Competition and Innovation in Postal Services

Competition and Innovation in Postal Services
Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475748183

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.

Postal and Delivery Innovation in the Digital Economy

Postal and Delivery Innovation in the Digital Economy
Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2014-12-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319128744

Worldwide, postal and delivery economics is the subject of considerable interest. The postal industry’s business model is in drastic need of change. Notably, the European Commission and member states are still wrestling with the problems of implementing liberalization of entry into postal markets, addressing digital competition, and maintaining the universal service obligation. In the United States, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 has, perhaps, exacerbated some of the problems faced by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Currently, the USPS has serious financial problems because of difficulties it faces in making changes and the failure of the Act to address problems that have been long-standing. Electronic competition is severe and affects post offices (POs) worldwide, which have been slow to address the threat. This book addresses this new reality and includes discussion of how POs may attempt to reinvent themselves. Parcels and packets will play a major role in developing new business models for postal operators. This book is of use not only to students and researchers interested in the field, but also to postal operators, consulting firms, utilities, regulatory commissions, Federal Government Departments and agencies of the European Union and other countries.

Progress in the Competitive Agenda in the Postal and Delivery Sector

Progress in the Competitive Agenda in the Postal and Delivery Sector
Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2009-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1848447280

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.

Competition and Regulation in the Postal and Delivery Sector

Competition and Regulation in the Postal and Delivery Sector
Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 413
Release: 2008-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1847209955

Worldwide, postal and delivery economics has attracted considerable interest. Numerous questions have arisen, including the role of regulation, funding the Universal Service Obligation, postal reform in Europe, Asia and North America, the future of national postal operators, demand and pricing strategies, and the principles that should govern the introduction of competition. Collected here are responses to these questions in the form of 24 essays written by researchers, practitioners, and senior managers from throughout the world. This volume will have a broad appeal, with an audience ranging from practitioners in the express and delivery industry, national Postal Operators and managers, to economists, regulators, competition lawyers, marketers, scholars in economic regulation, and institutional libraries.

Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition

Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition
Author: Anheuser-Busch
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0857935801

'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.

The Future of the Postal Sector in a Digital World

The Future of the Postal Sector in a Digital World
Author: Michael Crew
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2015-11-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 331924454X

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.

Reinventing the Postal Sector in an Electronic Age

Reinventing the Postal Sector in an Electronic Age
Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781849805964

This compilation of original essays by an international cast of economists, regulators and industry practitioners analyzes some of the major issues now facing postal and delivery services throughout the world as competition from information and communication technologies (ICT) has increased. Competition has become increasingly important in the postal sector for some time in the form of alternative entrants providing mail delivery. However, the competition from ICT in the form of email and instant messaging, the Internet, Facebook and other forms of social networking and portable wireless devices such as the iPad and Kindle may be even more significant. Mail volumes are falling and the economies of scale that have made possible daily deliveries to every address are being eroded. This book assesses volume these declines resulting from this so-called eSubstituion and looks at the ways the postal sector can adapt to the rapid changes resulting from ICT. The impact of electronic invoicing on transactions mail, and the impact on bulk mail of electronic forms of advertising are examined. Strategies, including pricing and access policies, are discussed in the context of the increasing impact of ICT. A rethinking of the role of mail in an electronic age is taking place and this book provides the cutting-edge of this rethinking and the attempts of POs to reinvent themselves while continuing to meet the public s expectation of continuing ubiquitous daily deliveries of traditional mail products. Undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in regulation, competition law, innovation and public sector economics along with institutional libraries and industry professionals will find this volume informative and useful.

The Changing Postal Environment

The Changing Postal Environment
Author: Pier Luigi Parcu
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2020-04-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030345327

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). Digitalization, 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 the 27th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics held in Dublin, Ireland, 22-25 May, 2019. Topics addressed by this volume include the fragmentation of the postal supply chain, blockchain and digital postal services, and the fading of traditional postal market boundaries. 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.

Emerging Competition in Postal and Delivery Services

Emerging Competition in Postal and Delivery Services
Author: Michael A. Crew
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475751222

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.