The digital economy and digital postal activities – a global panorama Published by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) Berne, Switzerland Printed in Switzerland by the printing services of the International Bureau of the UPU Copyright © 2019 Universal Postal Union All rights reserved Except as otherwise indicated, the copyright in this publication is owned by the Universal Postal Union. Reproduction is authorized for non-commercial purposes, subject to proper acknowledgement of the source. This authorization does not extend to any material identified in this publication as being the copyright of a third party. Authorization to reproduce such third party materials must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned. AUTHORS: Daniel Nieto Corredera, Tafesse Bayissa Leta TITLE: ’The digital economy and digital postal activities – a global panorama’’ 2019 ISBN: 978-92-95025-90-5 DESIGN: Sonja Denovski, UPU graphic arts Unit CONTACT: [email protected] The boundaries used on the maps in this publication do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations or the UPU Contents Acknowledgement ...................................................................................................................................................................7 List of Figures ..............................................................................................................................................................................8 List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. 10 Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................................................12 Chapter I: Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................14 Foreword .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Motivation ....................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Conceptual framework ................................................................................................................................................ 15 Study objective and methodology .......................................................................................................................... 15 Linkages between postal electronic services, SDGs and ICT for Development .........................................18 Digital postal services and the Sustainable Development Goals .......................................................18 Goal 1: End poverty ...............................................................................................................................................................18 Goal 2. End hunger ...............................................................................................................................................................18 Goal 3: Good health and well-being ...............................................................................................................................19 Goal 4: Quality education ...................................................................................................................................................19 Goal 8: Decent work and promoting economic growth .............................................................................................19 Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure ................................................................................................................................ 20 Goal 10: Reduce inequality within countries ................................................................................................................. 20 Goal 13: Climate action .......................................................................................................................................................21 Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions ..............................................................................................................22 Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals ..................................................................................................................................22 Concluding remarks .................................................................................................................................................... 22 Chapter II: Digital Economy Panorama .............................................................................................24 Global trends in digital economy development .................................................................................................. 25 Regional trends in digital economy development ............................................................................................. 26 The digital transformation of the postal industry ............................................................................................... 30 The technological drivers of digital transformation .............................................................................. 30 The digital technology platforms ................................................................................................................31 The “cultural” drivers of digital transformation ...................................................................................... 33 Measuring the strategic value of digital transformation ...................................................................... 36 The digital transformation of postal operators: select case studies .................................................. 38 Chapter III: Digital postal services – Technical Analysis ............................................................................48 Defining digital postal services ................................................................................................................................. 49 Technical analysis and trends of digital postal services ..................................................................................... 51 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 51 Trends 2012–2017 ............................................................................................................................................ 51 Global penetration rates for digital postal services ............................................................................................ 52 Global results ....................................................................................................................................................52 Regional results ................................................................................................................................................53 Development of mobile applications ..................................................................................................................... 65 Digital postal services under development .......................................................................................................... 66 Dissemination of digital postal services .................................................................................................................. 66 E-post and e-government ............................................................................................................................ 67 E-commerce...................................................................................................................................................... 67 Digital financial and payment services...................................................................................................... 68 Support services............................................................................................................................................... 68 Future trends: UPU technology radar ..................................................................................................................... 69 Global analysis ................................................................................................................................................. 69 Regional analysis ..............................................................................................................................................70 UPU technology radar trends 2015–2017 ..................................................................................................70 Chapter IV: Digital postal services – Strategic Analysis ...............................................................78 Strategies and actions followed for the provision of e-services ...................................................................... 79 Global analysis ................................................................................................................................................. 79 Regional analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 79 Reasons for launching