Technology can create single global postal network

Technology can create single global postal network

26.09.2017 - UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein has said that technology, the one single factor that has profoundly impacted the Post, must be harnessed to the sector’s advantage.

“At the UPU, we believe that this can be done by using technology to address deficiencies in global supply chains,” said Hussein in his opening remarks to UPU World Postal Business Forum participants.

He explained that while the uptake of the internet has accelerated mail substitution, it has also fuelled the growth of e-commerce, which is one of the greatest opportunities facing the sector. He noted that the Post’s adoption of technology would be critical to ensuring the cross-border transfer of e-commerce items.

“As an intergovernmental organization tasked with postal development in the world, the UPU is very much concerned with the linkages between national physical and digital infrastructures,” he said. “We strive to have all the 192 national networks of our member countries to act as one and the changes in technology allow us to do just that.”

Also present to open the forum was UPU Council of Administration Chairman and PTT Turkish Post CEO Kenan Bozgeyik, who echoed the UPU Director General’s message, adding that, “Some gaps that are present [in the postal network] will be filled in with technological products and help us become an even stronger sector.”

Supply chain focus

The annual UPU World Postal Business Forum brings together industry experts to discuss the latest trends, products, services, technologies and processes facing the postal sector. This year’s forum is focused on the global e-commerce supply chain.

Experts from the UPU’s Postal Technology Centre, the Post and the private sector will take the stage, leading discussions under the theme, “Connecting the dots: e-commerce, technology and the postal network”. They will discuss the Post’s role in the global e-commerce value chain, overcoming customs-related challenges, e-commerce payment solutions and the impact of cloud and mobile technologies on the digital economy.

The annual conference, which continues until tomorrow, is taking place at the POST-EXPO postal and parcel industry exhibition in Geneva. The UPU will also be available to answer any questions about its technical solutions between 26 to 28 September at its stand (#6095) in the POST-EXPO exhibition hall.