Competitiveness Creation and Maintenance in the Postal Services Industry

Competitiveness Creation and Maintenance in the Postal Services Industry PDF Author: Vaida Pilinkienė
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331931906X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 587

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Book Description
This book examines the changing business and economic environment for postal services in Lithuania and the upcoming challenges for this industry. Postal services continue to play a central part in the development of national economies. However, the economic and social role of postal services has changed rapidly and fundamentally over the last two decades. In most industrialized countries, paper-based communications are in serious decline, while the demand for parcel delivery services is rising steadily with the continuing development of e-commerce, just-in-time production techniques, and global supply chains. For the postal sector as a whole, the centre of gravity has shifted dramatically from letters and documents to parcels. The authors explain how the organizational paradigm has inexorably shifted from that of a national, government-owned postal administration providing the basic delivery services required by society, to a system of interdependent local and regional undertakings that both compete and cooperate with one another. The book argues that there are no indications that the postal sector has stopped changing, and that it seems most probable that the European Union’s postal sector will look quite different in 2035 than it does today. In closing, the book explains how the shareholders of postal services companies have recently confirmed that the time has come to rethink the strategy of creating and maintaining competitiveness in the postal services industry.

Competitiveness Creation and Maintenance in the Postal Services Industry

Competitiveness Creation and Maintenance in the Postal Services Industry PDF Author: Vaida Pilinkienė
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331931906X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 587

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Book Description
This book examines the changing business and economic environment for postal services in Lithuania and the upcoming challenges for this industry. Postal services continue to play a central part in the development of national economies. However, the economic and social role of postal services has changed rapidly and fundamentally over the last two decades. In most industrialized countries, paper-based communications are in serious decline, while the demand for parcel delivery services is rising steadily with the continuing development of e-commerce, just-in-time production techniques, and global supply chains. For the postal sector as a whole, the centre of gravity has shifted dramatically from letters and documents to parcels. The authors explain how the organizational paradigm has inexorably shifted from that of a national, government-owned postal administration providing the basic delivery services required by society, to a system of interdependent local and regional undertakings that both compete and cooperate with one another. The book argues that there are no indications that the postal sector has stopped changing, and that it seems most probable that the European Union’s postal sector will look quite different in 2035 than it does today. In closing, the book explains how the shareholders of postal services companies have recently confirmed that the time has come to rethink the strategy of creating and maintaining competitiveness in the postal services industry.

Enhancing Competition in the Postal Sector

Enhancing Competition in the Postal Sector PDF Author: Damien Geradin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Over the last ten years, the European Commission has been trying to increase competition in the postal sector. In order to achieve this goal, as well as other objectives such as the enhancement of the quality of postal services in the EU and the maintenance of universal service, the Commission adopted a first postal directive in 1997. Directive 97/67 sought to progressively reduce the scope of the postal incumbents' reserved area, but also imposed a range of regulatory obligations on postal operators. This directive was amended by Directive 2002/39, which further reduced the scope of the reserved area and clarified a certain number of regulatory provisions. The Commission is expected to issue its proposal for a third postal directive by the end of this year, initiating the process of full accomplishment of the internal market for postal services by the original target date of 2009 as indicated in the 2002 directive. While Directives 97/67 and 2002/39 have certainly contributed to open the postal sector to competition, the level of competition achieved in this sector is quite uneven. Some segments of the postal market are now subject to intense competition. Yet, others are still largely controlled by postal incumbents. The level of competition within one market segment can also considerably vary among Member States. While some Member States have completely liberalized their postal sector by going further than the requirements contained in the postal directives, others decided not go further than these requirements. Experience teaches that creating competition in freshly liberalized industries is not easy. Incumbents will generally retain considerable market power for a number of years after liberalization. Telecommunications incumbents, for instance, still largely hold strong market positions although the sector has been fully liberalized for almost ten years. In addition, the Commission has recently acknowledged that liberalization efforts in the gas and electricity markets had failed to reach their targets. Similar findings can be made in the postal and transport sectors. Several factors contribute to the difficulty of creating competition in these industries. Incumbents generally hold a number of significant advantages compared to new entrants, such as considerable expertise, an established brand name, the ability to achieve economies of scale (due to size) or scope (due to vertical/horizontal integration), as well as special connections with public authorities, which often remain shareholders of these firms. Another potential barrier to entry in these industries (which are often referred to as "network industries") comes from the fact that incumbents will typically hold elements of network infrastructure, which are needed by new entrants to compete on the market. Controlling incumbents' market power is thus a central concern in liberalized industries, such as the postal sector. Such control can be achieved through two complementary tools. First, sector-specific regulation can be used to address market failures, such as, for instance, the presence of bottlenecks. Competition rules can also be used to control market power, notably by preventing incumbents to abuse of their dominant position on some markets. Such rules may also deal with a range of other anti-competitive practices, such as restrictive agreements between competitors or the granting of illegal State aids. While competition rules play a fundamental role with respect to the creation, strengthening or maintenance of competitive market structures in the postal sector, the primary focus of this paper will be on ex ante regulation. There is indeed considerable debate regarding the regulatory framework, which should be provided for in the forthcoming postal directive. While some operators are calling for the strengthening of the existing regulatory framework applicable to the postal industry, others have been arguing in favor of a light-handed approach to regulation. Pursuant to this view, the forthcoming postal directive should only provide for minimal regulatory requirements, market power being essentially controlled through the enforcement of competition rules. Few would disagree with the overall goal of reducing regulation to its strict minimum, but it is subject to question whether the postal sector is competitive enough to roll back sector-specific regulation. This paper defends the view that sector-specific regulation has still a major role to play in the postal sector and that deregulation is premature. This paper is divided in five parts. Following this introduction, Part II explains that sector-specific regulation and competition law are complementary tools and that both have a critical role to play to allow for the creation of a competitive postal market. Part III offers some principles for the new postal directive. It critically reviews the claim made by some that postal regulation should follow a light-handed approach and, in particular, that no ex ante access to the postal network regime is needed. Part IV argues that even in the presence of ex ante regulation, competition rules should continue to play a significant role. Ex ante regulation and competition law are complements, not substitutes. Finally, Part V contains a short conclusion.

The Economics of the Postal and Delivery Sector

The Economics of the Postal and Delivery Sector PDF Author: Pier Luigi Parcu
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030826929
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
The book addresses the most recent challenges faced by the postal and delivery sector. This book includes original essays by prominent researchers and practitioners in the field of postal and delivery economics, originally presented at the 28th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics held online, December 1-5, 2020. Chapters discuss topics such as the sustainability of the universal service obligations (USO) quality of service, last mile solutions, competition in liberalized markets, data protection, environmental sustainability, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This book will be a useful tool not only for graduate students and professors interested in postal and regulatory economics, but also for postal administrations, consulting firms, and federal government departments.

Progress in the Competitive Agenda in the Postal and Delivery Sector

Progress in the Competitive Agenda in the Postal and Delivery Sector PDF Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1848447280
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
Regulation continues to be an important issue in the postal and delivery sector of the global economy. This latest volume in the Advances in Regulatory Economics series reflects the latest research on trends and policies affecting the postal sector and progress made in the industry s competitive agenda. It is global in scope and covers a broad range of legal and economic issues from leading scholars, researchers, and policy makers. Topics covered include: service quality and price caps, the impact of price regulation on service quality, financing the USO, cost analysis and pricing of innovative postal products, postal demand studies, the effects of intermedia competition; mail order demand; Internet advertising, trends in direct mail, legal and regulatory issues related to the postal sector, competitive strategies in the parcel market, and environmental impacts of mail. The book also provides concrete analyses of the driving forces underlying restructuring, transformation and privatization strategies of postal operators. Scholars and practitioners in public sector economics and postal regulation will appreciate this in-depth treatment of their industry.

Emerging Competition in Postal and Delivery Services

Emerging Competition in Postal and Delivery Services PDF Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475751222
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
Emerging Competition in Postal and Delivery Services brings together practitioners, postal administrators, the courier industry, regulators, academic economists and lawyers to examine important policy and regulatory issues facing the postal and delivery industries. This volume reviews such topics as cost and productivity analysis, universal service and entry, demand analysis and the structure of postal payment system, price regulation and competition.

Competitive Transformation of the Postal and Delivery Sector

Competitive Transformation of the Postal and Delivery Sector PDF Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441989153
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
Competitive Transformation of the Postal and Delivery Sector is an indispensable source of information and analysis on the current state of the postal and delivery sector. It offers current insights of leading researchers and practitioners into strategy and regulation as well as the economics of this sector. Issues addressed include national and international perspectives, financial viability, the universal service obligation, regulation, competition, entry, the role of scale and scope economies, the nature and role of cost and demand analysis in postal service, productivity, interaction of law and economics, human resources, transition and reform issues. The papers in the book were selected from the papers presented at the 11th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics, Toledo, Spain, June 4-7, 2003.

Competition and Innovation in Postal Services

Competition and Innovation in Postal Services PDF Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475748183
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Any Chainnan of the British Post Office dwells in the shadow of Rowland Hill, and, if he were an honest man, he probably from time to time, while singing the praises of Rowland Hill, as is his due, thinks a silent thought of sympathy for his predecessor Colonel Maberly, the head of the Post Office, the Champion of established orthodoxy, the leader of the Professionals, who had to endure the irresistible force of Hill's arguments combined with his skills as a pamphleteer, agitator, and political propagandist. My favorite passage of the book Royal Mail by Martin Daunton (1985) shows how much the Post Office of the day needed a Rowland Hill to challenge Colonel Maberly and all that he stood for. I quote from a passage describing how the Colonel, when he arrived at about 11:00 a.m. and while enjoying his breakfast, listened to his private secretary reading the morning's correspondence. Daunton records: The Colonel, still half engaged with his private correspondence, would hear enough to make him keep up a rumring commentary of disparaging grunts, "Pooh! stuff! upon my soul!" etc.

The Future of the Postal Sector in a Digital World

The Future of the Postal Sector in a Digital World PDF Author: Michael Crew
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331924454X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
Worldwide, postal operators have been slow to address the threats from and opportunities created by electronic competition. The European Commission and member states are wrestling with these issues, while at the same time continuing to deal with the interrelated issues of implementing entry into postal markets and maintaining the universal service obligation. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 in the U.S. exacerbated financial and managerial problems faced by USPS that result in part from electronic substitution for letter delivery. A major aim of this book is to examine policies to address postal operations in a digital world and ways in which postal operators might reinvent themselves to respond to threats and exploit opportunities. Potential opportunities examined include parcels, e-commerce, digital delivery, regulatory innovations and pricing. This book will be of interest to postal operators, regulatory commissions, consulting firms, competitors and customers, experts in the postal economics, law, and business, and those charged with the responsibility for designing and implementing postal sector policies. Researchers in regulatory economics, transportation technology and industrial organization will also find considerable food for thought in this volume.

Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition

Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition PDF Author: Anheuser-Busch
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 0857935801
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
'Professors Crew and Kleindorfer have once again assembled a valuable collection of essays that address timely and important issues in postal sectors throughout the world. The essays employ diverse methodologies to provide useful insights about recent and likely future developments in the postal industry. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers, industry practitioners, and policymakers alike.' – David E.M. Sappington, University of Florida, US In our increasingly technology-focused world, demand for traditional postal services is steadily shrinking. This timely volume examines the many challenges that the worldwide postal sector is facing as a result of growing electronic competition, and offers expert recommendations for reshaping postal structures to strengthen their competitiveness in an electronic age. Drawn from a selection of papers presented at the 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics in Brighton, UK, this book showcases expert contributions on the rapidly changing postal sectors in both the United States and Europe. Topics discussed include the various financial challenges posed by decreasing demand for postal services, recent changes in how postal services are provided, and new structures and modes of operation, such as privatization, that are currently affecting the industry. Contributors offer a thorough breakdown of the issues as well as ideas for keeping the postal sector alive in a world that is growing ever more reliant on purely electronic means of communication. Economists with an interest in regulatory economics, innovation and public sector economics will find this volume useful and informative, as will institutional libraries and industry professionals.

New Business and Regulatory Strategies in the Postal Sector

New Business and Regulatory Strategies in the Postal Sector PDF Author: Pier Luigi Parcu
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030029379
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
This book addresses major issues facing postal and delivery services throughout the world. Worldwide, there is currently a considerable amount of interest in postal and delivery economics. The industry is reacting to a state of near crisis and is implementing different drastic changes. The European Commission and member States are still wrestling with the problem of how to implement entry liberalization into postal markets, how to address digital competition, and how to maintain the universal service obligation (USO). The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 in the U.S. has perhaps created and exacerbated the problems faced by USPS. Digitalisation, technological development and online platforms are strongly affecting both the way postal and delivery operators are managing their services as well as their role on the market. Strong emphasis was attributed to the assets of Postal Operators (POs) and their added value in the digital age as well as on new business strategies. This volume presents original essays by prominent researchers in the field, selected and edited from papers presented at this year’s 26th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics held in Split, Croatia, from May 30- June 2, 2018.Topics addressed by this volume include quality of service, last mile solutions, and competition in the liberalized market. This book will be a useful tool not only for graduate students and professors, but also for postal administrations, consulting firms, and federal government departments.