UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz keynote on postal development: transcript

Key points

• The link between posts and e-commerce is the key topic for regulators, governments, postal operators and the UPU.
• The UPU launched the first Global Postal Development Index, the 2IPD, built from its big data, official statistics and surveys.
• The index ranks 170 countries on reliability, reach, relevance and resilience, and will be published yearly.
• Switzerland led the 2016 ranking; six EU countries are in the top 10 and EU rankings range from second to 58th, with Greece 37th.
• Well-ranked countries diversify, offer reliable service, build sustainable business models and benefit from e-commerce growth.
• Governments, regulators and operators can use the index for strategy, comparison and benchmarking; the 2016 report can be downloaded.

Chapters

1. 0:04Greetings and the conference theme
2. 0:41Postal regulation, e-commerce and the EU debate
3. 2:22Launch of the Integrated Index for Postal Development
4. 3:42Four dimensions and three aims of the index
5. 4:182016 ranking: Switzerland leads, EU countries compared
6. 5:30What high-ranking countries have in common
7. 6:31How governments, regulators and operators can use it
8. 8:17The four Rs and closing wishes

Full transcript

0:04Distinguished audience of the 9th International Conference on Electronic Communication and Postal Services in the Digital Single Market. Ladies and gentlemen, greetings from the Universal Postal Union in Bern. I was unable to join you at this year's conference, unfortunately, but I trust you have had and will continue to have enriching and constructing debates all the same. The theme of today's session is Postal Market, Regulatory Framework and Prospects.

0:41The debate in the European Union in the past weeks and months has been and still is intense as far as postal regulation is concerned. One of the main issues for discussion is the necessity or not to regulate the cross-border parcel delivery market as a step forward in building the EU digital internal market. As the Deputy Director-General of the UPU, I am not going to enter this very sensitive and complex discussion. However, it is clear to me that all the current debates in the EU and beyond show that the nexus between posts and e-commerce is the key topic for everybody. Regulators, government, postal operators, and of course, the UPU.

1:38So what exactly can the prospects be in the era of e-commerce? We can discuss about and speculate the possible development for hours on end to find common ground and realistic solutions. But most of all, we need to understand the current trends, identify the challenges ahead and develop strategies to anticipate them, as far as possible. As policymakers, regulators, and postal service providers, all of you are certainly eager to understand what role the postal services can play in this new era.

2:22In a time of economic and technological uncertainty and of high competition in the postal market, we need to step back Broaden our vision and view postal development from a global perspective. To make this possible, it is vital for postal sector stakeholders to be able to rely on a global monitoring and benchmarking tool. In order to provide key guidance to regulators, policy makers and postal service providers, the UPU has launched the first-ever Global Postal Development Index, the so-called Integrated Index for Postal Development, or 2IPD.

3:10The 2IPD is a composite index, providing an overview of postal development around the world. This is based on the UPU's big data, official statistics and key surveys, which have been put together for the first time. In other words, 2IPD data in sight relies on the greatest data integration ever conducted to measure the development of postal services on a global scale.

3:42The 2IPD will be published on a yearly basis. This unique index ranks 170 UPU member countries according to four main dimensions of postal development. The reliability of their postal services, the global reach of their postal networks, the relevance of their postal services, and the resilience of their postal business models. By launching this index, the UPU has a threefold aim.

4:18First, to monitor excellence in postal infrastructure development. Then, to identify critical development gaps between UPU member countries. And finally, to help our members share best practices and postal development knowledge. The postal development measured by the two IPD gives the ranking you can see on this second graphic. This may come as a surprise, but 2016 Global Postal Development Ranking is led by Switzerland.

4:53Among the global top 10, we find six European Union countries. As you can see, all the EU countries in dark blue rank from the second position, namely France to the 58th position with As for our host country today, Greece, is ranked in the 37th position. You will also notice that 7 EU countries rank from the 41st to the 58th positions.

5:30This shows just how diversely the EU Postal Services perform. So, what can we learn from this? The countries doing well in scores and global ranking usually show the following characteristics. Their activities are diversified and or globalized. They exhibit an extremely reliable quality of service. They focus on developing sustainable business models and they benefit from steady e-commerce growth. The conclusion is that in order to improve their level of postal development, countries need to diversify their strategies. In today's market, Global benchmarks have become the norm, and the UPU's Integrated Index for Postal Development is one of them.

6:31As such, it can be used as a compass and a rudder to steer through these times of uncertainty and competition and avoid pitfalls. Governments can use it to develop strategies that enhance the contribution of postal services to the economic and social infrastructure of their countries. Regulators can better identify the development challenges that postal services are facing and benefit from meaningful international comparisons.

7:09Postal operators can benchmark their relative operational and business model strengths and weaknesses across different levels of economic development and geographies, in order to improve their performance. As I mentioned before, this index will be published on a yearly basis. In the meantime, you can download the 2016 report from the UPU's website.

7:42We have also sent a certain number of copies directly to the conference center today, so that you can read it without delay. And of course, we remain at the disposal of UPU member countries to develop country-specific customized presentations anytime they wish. The deficiencies and disparities identified will have to be solved through diversified approaches. We are here to advise countries in the necessary transformation.

8:17Reliability, reach, relevance, and resilience. These four key words are the main ingredient of the two IPD recipes for postal excellences. But you have to combine these four hours in the right order, so to speak, if you want to precisely measure operational efficiency, internationalization of services, market competitiveness and business model adaptability.

8:49Those are key elements to be considered for a sound, balanced and efficient postal regulation and for a winning development strategy of the postal sector in industrialized or developing countries. This is what the UPU aims to help you with in your journey towards excellence in postal infrastructure. Distinguished audience, ladies and gentlemen, I hope that the 2IPD and these four Rs will inspire your discussions today and in the future and make them fruitful.

9:30I thank you for your attention and I wish you all the best.

Source and licence

Recording: File:UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz - Keynote speech.ogv by Universal Postal Union (Taken on 9 June 2017, Upload date: 12…), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY 3.0.

The transcript is machine speech-to-text by the TidyTools Audio & video transcriber; the summary, key points and chapters were written by Claude from that transcript. Both may contain errors: check the recording before quoting it.