The Universal Postal Union (UPU) and International Post Corporation (IPC) agree on an enhanced cooperation for the development of the postal sector worldwide

UPU and IPC to identify synergies in technology solutions and to reinforce cooperation in market research and sustainability. UPU and IPC to set up a Forum and Expert Teams to implement the agreement.

Through a new cooperation agreement, the UPU and IPC are set to cooperate on issues of common interest and promote innovation and efficiency in a rapidly changing and increasingly demanding environment. “The UPU’s foremost aim is to secure the organization and improvement of postal services worldwide and to promote international collaboration in this area. We are therefore particularly pleased to engage in a partnership that brings measurable benefits for the industry by contributing to the development of accessible, efficient and innovative postal services in our member countries,” said UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein. “This joint cooperation program supports the advancement of the UPU’s goals and strategy while conforming to its principles for cooperation with the private sector,” he pointed out. “Both our organisations share the same goal of helping our member posts to enhance postal service in today’s challenging markets and in particular to play a greater role in e-commerce delivery,” commented Holger Winklbauer, IPC CEO. “This agreement represents a major step in our cooperation, aiming at building a mutually supportive working relationship for the benefit of the postal industry worldwide, in a context of increasingly scarce resources,” added Winklbauer. Through this cooperation agreement, the UPU and IPC agree to identify new joint activities aimed at promoting overall quality, efficiency and sustainability of postal services. By collaborating, both the UPU and IPC will share technical knowledge and expertise. Areas for cooperation will cover in particular IT, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), standards and supply chain, e-commerce markets, sustainability and support to development. Both the UPU and IPC offer technology solutions to their members to interconnect postal networks together and ensure end-to-end visibility for consumers. The aim of the cooperation is to understand all available solutions and identify synergies. Both the UPU and IPC are operating complementary RFID networks to provide end-to-end tracking. Through this agreement, the UPU and IPC will seek opportunities to collaborate with the aim to offer an interoperable RFID tracking global network for e-commerce. The UPU and IPC will also cooperate on providing solutions to ease conveyance of cross-border shipments, including through an improved interface with third parties (airlines, carriers, customs, security). The two organisations will also explore the possibility of joint qualitative research with leading global e-retailers and joint market research on cross-border e-commerce. the UPU and IPC also aim to find ways to work together with regard to postal sustainability calculation and reporting. Under this agreement, the UPU and IPC will have a Forum to meet twice a year to review progress of the joint cooperation. The Forum will also supervise five Expert Teams tasked to implement the cooperation on all topics of common interest. Note to editors: Photos of the signing of the cooperation agreement between UPU and IPC will be available at www.flickr.com/universal_postal_union