Wider postal sector engagement.
One of the headline agreements adopted in Riyadh will see deeper engagement of the UPU with wider postal sector players (WPSPs) – a topic which has been under discussion at the UN specialized agency for many years now. WPSPs refer to postal supply chain companies and partners outside the UPU network of government designated postal operators. The suite of proposals adopted in relation to this aim to bolster the development of a truly interconnected, efficient, and universal postal service for all. The UPU will now work on expanding and formalizing its relationship with WPSPs, including private sector companies. The decisions made in Riyadh introduce changes in three areas. First, they amend and better define the UPU’s institutional framework to encourage the participation of WPSPs in UPU discussions and decision-making processes through the organization’s Consultative Committee. Second, they enable WPSPs’ eventual access to specific sets of UPU products and services to encourage seamless network interconnection and improve the global quality of postal services. Following the decision, the UPU will work to establish the operational, technical, legal and policy frameworks needed to facilitate the exchange of postal items between national postal operators and WPSPs. It will also push forward the development of a solution that will bring together the demand and supply of UPU-certified international postal transport services, as well as an interface allowing WPSPs to easily capture and generate postal data required to ship items through the UPU’s universal postal network. Finally, the approval of these proposals provides a roadmap to ensure the organization’s continued modernization amidst rapid market changes and increasing competition. “There are some that say the proposals adopted for engagement with wider postal sector players are modest, but I believe the decisions made in Riyadh were extremely important,” said Stuart Smith, Chief of International Postal Affairs at the US Department of State, who co-chaired the work on this congress topic. “The first step is always the most important one, and now we have crossed the threshold hopefully we can travel on a glidepath into the future.” Smith believes that the biggest benefit of working closer with WPSPs will be within the area of products and services. “This will open new possibilities for cooperation and for building on things that are already happening commercially in the market. Hopefully this will enable more UPU operators to benefit from them,” he said. “Ultimately, working closer with WPSPs not only benefits designated operators, but it also benefits consumers and the citizens who use our services.” Smith’s co-chair, Samir Zouaoui, Deputy Director for the Development of Postal Activities at Algeria’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, believes that the WPSPs congress decision will help the UPU stay up to date with the rapidly changing market and put partnerships at the core of the postal sector’s evolution. “The approval of these proposals has left a big mark on the history of UPU,” he said. “In the future, the UPU and wider postal sector players will not necessarily be considered the competitors of designated operators, but instead they will be considered partners, and the postal sector will be built on the efforts of all.