Bishar Hussein, director general of the Universal Postal Union, has urged the 750 delegates at the organization’s 2015 World Strategy Conference to take a critical look at how postal services are created and delivered.
“Let’s step out of our comfort zone and test new ideas upon which we can build the future of the Post,” said Hussein as the UPU's global meeting got underway after being officially opened by Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan of Côte d'Ivoire, the country chairing the event.
The conference starts the process of drafting the next world postal strategy to be delivered at the Universal Postal Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2016.
In a personal message, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said postal services have a clear role to play in the UN’s post-development agenda being finalized for adoption in September. “As the world shapes a new sustainable development agenda and strives to address the threat posed by climate change, postal services can and must be part of the solution.”
Postal activities increasingly focused on logistics and financial services instead of traditional mail, the growth of e-commerce and the rise of parcel volumes, and changing consumer behaviours are among various phenomena forcing public postal services to redefine themselves for the 21st century.
Changing consumer habits brought on by new technological applications is perhaps one of the greater challenges facing the postal sector.
“The modern consumer is digital, concerned with sustainable development, and has a totally different gauge for the value of a product or service,” said Hussein. “Clients today want to access services anywhere, anytime. They want products tailored to their preferred method of consumption, and they want those products to be delivered at home or right next door.”
And Posts must see this new reality as an exciting opportunity, not a constraint, added the director general.
About 135 UPU member countries are represented at the Strategy Conference, which concludes tomorrow.
Some 40 speakers are taking part in a series of panel discussions covering major themes such as the role of postal services in trade facilitation and social, financial and economic inclusion, the role of postal regulation in an ever-evolving communications market and the importance of innovation in ensuring that postal services and networks remain relevant in today’s society.
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