Postal Operators Research Articles

The EU Regulatory Framework for Access to the Postal Network

The Postal Directive does not oblige Member States to mandate access to the postal network of the universal service provider or to regulate the conditions under which such access is provided. It is left to the discretion of the Member States whether to introduce a mandatory access regime or not. If Member States decide to introduce such a regime, they must take into account that, at least where bulk mail is still part of the universal service, the tariff conditions for so-called ‘downstream’ access to the postal networks must respect the non-discrimination obligation of Article 12, 5th indent of the Postal Directive. This implies that no distinction can be made between, on the one hand, postal operators competing end-to-end with the universal service providers, and, on the other hand, bulk mailers or intermediaries working on their behalf, who inject mail under the same operational conditions. Also from a policy perspective, it does not seem desirable to allow such a difference in treatment (ie, ‘positive discrimination’ in favour of end-to-end competitors) as it is likely to be counter-productive for the development of competition in the postal sector.

MARKETING STRATEGY OF ENTERPRISE POSITIONING IN THE MARKET OF LOGISTIC SERVICES

The article analyzes the tendencies of development of the Ukrainian market of logistic services, in particular the segment of postal logistics, courier activity and express delivery. As a result of the study, a number of factors that have the most significant impact on the activities of domestic and foreign logistic operators in the Ukrainian market of logistics services were identified and analyzed. In the article the positioning tools of the leading operators of postal logistics and express delivery in the minds of the consumer of logistic services are structured. The proposed approach allowed to identify key competitive advantages and develop a marketing strategy for positioning of postal and logistic operators in the Ukrainian logistics market

Postal network access and service quality: Expectation and experience in Serbia

In the Republic of Serbia, commercial postal services are provided by 49 postal operators. Universal postal service is provided only by the Post of Serbia. Collaboration between the Post of Serbia and private operators is exclusively in the area of commercial services and based on bilateral agreements. At the end of 2014, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) adopted an Ordinance on the methods and conditions of access to the postal network of the Public Postal Operator (PPO). As the market is liberalized, postal operators are given the opportunity to provide the universal service function, with the exception of reserved services, without owning a network. In conjunction with the NRA and the postal operators, and with input from experts, we analyze current market conditions and the demand for access to Serbia's postal network, and evaluate the PPO from the stand point of expected and experienced postal service quality of access to postal network. The obtained results will be useful in developing the postal network.

What future for the post office network?

Incumbent postal operators (POs) are particularly challenged with rapid technological developments and especially with digitalization which substitutes their letter mail, yet generally boosts parcel volumes. As a consequence, they have to rethink their strategy, especially for their post office network. The article presents potential strategies and discusses the main trends in postal network evolution among incumbent POs, focusing in particular on the examples of Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States, and assesses these strategies against a set of key performance and development indicators.

The calculation of costs of postal network and universal postal service based on standard and average cost principles

The provision of universal postal service involves high costs for operator, especially in rural areas. The aim of this paper is to propose and test tool for managing the cost of providing universal postal service and maintaining the postal network in order to facilitate understanding of the problem in the sector. The proposed approach use standard prices and standard quantities (the redefined number of postal units, the number of employees, etc.) as well as average costs for calculation of the costs of the universal postal service and postal network. The methodology provides the efficiency analysis, benchmarking and identification of causes of poor performance of management and resource allocation. It can be used for postal operators that do not have modern accounting systems.

The Trend of Cost of Universal Services Provided by National Postal Operator and Correlation Between Price of Letter Mail and Amount of Sent Letter Mails in Slovakia

National postal operator seeks to provide the universal postal service. Consequently, obstacles may be created. While providing the universal postal service, the operator has the costs, which tend to be growing. In this article, we are going to calculate this trend and try to predict the next outcome. According to the costs, we should pay attention to the price of letter mail, which is connected to the costs. In this article, we are going to calculate correlation between price of the letter mail and the amount of sent letter mails. The article focuses on the importance of the postal services. Importantly, we should focus on the universal postal service, because nowadays, there is a different situation on the postal market. This article will use statistics data from Slovakia postal market, while calculating the results.

Doręczenia zagraniczne w postępowaniu administracyjnym i sądowo-administracyjnym – problemy praktyczne

Problematyka doręczania pism w postępowaniu administracyjnym i sądowo-administracyjnym dokonywanych poza granicę Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, w kontekście prawa Unii Europejskiej, a w szczególności orzecznictwa Trybunału Sprawiedliwości, wyznaczających standardy doręczania pism, nabiera coraz większego znaczenia. Źródłem istotnych problemów praktycznych jest brak unormowań dotyczących doręczania pism w ogólnym postępowaniu administracyjnym zarówno między państwami UE (z wyjątkiem spraw podatkowych i celnych, w odniesieniu do których obowiązują stosowne regulacje), jak i do państw niebędących członkami UE. Poza klasycznym sposobem doręczenia za pośrednictwem operatora pocztowego, które niestety nie zawsze jest skuteczne, zastosowanie znajdują posiłkowo stosowane inne sposoby doręczeń. Stwierdzić jednak należy, iż brakuje regulacji jednolicie normujących sposoby doręczania w różnych rodzajach postępowań, co prowadzi do nieuzasadnionego zróżnicowania standardów w zakresie doręczeń w zależności od przedmiotu postępowania.

Strategic Redesign of Urban Mail and Parcel Networks at La Poste

We discuss our development of a decision model that allows La Poste, the French national postal operator, to assess the cost benefits of merging the urban mail and parcel delivery networks, which were run previously as separate entities. Our model, based on a mixed-integer linear program, derives the optimal network structure, including direct delivery, indirect delivery, or a hybrid structure, and provides an approximation of its routing cost. This approach allows us to model realistic large-scale problems. Based on data from the French city of Nantes, we find that merging the mail and parcel delivery networks yields cost benefits of approximately three percent, an amount that proves to be robust under various scenarios we tested. These findings corroborated La Poste management’s expectations of potential cost savings and led to management’s decision to create a new organizational structure in which local managers are responsible for the urban delivery of domestic mail and parcel.

VARIOUS APPROACHES TO SOLVE UNCAPACITATED FIXED-CHARGE FACILITY LOCATION PROBLEM ON POSTAL NETWORK

Availability and reliability of mail distribution services depends primarily on a network of postal operators. Choosing the appropriate layout of a network is key to maintaining quality while generating the lowest possible costs. This article focuses on creation of a postal network, based on an allocation model of an uncapacitated fixed-charge facility that considers road networks in the Slovak republic. A basic analysis of infrastructure is followed by incorporating service demands, and building and transport costs, in the chosen allocation model. Both construction and subsequent improvement heuristic algorithms are used to determine the number and location of postal sorting centers. The results are compared to find the lowest cost-generating solution. Even the best solution from available methods could be deemed sub-optimal as one does not know how close or how far the solution is from optimal. By varying the input variables, supported by a thorough analysis and consideration of future development of the transport network, one can improve efficiency in postal network operations.

Impact of a New Concept of Universal Service Obligations on Revenue Increase in the Post of Serbia

The European postal directives and Serbian legislation as well define the quality standards for universal service obligations at the aggregate level, i.e. for all postal items transferred by the postal operator. This paper proposes a new concept where the transit time is defined by the customer and specified for each shipment. The paper considers three different models of this new concept. However, the one where a customer could choose between two alternatives: D+1 and D+3 transfer, is analysed in details. By using the attitudes of examined customers, forecasting methods and analysis of revenues from the past, it is assessed at what price the new postal service should be offered to achieve the highest revenue. The proposed methodology was tested and verified in the case of the Post of Serbia. The results indicate that the best would be to offer the service D+1 at the 40% increased price compared to the existing prices.

Enabling Urban Logistics Services at La Poste through Multi-Echelon Location-Routing

We present a large-scale static and deterministic mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model solving a two-echelon capacitated location-routing problem (2E-CLRP) with modal choice in the context of urban logistics services (ULS). This model aims to support the development of profitable ULS by guiding the strategic decision making of postal operators as they design an optimal facility network and vehicle fleet for the centralized consolidation and transportation of inbound and outbound urban freight flows. After comprehensively analyzing operating data from La Poste, we identify the key determinants of an optimal infrastructure and fleet design for the centralized coordination and consolidation of urban freight flows under a global service time constraint. Further, we discuss the optimal design’s sensitivity to changes in the input data and parameters of the 2E-CLRP model. The main theoretical contributions of this work are an optimal routing cost estimation formula and an optimization heuristic. Together these allow us to solve the large-scale MILP problem presented here within a reasonable time and with little loss of precision.

Postal Services: Survey of Competition Law Developments

The Court of Justice of the EU (‘CJEU’) has issued a significant judgment regarding grants of downstream access to the postal network of an incumbent operator in the bpost case, in which it concludes that differential treatment as between direct customers and consolidators regarding quantity discounts is not inconsistent with the non-discrimination requirement under Article 12 of the Postal Directive. The CJEU has also given a judgment under Article 102 TFEU concerning volume rebates given by an incumbent postal operator in a second case concerning Post Danmark. The European General Court has upheld a European Commission decision that certain Slovak legislative changes involved a re-monopolisation of hybrid mail and infringed Article 106(1) in conjunction with Article 102 TFEU. In the State aid area, the CJEU has ruled that Germany failed to recover State aid from Deutsche Post, with regard to business-to-business parcel services, while, in the case of Polish Post, the European Commission has approved the use of a compensation fund to finance the provision of a universal postal service. As regards the national competition authorities, in Germany the German Federal Cartel Office has found an abuse of dominant position by Deutsche Post concerning its tariffs for bulk mail customers by means of a margin squeeze, and in the UK Ofcom has issued a Statement of Objections in relation to Royal Mail's wholesale services for downstream access to its postal network.

Leveraging opportunities from digital disruption: A shared value approach at Australia Post

Digital disruption, can represent either a major threat or a major opportunity for organizations. Key to determining whether digital disruption harms or benefits a firm are the steps organizations take to respond to this disruption. In this research we extend extant theory on innovation disruption and shared value by exploring how the creation of shared value, particularly through a firm's community engagement practices, can play a role in shaping how the organization responds to major digital disruptions. The increase in consumer use of digital technology has underpinned significant disruption to the traditional business of postal operators globally. We explore the response of one postal operator, Australia Post, to digital disruption. The results of our case study analysis of Australia Post suggest that a shared value approach can provide firms facing digital disruption with four key benefits: 1. Shaping the capabilities of a firm, such that they are better positioned to respond to digital disruption; 2. Establishing an effective conduit for firms to gain knowledge and insight needed to implement new innovations necessary to respond to innovation; 3. Assistance in implementing new business models; and 4. Enhancing the firm’s brand equity.

Contribution methodology of research of different attitudes of the users of Post of Serbia about socially responsible business

All companies can claim for themselves that they act socially responsibly. However, we often hear the opposite opinions. The intention of this work is to suggest continuous assessment of socially responsible behaviour by assessing the research of different attitudes of its users, first of all, and then by assessing the other participants in socially responsible business, the employed above all, but also by assessing the social community. The very proposal of the methodology of research of the attitudes of the users is given in the example of the Public Enterprise Post of Serbia. The final reflection is that it should be worked on the improvement of the users perception of socially responsible business, just like on creation, realisation and better promotion of socially responsible actions at Post of Serbia, pointing also at possible examples of successful postal operators.

LibanPost: a successful strategy for a private-public partnership

Subject area This case gives readers the opportunity to think about strategies employed in the postal sector amid sector, technological, national and global challenges. It highlights the importance of thinking about real options, and real solutions to counter the failures of the past and the uncertainties of the future. Study level/applicability The case will be particularly useful for master's degrees, Master of Business Administration, doctorate students or undergraduate specialized courses of strategy, public sector management and privatization. Case overview This case study aims to analyze the manner in which LibanPost transformed itself from a government bureaucracy to a commercial company and how, through diversification, it was transformed from a traditional postal operator to a high-end service provider. In addition, it attempts to examine the stages that have led to LibanPost's success, shedding the light on the major barriers and enablers for its reform. Expected learning outcomes The students will be able to examine how a privately owned postal company succeeded in transforming a courier company from a bureaucratic public administration incurring substantial losses to a profitable commercial company, through privatization, and grasp the major success barriers and enablers for LibanPost, while exploring the reasons behind the failure of the foreign–national partnership. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

ALLOCATION OF POSTAL NETWORK FACILITIES, BASED ON EXISTING ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Postal operator, as well as every network enterprise, needs to keep its costs on the lowest level possible, while maintaining the reliability and availability of its services. One option to the costs is to optimize the transport network. This article focuses on the creation of postal network based on existing road infrastructure in Slovakia. Except the basic analysis of the infrastructure, the research approach adopted in this article relies on methods of graph theory to solve allocation problems. In particular, it is the method of p-median values and its algorithms to determine the number and location of new postal sorting centers. The findings showed that the analysis performed is just the cornerstone in finding the optimal solution for such strategic investments. Results are bounded to the input values used, especially the distance of the network vertices. Specific values of postal sector need to be incorporated with more thorough analysis of road infrastructure, considering future development of transport network.

The efficiency of postal services in the age of market liberalization and the internet: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

The rise in electronic communications and the recent liberalization of the postal market in the European Union have put national postal-service providers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) under pressure to restructure and optimize their operations. The paper employs non-parametric methods to measure the relative technical and cost efficiency of CEE postal operators in terms of quantity-based and quality-based output indicators. The results indicate that inefficiency varies between 20% and 30%. Regression analysis attributes efficiency gains to increased competition, institutional reforms, less burdensome customs procedures, and population density, while use of electronic mail was negatively related to postal-service efficiency.

A tourist kit ‘made in Italy’: An ‘intelligent’ system for implementing new generation destination cards

This study investigates the advantages and the potentiality of the ‘tourist kit’, an Italian solution based on the concept of a prepaid card that is issued by a large postal operator. The destination card can be reloaded by tourists according to their needs and its validity is not restricted to short periods. Thus, the kit provides tourists with an integrated, practical, and flexible tool capable of making their stay more enjoyable as it allows cardholders to choose and buy many products and services at discounted prices. The kit creates customer loyalty by utilising smart technology aimed at collecting accurate tourist information. This model deserves attention because it is probably the world's first case of a large postal operator entering the tourism sector with the proposal of an integrated and advanced destination card scheme. This research also discusses interesting opportunities and challenges related to the implementation of new generation tourist cards.

Evaluating the comparative efficiency of the postal services in OECD countries using context-dependent and measure-specific data envelopment analysis

Purpose – In an effort to help policy makers develop competitive postal service strategies, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the comparative operating efficiencies of postal services across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations and then identify room for service improvement. Design/methodology/approach – As a better alternative to the conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) which requires the proportional improvements of inputs and outputs simultaneously, the authors propose the combined use of both context-dependent and measure-specific DEAs to measure the relative attractiveness and progress of the national postal operators of OECD countries. Findings – Defying the conventional notion that public enterprises operate less efficiently than private enterprises, the author discovered that some state-owned public enterprises such as postal service operators could still be efficient if managed properly. Even inefficient postal services operators could significantly improve their service performances, once they identified the root causes of their service failures. Through a series of model experiments and testing, the authors found that proposed context-dependent and measure-specific DEA models were more useful for finding such causes than the conventional DEA model. Practical implications – For public officials and policy makers, the proposed DEAs can pinpoint what it takes to become more efficient and what steps need to be taken to improve postal service operations gradually. Originality/value – This paper is the first to combine the context-dependent DEA with measure-specific DEA to evaluate the comparative efficiency (or progress) and inefficiency (or regress) of the national postal operators of 25 OECD countries.

The Variant Approach To The Optimization Of The Postal Transportation Network In The Conditions Of The Slovak Republic

Abstract The optimizing process of the postal transportation network can be based on several variables and on different infrastructures. The most commonly used variables for optimization are time and distance. This article is focused on the comparison of the results of the optimization process based on the time and distance variables in the conditions of the Slovak national postal operator. The different types of the underlying infrastructures (roads or railways) could be used for optimization based on the territory conditions. For the optimization, there has been used the p-median method, that describes the problem of locating P “facilities” relative to a set of “customers” in such a way that the sum of the shortest demand weighted distance between “customers” and “facilities” is minimized. In the conclusion, the article authors will formulate the rule for selection of the best optimization variables for the postal transportation network optimization.