Reinventing the Post

Reinventing the Post

Reinventing the Post: Emerging Opportunities for the Postal Industry is the latest in a series of books documenting the possible futures for postal organisations worldwide. The book presents important perspectives on strategy, transformation and innovation, with contributions coming from industry thought leaders all over the world.

Of the previous volumes, the first posed a direct challenge to the common assumption that the postal sector is in almost inevitable decline (The Future is in the Post: Perspectives on Strategy in the Postal Industry, 2010). The next explored in more detail the nature of the transformations through which the industry was passing (The Future is in the Post II: Perspectives on Transformation in the Postal Industry, 2011), and the third placed the process of innovation centre stage (The Future is in the Post III: Perspectives on Innovation in the Postal Industry, 2012).

In this volume, Derek Osborn questions the future shape and direction of the post and what its business will be in the future. The results reveal the many different ways in which the sector is being reborn and reinvented for a new generation, and provide strong examples of the energy and life that there still is in the postal sector.

The book first addresses “how” and “to what” the post can reinvent itself, and then focuses on postal delivery, increasingly populated with parcels as well as letters. A third section concentrates on the opportunities for building on the historical trust enjoyed by the posts, and the fourth and fifth sections address opportunities for using digital technology solutions to build on the traditional physical capabilities of the post and explore how posts can exploit these in their business propositions. Finally, the global challenge of sustainability is tackled from the postal industry perspective. Alongside these there are four case studies which highlight how traditional postal networks are being reinvented in Europe, Africa and Australia, and two final reflective pieces which take readers back to the future, looking both backwards and forwards to see what lessons may be learned.

The contributors are all experienced industry professionals, a diverse group of people and organisations involved with the postal industry worldwide. They offer fascinating insights of great value to managers, suppliers, customers, policy-makers and politicians, regulators, and academics.  

Derek Osborn

International business coach and postal expert, Whatnext4u