UPU: a global forum for cooperation and development.

The postal sector represents the largest physical distribution network and the largest employer in many countries. By linking all points within a country, even the most remote, it helps to open up distant rural areas and thus facilitate their development. Posts of member countries of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) have more than 5 million employees working in nearly 700,000 outlets worldwide, with certainly as many employed by supporting industries. Each year, they process and deliver 425 billion items to destinations around the world.

As an intergovernmental organization bringing together the Governments of 190 member countries, the UPU mission is to foster the sustainable development of quality universal, efficient and accessible postal services, in order to facilitate communication among people worldwide and assist in developing markets and economies. This is done through an interconnected single postal territory, common standards, technology and technical cooperation, and interaction with stakeholders. These goals are embodied in the Bucharest World Postal Strategy (BWPS), adopted at the 2004 Universal Postal Congress, which sets down the UPU principal objectives for the next four years. It is a road map for the postal sector, showing the way to do business and interact with stakeholders.

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At the heart of the Postal Strategy are the provision of a universal and quality service, market development and customer satisfaction, the need for postal structural reform and lasting development of postal services, and cooperation among all sector stakeholders. To implement the Strategy, which is the primary task of its newly elected bodies, the UPU is setting a course that resolutely points towards the future.

Universal postal service concerns the provision of accessible and affordable services to all citizens of the world. The right to communication is a fundamental human right that the UPU attempts to help guarantee by promoting the importance of providing universal postal service to all member countries. This service has been defined in 67 per cent of UPU members, but there are disparities between countries and regions when it comes to service coverage. In developing countries, between 14 and 25 per cent of the population is without access to postal services, which contrasts sharply with the high level of universal provision in certain regions, including Europe and North America.

Broad universal postal service coverage remains a central objective of the BWPS. The UPU will continue to make the Governments of its member countries, and developing countries in particular, more aware of their role in ensuring the provision of an extensive, good quality and affordable universal postal service. New information and communication technologies are enabling posts to expand their service offerings, interconnect the postal network worldwide and open opportunities to provide access to the information society via postal outlets, thereby helping to reduce the digital divide.

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Quality of postal service means the delivery of mail and the provision of other services on time, regularly and at reasonable prices. The safety and security of the mail network also directly impact on the quality of service. Increased competition and higher customer expectations continue to place pressure on service providers to improve quality of service. More and more operators are therefore setting standards and introducing systems to monitor their performance. While quality of service in industrialized countries is already very high, service in many developing countries does not yet meet acceptable standards.

The UPU has programmes now in place aimed at increasing the international postal network's efficiency, including continuous testing and quality management certification. The latest initiative is the introduction of a worldwide standard of J+5 (fifth working day after posting) for international priority letters. While some regions have a much higher standard, certain developing countries are still struggling to meet the goal. The UPU, in collaboration with 15 regional Restricted Unions, will continue to emphasize the need to improve service quality and develop tools to assist member countries in doing so.

The UPU Quality of Service Fund, an innovative international mechanism, has made it possible to finance, through payments from industrialized countries, more than 220 projects for improving quality of service in developing countries. The Fund was renewed at the Bucharest Congress and now has a distribution mechanism that is more favourable to least developed countries.

With volumes of mail--the postal operators' main activity and the biggest contributor to the operating margin--stagnating or even declining, the challenge for posts is to respond to customers' needs by exploring new markets and developing new services with revenue-generating potential. They are diversifying their product and service lines, including in the areas of parcels and financial services.

Direct marketing is one category that is experiencing tremendous growth, and posts are developing strategies to capture a share of this market. The UPU Direct Marketing Advisory Board will continue to foster the development and stimulate the worldwide growth of advertising mail by strengthening partnerships and cooperation between posts and other industry players. It is a source of technical advice and assists those in developing countries to improve their infrastructure for direct mail marketing.

Postal financial services are also a viable growth area and in some countries account for as much as 50 per cent of revenues. The sharp increase in the world's migrating population has created a growing need for viable networks to keep them connected culturally and economically. With almost 700,000 outlets worldwide, the postal network is well positioned to facilitate the electronic transmission of money and remittances, as well as give more people access to financial services, such as savings and loans. Other growth areas include logistics services, small packets (owing to the growth in online shopping), hybrid mail (a combination of electronic and physical delivery), and online and Internet services through kiosks inside postal outlets.

Postal reform concerns the modernization of structures and processes and is closely linked to human resource development and environmental issues. Reform benefits, however, reach much further than improved postal services. UPU and World Bank studies have shown that regulatory reforms and targeted investments in the public postal sector could result in improved financial and operational performance, and contribute to national economic development and growth.

While many posts have undergone a process of reform, some are still very much Government-run and operated. There are many paths to such reform but no set model. Specific economic conditions, traditions of corporate governance and evolving market needs all call for unique strategies and customized solutions. The most important ingredients for successful postal reform are government commitment, favourable legal and regulatory frameworks, and the availability of outside funding. The UPU will continue to raise the awareness of Governments and find resources for reform projects.

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One of the big challenges of today's "open" society is for Governments and organizations like the UPU to provide a forum where all stakeholders can meet to engage in constructive dialogue. There are good examples where Governments and postal companies alike, through continuous dialogue with trade unions and consumer organizations, were able to make adjustments to their network without lowering productivity and quality of service.

The UPU has gone a long way to opening up itself to external partners, when in Bucharest member countries set up the Consultative Committee. It demonstrates the UPU commitment to greater openness and supports its objective to increase cooperation and interaction among all stakeholders. The Committee also represents the interests of the wider international postal sector and provides a framework for effective dialogue between industry stakeholders. It consists of non-governmental organizations representing customers, delivery service providers, workers' organizations, suppliers of goods and services to those that have an interest in international postal services, including direct marketers, private operators, international mailers and printers. The Committee's purpose is to enable representatives of the private sector, industry, consumers, customers and employees to participate in UPU activities, exchange information and share know-how. The UPU is uniquely positioned to bring all postal sector players together and serve as a global forum for the development of the entire sector and to the benefit of all citizens.

Armed with five key objectives for the next four years, the UPU is entering a crucial period in its history, and accomplishing its missions for the benefit of member countries, the international community and all citizens of the world should always be its number one priority. As a member of the United Nations family, the UPU promotes the general aims of the world Organization and actively cooperates with other UN agencies in the field of customs, trade, labour, crime, security, health and the environment. Through their daily activities, UPU postal services contribute directly and indirectly towards the UN Millennium Development Goals. The distribution of information and goods, the provision of financial services, and access to information and markets via the Internet inside post offices contribute towards reduced poverty, increased literacy, gender equality, improved health and environmental sustainability. The UPU Quality of Service Fund serves as a good example of a global partnership for development.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan once said that "if the world community is to prosper, it must have common rules and common objectives". Through its missions and actions, the UPU is pursuing goals that are essential to its efforts to build a more just society, one that respects diversity and equal rights, distributes information and goods, and creates wealth.

Edouard Dayan has been Director General of the Universal Postal Union since January 2005. He is the former Chairman of the UPU Technical Cooperation Action Group and one of the main architects of its Quality of Service Fund. He has held various posts in France and at the European Commission, where he was involved in the establishment of a regulatory framework for the postal sector in Europe.

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