Consultative Committee - Documents and Webinars

Documents

Consultative Committee - Research Centre

One of the aims of the UPU Consultative Committee is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise. The links below present the latest research, industry papers, innovation insights and other materials produced by the CC members or relevant to the CC work.

  • Eu4Digital Report: Analysis of the EU eCommerce baseline in the legal, standards and eCommerce ecosystem areas. (2023)

    This analysis report of the EU eCommerce baseline in the legal, standards and eCommerce ecosystem areas is developed under European Union’s regional facility "EU4Digital Facility: bringing the benefits of the harmonised digital market to the Eastern Partnership countries”, thematic area of eTrade, eCommerce activity. The aim of this activity is to harmonise cross-border eCommerce between the Eastern partner countries and the EU.
     
  • eCommerce Europe 2023 Report
  • Global Express Association (GEA) Paper on Trade, Postal Regulation and the Express Industry in Africa (2021)

    GEA's paper on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and how the latter can promote intra-African trade by strengthening the continent’s trade infrastructure for the efficient and timely movement of goods across borders. 
     

Webinars

May 2024

Unleashing the power of branding in the postal sector

Animated by Walter Trezek, CC Chair, and Benjamin Combes, the UPU International Bureau’s Philately and IRC Programme Manager, the panel welcomed some outstanding guests who shared success stories of collaboration with brands. Nicolas Loufrani, the CEO of Smiley Company, unveiled the underside of Smiley’s collaboration with France’s La Poste Groupe. Antony Harris (NZ Post) explained the importance of the Lord of the Rings stamps in exporting the culture and identity of New Zealand abroad, and Matthew Parkes (Royal Mail) provided some valuable insights on why creativity, rather than the available resources, was the key factor underlying Royal Mail's successful collaboration with the Olympic Games in 2012.

As a final word, Walter Trezek introduced the CC's upcoming brand licensing initiative, which aims to offer designated operators the possibility of connecting with regional and global brands through its shared service centre.

Panellists:

  • Nicolas Loufrani, CEO, The Smiley Company
  • Antony Harris, Head of Stamps and Collectables, New Zealand Post
  • Matthew Parkes, Managing Director, Stamps and Collectibles, Royal Mail Group
  • Walter Trezek, Chair of the UPU Consultative Committee, and Co-Chair of Ecommerce Europe with responsibility for e-logistics and taxation
  • Benjamin Combes, Philately and International Reply Coupons Programme Manager, UPU (moderator)

February 2024

Automated cyber risk management to achieve digital age resilience

The webinar showed how, in the digital age, to establish a cyber risk baseline and a prioritized action plan to effectively mitigate key vulnerabilities continuously, and become resilient with measures and metrics.  By leveraging next-generation solutions, based upon publicly available data and advanced AI/ML analytics, any organization or company can continuously assess risk, threat, compliance and maturity cost-effectively, thereby preventing online crime, fraud and disruption.  The goal is to strengthen overall cybersecurity and operational continuity.

Speakers:

  • Mr Steve Remy – Founder and CEO of 8 Degrees East, a Strategic Advisory Company based in Switzerland, Consultative Committee Member and Co-Rapporteur for the freight and transport thematic chapter.
  • Ms Terry Roberts – Former Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, Office of the US Chief of Naval Operations and Executive Director, Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute. Global cyber intelligence, risk and national security executive and current Founder/President/CEO of WhiteHawk Inc., as well as Expert Advisor for 8 Degrees East.
  • Mr Massimiliano Aschi – UPU .POST Group Chair
  • Ms Rasha Al Abdali – Assistant Director General of Policies and Governance, MTCIT, Oman

September 2023

Postal prosperity zones – Connecting cross-border deliveries through postal operators' collaboration with wider postal sector players

The webinar offered an opportunity to delve into the concept of postal prosperity zones (PPZs), which aims to enable seamless engagement between postal operators and wider postal sector players (WPSPs). At the heart of this initiative lies the harmonization of data, facilitating the smooth flow of cross-border B2C supplies across all modes of transport. The webinar looked at the significance of the harmonization of data in HS codes, and explored opportunities to reduce delivery cycles and contribute to a sustainable planet.

Speakers:

  • Samir Hamrouni, CEO, World Free Zones Organization 
  • Isaac Gnamba-Yao, CEO, La Poste de Côte d'Ivoire 
  • Abdeladim el Massoudi, Deputy Director General responsible for Cooperation and International Partnerships, Poste Maroc 
  • Eddy Richauvet, CEO, ShoprunBack, Rapporteur on CC Thematic Chapter "Postal Financial Services"
  • Triin Oselein, Director, Regulation and International Relations, Eurora 
  • Walter Trezek, UPU Consultative Committee Chair 
  • Mebeti Dosso, Chief Executive Officer, VITIB (free zone technological park), Government of Côte d’Ivoire
  • Santosh Gopal, CEO of Ship2MyID (United States) and CC Vice-chair, Host of the webinar

2023 August

CC Webinar "How freight and transport can boost e-commerce delivery"

The webinar hosted on 15 August at 12.30 (CEST) by the Universal Postal Union's Consultative Committee shed light on a topic of immense importance in today's digital age: "How freight and transport can boost e-commerce delivery". With the burgeoning growth of the e-commerce sector, the significance of seamless and efficient delivery systems has never been greater. The webinar aimed to explore the potential of collaboration between postal operators and private players to unlock new opportunities and accelerate the growth of e-commerce. This webinar offered a platform for experts from both the public and private sectors to delve into the benefits of partnerships. By forging collaborations, postal operators and private players can leverage each other's strengths to overcome challenges and enhance e-commerce delivery services.

Participants: 

  • Walter Trezek, UPU CC Chairman, Vice-Chair e-Logistics & Taxation Working Committee at Ecommerce Europe (Austria)
  • Lars Karlsson, Global Head of Trade and Customs Consulting at MAERSK (Sweden)
  • Ganna Motresku, VP of Global Sales at Nova Poshta Global (Ukraine)
  • Ignacio Mayer, VP Sales Europe & Africa at Mail Americas (Argentina)
  • Niall O’Neill, Chief Executive Officer at Creative Collisions (Ireland)
  • Jaco Voorspuij, Senior Manager Transport & Logistics at GS1 (Netherlands)
  • Santosh Gopal, CEO of Ship2MyID (United States), Host of the webinar

Webinars will continue to take place on the third Tuesday of each month, and be delivered in English and French.

2021 April 

The disrupted market environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic: accelerated digitalization of communications and commerce

In 2021 the Consultative Committee held a series of three one-hour webinars dedicated to the disrupted market environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic: accelerated digitalization of communications and commerce, leading to changes in e commerce logistics; changing consumer behaviors; and what citizens should expect from the universal service obligation in their respective countries.

1. How is e-commerce logistics being transformed as a result of COVID-19? (7 April 2021)

Keynote presenter: Luca Cassetti, Secretary General Ecommerce Europe
Panelists:

  • Glyn Huges, Director General of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA)
  • Noor Adan, Coordinator DOP Supply Chain Management (UPU)
  • Eddy Richauvet, CEO of ShopRunBack.com

In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 1, you will be hearing a presentation by the Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe based on a recent survey. The survey was carried out in the context of the second lockdown at the end of 2020, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the e-commerce sector in Europe.

2. How have e-shopper behaviours changed in the context of COVID? (28 April 2021)

Keynote presenter: Torbjörn Fredriksson, Chief at ICT Policy, Section UNCTAD Geneva, Switzerland
Panelists:

  • Liz Coll, World Class Expert on consumer tech policy, data protection and online consumer protection
  • Ujjwal Kumar, Policy analyst, CUTS International

In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 2, you will be hearing a presentation by the Chief of the ICT Policy Section at UNCTAD based on a recent UNCTAD report titled “COVID-19 and e‑commerce: a global review”. The aim of this UNCTAD report was to jointly assess how the impact of the pandemic was playing out in various regions of the world.

3. Redefining the Universal Service Obligation (USO) in a changing digital postal environment (19 May 2021)

Keynote presenter: Kate Muth, Executive Director, International Mailers Advisory Group (IMAG)
Panelists:

  • Dimitris Theodorakis, Acting Head of UNI Post & Logistics – UNI Global Union
  • Lindsay Welsh, International Relations and Policy Director at New Zealand Post
  • Emma Maraschin, Head of Section, PTS Unit for postal issues (Swedish regulator)

In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 3, you will be hearing a presentation by the Executive Director of the International Mailers Advisory Group partly based on a report of individual research by the USPS Office of Inspector General on the universal service obligation (USO).