Postal operators, which have been facing declining mail volumes in the past few years, have the potential to grab a major share of the world's booming cross-border e-commerce market. However, they will have to adapt to rapidly changing needs and expectations of e-retailers and their customers.
This precondition, senior executives from leading postal operators were told during the International Post Corporation (IPC) Annual Conference held recently in Amsterdam. Senior executives of
leading e-retailers, who listed some key delivery requirements for large e-tailers, also attended the event.
“The posts are the only network conceived with the customers’ home in mind,” said Michael Indresano, Vice-President, Amazon Transportation Services, in his keynote speech, noting that: “The ideal
state of postal delivery would be a 365-day a year delivery service, including 24h access, harmonised label and full visibility.”
Enormous growth potential of e-commerce traffic
Ricky Xue, Senior Director of Cross-Border, Cainiao Network of Alibaba highlighted the cooperation with posts throughout the world and the importance of full-visibility throughout the e-commerce
delivery process. “There is a lot of potential for reinforced cooperation between e-retailers and posts when it comes to understanding the needs of end-receivers,” Xue pointed out.
Faster adaption to changing demands is key
IPC CEO, Horst Winklbauer, said that despite fast growing e-commerce traffic, online sales only account for 8.6% of total retail showing the tremendous growth potential of e-commerce. "For posts
to be able to play their role in the e-commerce landscape, we have to adapt to rapidly changing needs and expectations of e-retailers and their customers."
International Post Corporation is a cooperative association of 24 member postal operators in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.
Nol van Fenema
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