specializing in creating and hosting ing local beaches as part of its 240th anniver- e-commerce websites. La Poste’s plan is to sary celebrations, reports Le Mauricien. Czech Republic incorporate Mixcommerce with its existing Employees collected 400 kg of rubbish from Czech Post had a good 2011, with profits of service, Box E-Commerce, to create a unit one beach and plan to clean three more 419 million CZK (23.7 million USD), compared that will provide retailers with outsourced during the next few months. RP to 263 million CZK in 2010. The Post’s 33,202 e-commerce services. La Poste’s goal is to be- staff will share a 200 million CZK bonus. The come a preferred partner for businesses seek- Norway company said higher demand for parcel ing e-commerce solutions. KR Posten Norge is treading deeper into the services and a contract to deliver newspapers logistics sector as it takes over Fredrikstad were responsible. KR Great Britain Transport & Spedisjon (FTS). Posten Norge will Royal Mail has invested 32 million GBP oversee the company’s shipping, forwarding, Denmark (51 million USD) to refurbish its largest and distribution and third-party logistics services. Post Danmark is partnering with pensions busiest processing centre, the Royal Mount FTS’s main functions are to receive, store, company, ATP, to start a national digitization Pleasant Sorting Office, London. New sorting clear and distribute items that have come project. The Post will scan physical mail into machines mean the facility can sort 45,000 through customs. KR electronic documents, also taking over several items per hour, up from 25,000. The centre local government functions, such as payment also has four newly refurbished cancelling processing and pension distribution, poten- machines. RP tially saving municipal governments hundreds of millions of Danish kroner per year. KR Post Danmark has made parcel delivery more

24 · Union Postale 2/2012 Singapore develop new ventures to support its mail The USPS will keep open 3,700 rural post of- SingPost revenues increased by 2.2 per cent business and increase use of existing delivery fices that had been slated for closure earlier to 578.5 million SGD (461.5 million USD) in vehicles. KR this year. The offices and others in rural areas 2011. Inflation and a weak economy were will operate with reduced opening hours, said to have caused an 11.8 per cent drop in Sweden while post-office boxes remain accessible. net profits, bringing them to 142 million PostNord’s takeover of Green Cargo Logis- USPS plans to gradually reduce window hours SGD. While domestic mail volumes declined, tics has received the green light from the in 13,000 rural offices, completing the international mail and philately kept mail rev- Swedish competition authority. The takeover process in 2014. Once implemented, the plan enues steady. Logistics and retail services saw gives the Swedish-Danish operator access to is estimated to save the operator 500 mil- increases of 8.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent one of Sweden’s largest logistics companies, lion USD annually. RP respectively. KR with over 250,000 square feet of warehouse space and logistics operations in sectors rang- The USPS is trialling a new parcel terminal Spain ing from books to tyres. RP system. The gopost service will include 25 ter- Correos will cut between 1,900 and 2,000 minals in northern Virginia. One terminal was jobs this year after a loss of 164.4 million EUR Switzerland opened at a local mall and six units are (228.9 million USD) in 2011. The Post will try Swiss Post’s financial arm, PostFinance, already being tested at post offices. KR to move employees back to central govern- now manages more than 100 billion CHF ment jobs and offer voluntary redundancies (106.3 billion USD) in customer assets. Post to lessen the impact. Correos president, finance is now the third largest financial insti- Javier Cuesta Nuin, says services will not tute in the Swiss retail market. With almost be affected. The Post will also invest 1.4 million customers logging on to its e-fin 74.3 million EUR in infrastructure. KR ance banking platform, it is also number one in online banking in Switzerland. KR Sweden PostNord is set to take over major Swedish United States newspaper distributor, Svensk Morgondis- Falling mail volumes were at the root of a tribution. The deal was made by the Post’s 3.2 billion USD second quarter loss for the wholly owned distribution subsidiary, Tidn- United States Postal Service. While rev- ingstajänst AB. The latter will now manage enues from shipping and parcel services rose the company, which generated net sales of more than 13 per cent to 3.5 billion USD, 350 million SEK (54 million USD) in 2011 and standard and first-class volumes fell, leading distributes about 100 million morning papers. to a drop of 1.8 billion pieces or 3 per cent of The acquisition feeds PostNord’s strategy to total mail volumes. RP

Follow the latest news at: http://news.upu.int

Erratum

In the issue of March 2012, mistakes were inadvertently printed in paragraphs 5 and 6 on page 18 as well as an error in the pie chart on postal staff on page 20. A corrected version of the article can be found at: http://news.upu.int/magazine/ archives/2012/

2/2012 Union Postale · 25 /URSOLUTIONS AREASVARIED ASYOURCUSTOMERS

4ECHNOLOGYHASTRANSFORMEDHOWCONSUMERSINTERACTWITH POSTALORGANISATIONS

9OURCUSTOMERSARENOWLOOKINGTOACCESSANDCONSUMEPOSTALSOLUTIONSATATIME ANDPLACEOFTHEIRCHOOSING

%SCHER'ROUPENABLESPOSTALORGANISATIONSTOPROVIDEDIGITALPOINTSOFSERVICETHAT CANBEACCESSEDATWORK ATHOME ONMOBILEDEVICESANDINTHEPOSTOFFICEITSELF

#ONTACTUSTODAYTOFINDOUTHOWWECANHELPSHAPEYOURPOSTALFUTURE

%MAILSALESTEAM ESCHERGROUPCOM#ALL WWWESCHERGROUPCOM Enhancing performance, that’s my job. Olivier DESPREZ V-IdTM Algorithmics Team Leader

CONSULT | DESIGN | IMPLEMENT | SUPPORT | ADD VALUE

anks to the mobilization of our teams, we constantly dedicate ourselves to developing technologies that add even more value to your processes; increasing productivity, improving your competitivity, reducing operating costs and supporting sustainable development. We are here for you and for each stage in the life of your process, SOLYSTIC oﬀ ers solutions tailored to your requirements. Add value to your solutions with SOLYSTIC. www.solystic.com Future postal solutions

SO_pu_ap_servicesGB-A4-6-0.indd 5 26/01/12 17:23 Quality information from innovation

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 GMS solution that uses passive RFID at a very affordable price. Global Monitoring System For more information, watch the animation fi lm http://www.tinyurl.com/gmsfi lm or contact [email protected].