Trends and developments in the global postal industry
A presentation by Dr. Andreas Taprantzis, chairman of the Postal Operations Council of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Dr. Taprantzis gives Post&Parcel readers an insight into the trends and development in the global postal industry. Looking at whether the current climate is down to recession or paradigm shift, the presentation looks at the universal issues affecting the sector.
Dr. Taprantzis believes the moderate impact of the crisis, in comparison with other industries, offers opportunities to: speed up productivity improvements and cost reductions; aggressively manage cash flows and secure liquidity; push change and reorganisation plans, as well as diversification of revenues; and to actively review the legal and regulatory framework.
Click here to read Dr. Taprantzis’ full presentation
Dr. Taprantzis has 20-years of managerial experience in many economic sectors and industries, both as a management consultant and an executive manager. During his eight-year term at the helm of ELTA, he demonstrated strong leadership and important achievements. ELTA is the Universal Provider of postal services in Greece, operating the largest logistics and retail network in the country (12.500 employees, 1.100 retail shops and key operations facilities, 4.000 vehicles and diverse geographical coverage). Responding to the gradual market liberalisation and the increasing penetration of digital media, a heavy reorganisation programme has been executed during the last four years. An immense investment program, valued at €250m, aiming at radically improving competitiveness of the business by introducing new technologies, modernising infrastructure and re-engineering in big scale, has been concluded. At the same time new revenue streams were developed, in such areas as: retail banking services, money transfers, insurance products and telecom services. As a result, ELTA represents today a business group with total revenues in excess of €600m, increasing profitability and fundamentally improved quality of service. During the last three years, ELTA constantly achieves an 80% customer satisfaction index, one of the highest in Europe, based on Eurobarometer annual data and the third highest Trust Index in Western Europe countries, based on GfK international surveys.
His leadership skills and work in turning around ELTA has been internationally recognised and widely acknowledged by peers and relative forums. As a result of such recognition, he has been elected member of the Board of Directors of International Postal Corporation (IPC), alongside with the CEOs of Postal Organisations of USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands. IPC is the association of the 25 largest postal enterprises in the world, accumulating 85% of global postal business.
In August 2008, during the 24th Universal Postal Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, he was elected chairman of the Postal Operations Council (POC) of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) for the period 2008-2012, as a result of the voting ceremonies among the 3.000 delegates of the Congress. It was the first time ever that a Greek candidate won such a distinguished international post in UPU.
Dr. Taprantzis was born in June 1966. He holds an MSc degree in Chemical Engineering, a PhD degree in process control systems and artificial intelligence, as well as an MBA and an Advanced Management Certificate from INSEAD. He is a certified researcher in Finance, Technical & Industrial Studies and a certified auditor of quality assurance systems.
