UPU WORLD CEO FORUM AMSTERDAM 2019 FINAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 SPEAKERS 11 SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS AND KEY TAKEAWAYS 25 Session 1: Blockchain start-ups with postal services Session 2: New postal services for an ageing population Session 3: New postal services for the young MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL The fourth UPU World CEO Forum was The second session dealt with the issue I would like to thank UKI Media, which held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on of new postal services for an ageing gave special support to the forum this year, 30 September 2019. The theme of the 2019 population. Four speakers, representing and the leaders who made the journey to gathering was “new business models in the postal operators of Lithuania, South Amsterdam to participate in this important an age of change”. Africa, Ukraine and Nigeria shared their event in the UPU calendar. strategies for catering to older customers. Following productive events in previous Though the demographic transition is more I hope this report proves useful as a years in Paris, Moscow and Istanbul, the advanced in Europe and North America, concise record of the fourth UPU World 2019 forum continued to build on the two-thirds of the world’s older people live CEO Forum for participants and all other momentum of exchanging ideas. The event in developing regions. UPU members alike. We are all aware programme, speaker biographies and key that we need to compete in the areas takeaways are all presented in this report. The final panel looked at the younger end of e-commerce and financial and digital of the market, and the ways in which the services if we are to thrive in the future. This gathering of postal decision-makers postal sector can address the needs of the The forum allowed us to address the came just a few days after the dramatic increasingly demanding youth segment. urgent issue of developing new business events of the Extraordinary Congress The CEOs of Botswana Post, Serpost (Peru), models in this competitive sector. Thank in Geneva, during which challenging An Post (Ireland) and La Poste Djibouti you for your participation. questions about the future of the terminal contributed to this discussion. dues system were finally resolved, giving Bishar A. Hussein the UPU a new lease of life. The forum was rounded off with a closing Director General speech by the UPU Deputy Director of the UPU International Bureau The Amsterdam forum began with a General and a dinner at which one final session on blockchain start-ups with postal speaker, the Chairman of the UPU Council services. Speakers from the Croatian, of Administration and Director General of Turkish, Tunisian and Egyptian Posts the Turkish Post, addressed the CEOs. discussed how they had considered and applied blockchain innovations in the Throughout the day, there were international postal sector. Two experts opportunities for top executives of the on blockchain then addressed the CEOs, postal industry to network and pose outlining their vision for the role that the questions on the panel topics. This face-to- UPU and its members would play in the face interaction is a much-valued benefit of fourth industrial revolution. our annual CEO Forum. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2019 edition of the UPU World During the 2018 edition of the UPU Blockchain is gathering momentum CEO Forum took place in Amsterdam, World CEO Forum, a two-day event and has the potential to address Netherlands, on 30 September, ahead held in Turkey, CEOs discussed the barriers to financial inclusion and of the three-day Parcel+Post Expo. global dynamics that affect the postal improve cybersecurity and digital This was the fourth time that postal sector. Participants also deliberated identity. It is part of a shift towards a leaders had come together for an on the ideal postal portfolio for new financial system, one of 10 tipping annual exchange of ideas. meeting customer expectations, and points for the global postal sector examined the public service role of identified by the UPU. Before the wider industry – including postal operators. couriers, e-fulfilment companies, Traditional banking may have entered cross-border shoppers and delivery The focus of the 2019 gathering was an irreversible decline. It is facing companies – descended on the RAI the advent of blockchain, and the competition from the alternative Amsterdam Convention Centre, the best ways to reach two very different financial systems offered by Internet attending CEOs were given time to demographic groups: older and platforms, such as peer-to-peer discuss their own roles and priorities younger people. A common thread lending, and the emergence of new in a collaborative setting. running through all three topics was players, as well as digital currencies. the digital divide. The day began with Participants discussed how postal The forum, entitled “New business an interactive interview with UPU operators that offer financial services models in an age of change”, was Director General Bishar A. Hussein. must position themselves in this new well attended, bringing together financial order. representatives from more than Mr Hussein took the opportunity 7 40 countries, three-quarters of whom to recap the successful but hard- According to the World Bank, came from outside Europe. Africa and won outcome of the Extraordinary two-thirds of the 1.7 billion unbanked the Middle East were well represented Congress in Geneva just a few days adults worldwide have access to and there were participants from earlier, and he reminded participants mobile phones, making mobile as far afield as Brazil, Fiji, Malaysia that wider reform of the Union was payment services facilitated by and Peru. essential, given that Posts hold less blockchain a major opportunity than 30% of the global delivery for Posts. This report presents the forum market. programme, speakers and key The key takeaway from this discussion takeaways from the three topics The topic of the morning session was that postal operators, with their discussed on the day. The forum was “Blockchain start-ups with trusted brands and vast networks, are also provided postal leaders with postal services”. In addition to the uniquely positioned to exploit the full the opportunity to network between contribution of postal CEOs, who potential of blockchain. Swift action is programme events. reported on their blockchain activities, needed. Now is the time to create a the discussion included input global postal blockchain application from two expert guest speakers – as a consortium. Mr Moses Ma, Managing Partner of FutureLab Blockchain Lab, and Dr Christian Jaag, Founder and Counsel with Swiss Economics. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Despite not being experts on The ideal solution would marry A number of Posts, including Japan blockchain, postal operators are technological innovation with Post and La Poste (France), have under pressure to learn and move customer satisfaction. Some of the introduced home visits for older quickly. An increasingly popular idea is Posts presenting at the 2019 forum, people who live alone, a service which to have start-ups develop innovations especially those that had become is greatly appreciated by absent family that postal operators can then apply profitable again, felt that they were members. There is ample opportunity to their business processes. striking this delicate balance. to expand this service, along with deliveries of food and medicine. Worldwide cooperation between UPU The two afternoon panels picked Mobile post office teams are ideally members is essential. Moses Ma made up the discussion on demographics, placed to provide tailored services the point that the UPU could form the looking at how to respond to the such as these to customers’ doors. ideal “trust anchor” because it inspires needs and characteristics of two Amidst resistance to rural post office more confidence than Facebook, specific segments of the population – closures, supplementing the physical governments or banks. Christian Jaag older and younger people. postal network with mobile teams said it was in the UPU’s interest to would be a worthwhile pilot project. create its own blockchain rather than In the session “New postal services for Mobile team trials run by Ukrposhta rely on an existing system. an ageing population”, participants (Ukraine) have already proven heard from countries with very successful. Several speakers remarked that different demographic profiles, from these are challenging times for Lithuania, where over-65s account The award-winning Address postal operators worldwide. While for 23% of the population, to Nigeria, Verification System rolled out by 8 younger customers expect high- where they represent only 3%. But Nigeria’s NIPOST has particularly level digital and mobile services with life expectancy improving in benefited older people in rural areas, from all businesses, including Posts, developing countries, the older where road networks are inadequate many older customers are resistant population is growing steadily. and addresses can be difficult to to change and reject new models for register. Older customers who verify interacting with postal operators. This Posts are not only socially obligated their addresses using a mobile phone is against the backdrop of continued but also commercially motivated to improve their access to services and pressure from governments for Posts serve older customers, who represent hence their economic inclusion. to fulfil their public service mission. untapped potential. Moreover, As noted in previous discussions, the because older people face more public service mission generally takes barriers than other customer groups – precedence over the commercial including health problems and limited imperative, with Posts called upon to budgets and transport options – they play a special role in social cohesion stand to benefit most from postal and infrastructure – and not just in services. This is especially true in areas rural areas. with high emigration, where older people rely on the parcels and money that they receive from younger relatives working in other parts of the country or abroad.