March 2008 Moving the postal sector forward UPU, a specialized agency of the United Nations 1 Postal services Fuel for trade Contents In brief Short news items about the UPU 4 Editor’s note A world without the Post? Unthinkable! 5 Cover story Local access to global markets March 2008 Moving the postal sector forward A look at how postal services make the economic world go round 8 UPU, a specialized agency of the United Nations 1 The future of letter post Predictions that the Internet would be the end of letter post have missed the mark 13 Letter-writing lives on Postal services A former US president wrote more than 1,000 letters to his wife… Fuel for trade times may have changed, but the letter still packs a punch 18 The postal territory is one of the largest phy­ Back to the future sical distribution net­ A look at some of the technologies and trends postal operators are works in the world and adopting to become faster and better 21 promotes information and commercial ex­­ changes even from the most remote areas. The interview Fair dues Switzerland’s Paul Epiney, who heads the UPU’s terminal dues project group, takes the mystery out of a most elaborate system 24 The mailbox Readers express themselves 28 Market focus A look at what’s going on in the worldwide postal sector 29 march 133rd year Union Postale Director, Ex­ecutive office and communication: Juliana Nel International Bureau Editor­in­chief: Rhéal LeBlanc Universal Postal Union Assistant editor: Jérôme Deutschmann P. O. Box 2008Editorial assistant: Gisèle Coron 3000 BERNE 15, SWITZERLAND Contributors: Dora Precup, Laurent Widmer Translation: James Holden, Gary Long, Mark Prosser, Phone: +41 31 350 33 10 Ann Williams, Margaret Wills Fax­: +41 31 350 31 77 Revision and proofreading: Mark Prosser E­mail: [email protected] Design: Die Gestalter, St. Gallen (Switzerland) www.upu.int Printer: Benteli Hallwag AG, Berne (Switzerland) Subscriptions: [email protected] Published since 1875, Union Postale is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, The opinions expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the UPU. Russian and Spanish. Material may be reproduced with an acknowledgement: © Union Postale (UPU) 1/2008 Union Postale · 3 in brief Ban Ki-moon CA approves key Congress proposals at the UPU In early February, the UPU Council of funding received by developing and Administration (CA) approved several least developed countries for reform, On 28 and 29 April, the Universal proposals of a general nature and development or quality of service Postal Union in Berne will host the amendments to the Acts for submis- improvement projects. Finally, an­ next meeting of the United Nations sion to the 24th Universal Postal Con- other proposal concerns the new Chief Executives Board for Coordina- gress. These include: a new terminal structures of the CA and the Postal tion (CEB), chaired by United Nations dues system (see interview on page Operations Council (POC), the two Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 24); the new world postal strategy, main UPU bodies responsible for con- The CEB, in which UPU Director which defines four main postal sec- tinuing the work of the Union bet­ General Edouard Dayan participates, tor objectives for 2009 – 2012; and ween Congresses. In order to increase is a coordination and cooperation a new postal payment services agree- cooperation between the two Coun- body that deals with the whole range ment, including a multilateral agree- cils, while taking account of their re­ of substantive and management ment aimed at facilitating postal spective responsibilities in relation to issues facing United Nations organi- financial exchanges between desig- governance and network intercon- zations. It meets every six months, nated operators. nectivity, the POC project teams and once in New York and a second time Another proposal recommends working groups will be better struc- in a country that hosts a United that UPU member countries be clas- tured, so as to avoid overlapping. Nations organization. The UPU has sified into five groups on the basis of Moreover, certain responsibilities, actively developed relations with their gross domestic product and such as technical cooperation and United Nations agencies and pro- postal development indicators estab- strategic planning, will be transferred grammes since 1948. This meeting at lished by the UPU. This classification to the CA. RL the International Bureau coincides impacts on the terminal dues paid by with the UPU’s 60th anniversary as a countries for the processing of in­ specialized United Nations agency. bound international mail and the “Within the United Nations sys- tem, we strive to make the voice of the UPU heard, and to promote our actions and the role of the postal services in economic development,” said Dayan at the Council of Admin- istration in February. “For this reason, we are particularly happy to host this The quote important meeting.” DP “I am not among those that consider it (postal sector) yesterday’s business. It has a great future, that cannot be substi- tuted by electronic means. If anything, electronic commerce provides an oppor- tunity rather than a threat to postal servi- ces. The postal sector provides essential infrastructure to our citizens and compa- nies to communicate with each other. We can’t have a state of the art economy without a state of the art postal sector.” 4 · Union Postale 1/2008 Editor’s note A world without the Post? Get real! If the national – or even worldwide the ever greater numbers of small enjoy a renaissance, thanks to the – postal network were somehow to businesses and micro-enterprises efforts currently being made to re­ disappear overnight, it would take a being spawned by new technologies. vive the art of correspondence. E- sizeable chunk of the economy with Our lead article explains all. mail, text messaging and mobile it. Day in and day out, individuals, The growth of the Internet and phones all offer a quick communi- businesses, organizations and gov- other new technologies has not had cation “fix”, but can they ever have ernment services rely on postal oper- the feared impact on traditional the same emotive power as a real ators to transport millions of letters, postal services. In fact, Posts have letter? Our article on page xx recalls parcels and other express items from been busy updating and improving the impact of the personal letter on one end of the planet to the other. their services to ensure they continue an individual and on a society and Not to mention the numerous finan- to respond to their customers’ evolv- its history. cial services also channelled via the ing needs. One postal customer who can postal network. The letter post, which had been vouch for the pleasure of the hand- Countless businesses and other widely expected to be killed off by written missive is Father Christmas, entities could simply not survive with- electronic substitution, is a case in aka Santa Claus, whose postbag out the postal sector. And while it is point. The best known of all postal bulges with upwards of six million true that this public service is facing products is fighting back and holding letters as the festive season appro- ever stiffer competition from other its own in the marketplace thanks to aches. He, at least, still believes in modes of communication, it still re- the promotional power and effective- the future of the letter. mains a key driver for the economy ness of the written word. Even per- Rhéal LeBlanc, editor­in­chief in general, and increasingly also for sonal letter-writing could be about to ISO and UPU to work hand in hand The International Organization for and financial services. The coopera- Standardization (ISO) and the Univer- tion agreement with the ISO is inten- sal Postal Union agreed on 30 Janu- ded to do just that.” ary to find ways to improve the ex­ ISO Secretary General Alan change of information for finalizing Bryden added: “The agreement will standards of mutual interest to the ensure that postal services increas- two organizations. ingly benefit from globally relevant In an increasingly specialized te­ standards, making the best use of the chnological environment, closer co­ specific expertise available in the UPU operation in standardization work and the multi-sector, multi-stakeho- has become essential. Furthermore, lder platform of ISO”. postal market developments have led A contact committee will imple- to new standards being developed to ment the provisions of the agree- meet the need for enhanced quality ment so that the ISO and the UPU will of service. As postal operators diver- each be able to incorporate in its sify their activities, they need to oper- own standards references to the stan- ate in a standardized environment. dards of the other organization. JD Charlie McCreevy, European commissioner “The UPU has already developed for the internal market and services, on many standards for the processing of 27 February 2008, the day the third postal directive was published in the European physical mail,” said UPU Director Ge­ Union’s Official Journal neral Edouard Dayan. “We now need to focus on standards for electronic 1/2008 Union Postale · 5 in brief Greenhouse gas emissions: cutting through the fog If the transport sector is responsible However, comprehensive postal for 14% of annual greenhouse gas sector data are needed before actions emissions, what is the postal sector’s aimed at reducing greenhouse gas share in that percentage? emissions can be proposed to postal The UPU hopes to answer that operators and in order to measure question soon. As part of the work the year-on-year effectiveness of of the UPU’s sustainable develop- such actions.