POSTAL INNOVATION digest postbag Q&A
Postal sector market processes are rapidly evolving. Digitization of mail is promising significant benefits to customers and postal operators, who must act fast to adapt their traditional methodologies in all domains.
The virtual domain and electronic processes are becoming more prevalent, empowered by intelligent character recognition to locate and read areas of interest on mail items, while the Internet driven electronic climate is opening up markets in general.
This leads to the creation of new business opportunities, which com- pliment and leverage traditional core postal services. Posts may wish to provide a new range of electronic services either complimenting their core business or ones that can be leveraged from the Posts’ traditional position of trust, reach, integrity, and security.
Traditional mechanisms used to identify and authenticate documents such as the postmark and written signatures on paper are not avail- able for computer-based transac- tions. Since the introduction of letter mail, the communications market has evolved to offer new, faster and in less expensive means of communi- cations such as facsimile, electronic data interchange and the Internet. These new means of communica- tions particularly focused on the ex- plosive growth of the Internet both
threaten the erosion of the core let- ter mail business of the Posts and yet provide the Posts with a unique opportunity for growth. Present e- business projects include a global digital postmark (DPM) service and identity management services provide a global infrastructure for managing digital credentialing and certification.
Hybrid mail enables the handling of an electronic flow of mail in order to process, sort and send it to the nearest point to the final destination, where it can then be printed and fi- nally distributed physically like any ordinary postal mail. But there are other emerging e-methods. Multi- channel messaging for example, en- ables mail to be sent electronically and distributed according to the preference of the consumer, wheth- er as physical (paper) documents or in electronic form (via portals, email, secure email, SMS and fax).
Postal Innovation Digest spoke to some key players in the industry and asked them how all-electronic offer- ings for postal and express shipping operators apart from hybrid mail, might increase new revenue oppor- tunities.
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