E Communication and the Internet - Threat Or Possibility for postal services
1. E-communications and the internet – Threat or possibility ? Paul Donohoe PostEurop Plenary, Bled, Slovenia October 2009
2. Is there a mail stimulus? World domestic volumes in 2009 vs. 2008: Mail volumes do not seem to benefit much from stimulus-led growth and unorthodox monetary easing Parcels much more resilient and even slightly growing, express on way of “green shooting” in Q3 2008/2009 provisional trend
3. Innovation lead growth or continuing decline? 201? Year Revenue Weight Deliveries Pieces?
14. If you believe in the future, the future will be bright ! Paul DONOHOE Specialist, electronic postal services International Bureau Berne, Switzerland Ph: +41 31 350 3450 Email: paul.donohoe@upu.int
Hinweis der Redaktion
2 nd survey of the market underway now. Not complete but indicative results can be shown in the bubbles Previous figures are for 2007/2008 survey – the first survey.
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. John F. Kennedy The Internet will transform customer expectations and behavior all over the world - the focus will be on individualization, transparency, availability, and speed. Frank Appel, DPAG
San Francisco & Newark First Cities To Send Zumbox Mail Zumbox last week kicked off its national rollout in San Francisco and Newark, New Jersey. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom reportedly sent a welcome letter, and Mayor Cory Booker distributed the Moving Newark Forward newsletter, via Zumbox to residents of their respective cities who can view the mail by going to Zumbox.com and entering their home or business street address. Zumbox is making its service available to municipal and state governments free of charge. There’s also no cost for consumers to receive paperless mail via Zumbox. Zumbox advertises its web platform as a “one-of-akind communications channel for municipal governments. For the first time,” it says, “mayors can send secure e-mail including letters, utility bills, public notices, newsletters, permits and videos to their residents using delivery criteria such as neighborhoods, ZIP codes, entire cities or a specific list of street addresses.” Zumbox claims to have the first paperless postal system and the first practical alternative to traditional postal systems. It says it’s created a Zumbox, a digital mailbox, for every US street address, sidestepping paper and scanning. When using Zumbox, municipal governments are supposed to save on printing, paper and postage costs, reducing their environmental impact, and connecting with residents through an interactive communications channel. "A paperless postal system represents a new opportunity for the city and county of San Francisco to reduce the city’s overall waste stream and will help in our efforts to reach zero waste by 2020,” said Mayor Newsom. “As a communications technology, paperless mail also supports our commitment to open government by offering a more direct and efficient online connection between the city and our residents.” “ Zumbox is consistent with the bold vision we have for the city of Newark,” said Mayor Booker. “And while we acknowledge the challenges of introducing this online technology to our community, it most certainly supports our goal of becoming the greenest city in the Garden State. Zumbox will help the city to save tax dollars, support our local businesses and improve the way our city communicates.” Booker is right about the challenges. It’s unclear how people will even find out about their Zumbox without repeated postal mailings, how quickly they’ll register, how willing they are to balance multiple email addresses, how consistent they’ll be in using it or how dedicated the cities are to making use of the service. The first stage of Zumbox’ national rollout aims to reach approximately one million households in the US. The company promises to add other cities and partners in the coming weeks and months. It’s currently offering a free trial for qualified non-profit organizations and local businesses that want to use its service. It’s unclear when it will generate any revenue.
La Poste Launches E-Commerce Box This week France’s La Poste will launch a simple, integrated Ecommerce Box service to help entrepreneurs, professionals, associations, SoHos and SMEs set up customized merchant web sites reportedly in a few clicks. For the technically challenged phone support is provided. The package, which includes an Internet address and various business services, is available on a monthly subscription similar to that of an ISP or mobile subscription: ~$25 (16.90 euros/month) for a non-profit site; ~$60 (39.90 euros/month) for a commercial site. La Poste, which will supply the parcel and courier delivery services and customized stamps, is bringing La Banque Postale’s Scellius secure transaction and identity widgetry in on the deal. The post is also bringing in partners and arranging for customer listing on Shopping.com’s directory, buying Google keywords at reduced prices, three months of PayPal transactions, free insertion on eBay’s Top 25 listings and easy integration with accounting and business management packages. La Poste says the digital economy is playing an increasingly important role in a difficult economic climate, and in fact is one of the few sectors to grow, especially for small businesses that in turn play a key role in the economic fabric of France. It wants get more merchants online and selling, improving their visibility. It also suggests the businesses that don’t want or aren’t suited to selling online set up web sites for promotional purposes and perhaps use direct mail. France has upwards of 21.7 million Internet users who buy online, roughly 65.6% of all its Internet users or 41% of the French population. Late last year, France had 48,000 e-merchants representing revenues of close to $30 billion (20 billion euros) doing a total of 218 million transactions with an average value of $134 (91.94 euros). La Poste, by the way, was hit with strikes last week over the government’s plans to make it into a publicly owned limited company, interpreted as a step toward privatization.
THEY ARE NOT ON THE HIGH STREET ANYMORE THEY ARE ON THE i-STREET IF YOU ARE NOT THERE – SOMEONE ELSE WILL TAKE YOUR PLACE WHEN YOU ARE THERE – THEY MAY COME BACK TO YOU
YOC DEVELOPS IPHONE APPLICATION "POST MOBIL" FOR DEUTSCHE POST Berlin, 7th August 2009 - The YOC Group has extended its co-operation with Deutsche Post AG by developing and implementing the iPhone application "Post mobil". Another product with attractive extra features is being added to the Deutsche Post range of mobile services as a result. The Deutsche Post mobile portal (m.deutschepost.de) and iPhone web application (iphone.deutschepost.de) were already implemented by the YOC Group. The iPhone application "Post mobil" optimises iPhone users' access to Deutsche Post's mobile services and is available to be downloaded free of charge from the Apple App Store with immediate effect. The application includes not only existing contents of the mobile website and the iPhone web application but also new elements that take explicit account of the innovative functions of the iPhone. The post office and letter box search tools are, for example, being supplemented by automatic GPS-based determination of the iPhone user's location. The application localises the user and then presents the route to the nearest letter box or post office to him on Google Maps. The application also includes such well-known services as postage payment by mobile phone, postcode search or the tracking of packages and letters that have been posted. The integrated mobile phone postage payment application was also implemented by the YOC Group and has already been available to iPhone users since mid-June. "By launching the iPhone application "Post mobil", Deutsche Post AG is making an appropriate response to the increasing importance of the iPhone. We paid particularly close attention to integration of the special iPhone features when developing the application. The result we are presenting is a state-of-the-art application that is a convincing combination of impressive functionality and user convenience," says Dirk Kraus, CEO of YOC AG.
E-communications, and the internet are a theat – they have been perceived this way all along. But if you believe in the future – the future will be bright. The opportunity is to bring the postal services closer to the people, whenever and wherever they are. Then you can really turn the threat into an opportunity. However – it is a long term investment The Posts
