The UPU’s Conference on Postal Regulation, held amidst the Council of Administration sessions on 6 November, focused on the theme “Data Utilization in the Postal Sector – Opportunities and Challenges”.
In opening remarks to the conference, UPU Director General Masahiko Metoki encouraged collaboration across the postal sector to resolve challenges preventing postal operators from using data to its full advantage.“In this era, data has emerged as a cornerstone of growth and innovation across all sectors,” he said.
“For the postal industry, this evolution offers unprecedented opportunities to enhance operational efficiencies, improve customer services, and expand into new markets.”
Making the most of data
The forum’s first panel sought to build a clearer picture of the opportunities presented by data utilization, bringing together Pos Malaysia’s Head of Product and Customer Experience, Amit Mehta, and Fay Dunkerley, Principal Consultant at Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd.
Mehta outlined Pos Malaysia’s efforts to consolidate its numerous data sources in order to break down silos and unlock advantages for both posts and customers, including route optimization, customizable services, targeted advertising and improved delivery predictions. He also highlighted the potential for monetizing their wealth of address data, contingent on clarity regarding data privacy regulations and requirements.
Dunkerley detailed the results of a forward-looking study conducted by Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd to analyze the European postal sector’s potential evolution, highlighting that existing data gaps made some predictions challenging. She underscored the need for improved data on shared infrastructure, consumer preferences, and environmental considerations across the sector to better anticipate future scenarios and related regulatory policy implications.
While both panelists agreed there was a need for greater data collection and utilization, they also emphasized that customer data protection must remain front and centre in any data initiatives. Regarding regulation data protection, they advocated for the development of international standards for data collection and recognized the UPU’s potential role in supporting these efforts. They also noted that the UPU could serve as an international data hub to consolidate data for the sector.
Data protection and security
The second panel featured Sarah Gallagher, Chair of PostEurop’s Data Protection Working Group, and Lati Matata, Director of UPU Postal Technology Centre, to delve further into data protection in the postal sector.
Gallagher highlighted discrepancies between EU data protection regulations and those outside the region. She stressed the need for an international approach to data protection in cross-border data exchanges to safeguard customer data and ensure the smooth flow of international postal services. She also explored the need for sector-specific regulations, like those undertaken in the financial and health services sectors.
On his side, Matata also urged cooperation to ensure that postal regulation can keep pace with technological developments, while balancing data-driven innovation with data protection and security. He agreed that the UPU, as a trusted international postal data aggregator, is well positioned to support the establishment of international data privacy principles for the sector. With the right balance of customer protection, data input standardization, and innovation, he noted, the vast data exchanged through the UPU’s network could be leveraged to train AI and machine learning systems to the benefit of the sector and its customers.