Reliability seen as key to Posts competing with integrators
The Kahala Posts Group, an alliance of 10 postal operators from Europe, Asia and America that aims to more effectively compete internationally with the large integrators, met in Barcelona this week to discuss strategy. The group named after the Hawaiian venue of its first meeting in 2002 includes Australia Post, China Post, Correos, Hong Kong Post, Japan Post, Korea Post, La Poste, Royal Mail, Singapore Post and the US Postal Service.
It currently accounts for the international shipment of around 24m packages a year, amounting to annual revenues of around $900m USD, and saw a 10% growth in volumes last year.
This week’s three-day meeting, the first Kahala executive committee meeting to be held in Spain, discussed guidelines to follow over the next 12 months.
Key emphasis was placed on service reliability, rather than speed of delivery, as something for Posts to push in order to win market share from the likes of integrators like FedEx, DHL, TNT and UPS during the global economic slowdown.
Kahala members agreed to aim for a target for at least 95% of international express mail to be delivered on time.
A statement from Spain’s Correos, current holder of the group’s presidency, said that with reliable door-to-door services businesses and consumers would lean toward the Kahala network during the economic slowdown, rather than using faster but more expensive integrators.
“By working together and combining expertise and resources of the ten leading postal operators, KPG offers reliable solutions with a good value, easy to use and technologically sophisticated international shipping companies and individuals,” said Correos.
With transport one of the “major challenges” for the Kahala Group, hopes are to hammer out agreements with commercial airlines to tackle air freight capacity issues and turn around unprofitable routes.
e-commerce
Discussing current trends in international shipping, the meeting highlighted the particular growth potential in e-commerce shipments, and saw discussion of new e-commerce services between the Kahala members, including a new reverse logistics service to cater to demand for product returns.
The parcels segment is one of four markets in which the Kahala Group’s 2011-2014 business plan is targeting a bigger market share for the network, along with express and logistics, particularly in the Asia-Pacific Rim region.
The Kahala Group, which originally started out with six members – Posts in Australia, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and the US – is set to expand further this year with the addition of Posts in Brazil, Thailand and Vietnam.
The next meeting of the Kahala executive committee is set to be held in Paris in July 2012, with La Poste taking on the group’s presidency.
