The week that was: 9 September, 2011
Privatisation on the agenda for Russian Post, Singapore Post leads the way in digital innovation, and the troubles of the US Postal Service finally gain national recognition… Highlighting the top stories of the week on Post and Parcel – and this week, the monumental problems at USPS started attracting some real attention, Russian ministers suggested the need to sell off Russian Post while Singapore Post continued its innovative move into digital circles.
US Postal Service troubles take on higher profile
Efforts toward major postal reform legislation being passed in the United States appeared to be gathering a little more momentum, as a fresh hearing was held into the financial troubles of the US Postal Service.
But as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs called for a compromise bill to be prepared for consideration by the full Senate, Joseph Lieberman warned: “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The committee hearing also revealed that the Obama Administration is devising a plan to help the struggling USPS, but that plan may be some weeks away.
Russian Post may need privatisation, says minister
The Russian government is preparing postal reforms that could include a public flotation of Russian Post, ministers revealed this week.
Russian communications minister Igor Shchegolev said on Wednesday that legislation to enact major postal reforms will be submitted to the State Duma – the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly – soon.
Speaking in the Duma, the minister said there were many questions being raised by all political parties regarding Russia’s postal network and the modernisation badly needed within it.
He said public investment in Russian Post was not leading to the desired results, but that it was difficult to maintain the universal service obligation in a competitive market where private sector operators were cherry-picking the best market segments, leaving less financially attractive services to the state-owned Post.
Singapore Post builds its digital presence further
Singapore Post is continuing its strengthening of digital, hybrid and e-commerce services as it looks to remain “relevant in the digital age”.
The company has just launched two services for consumer and e-commerce retail markets, which aim to encourage mail volumes.
The first is a photobook service that allows consumers to create books from their photographs for printing and shipment by SingPost. The second is a new e-commerce platform called EZ Suite, which offers easy tools for smaller businesses to create an online retail presence, building and hosting an online store, with payments managed by PayPal and shipping provided by SingPost.
And finally…
You know that something is truly significant in the United States if it appears on the late-night chat shows, and with all its troubles, the US Postal Service has now done exactly that. Click here for more »
