Postal operators worldwide to invest in IT
Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) estimates that alone in 2015, postal operators will invest 20 billion Euros globally in IT systems. Of this total, 3.1 billion Euros will go to transforming their branch operations. These are among the key insights of the white paper “Upheaval in the global postal market: Managing a substantial shift in business models,” which PAC researched on behalf of Wincor Nixdorf.
The global postal market is undergoing dynamic change, according to the white paper. Privatization, the Internet, new market players and customer demands for greater convenience and innovative services are forcing national postal operators to diversify into new fields and, above all, to invest in information technology to transform their customer-interfacing branch operations.
According to PAC’s market research, traditional postal operators will need to create new services in areas such as finance and retail to generate additional revenue streams and to tap new channels such as mobile and self-service to interface with customers more conveniently and cost-effectively. This will require, among other things, that operators transform their branch operations not only to expand the scope of their overall activities, but also to enhance the customer experience these outlets provide.
Top priorities in this transformation, according to PAC, include making it easier for customers to access postal services by abolishing queues through greater automation of counter transactions and greater use self-service technology as well as modernizing often cramped and dated branch facilities. PAC views, in particular, mobile technology and integrated IT solutions and architectures as key drivers in postal branch transformation.
The white paper looks at how a number of international postal operators, such as AN Post in Ireland, La Poste in France, Australian Post and Poste Italiane, have embarked on new strategies to diversify their portfolios and transform their branch operations. La Poste, for instance, is a pioneer in postal self-service, having installed 5,000 self-service post kiosks in its branches to shorten queuing time, improve process efficiency and increase overall customer convenience. Australian Post is another example of an innovative approach. The tradition-steeped postal operator has transformed its 4,500 branches into retail outlets that offer not only postal services but also other consumer articles and services such as bill payments, passport applications and motor vehicle registrations. Self-service terminals are an integral component of these outlets.
The white paper also describes Wincor Nixdorf’s position as a key supplier of IT solutions to postal operators and its answer to the changing requirements of postal operators. The IT solutions provider has been delivering high-performance, cost-saving solutions and services to the sector for more than 20 years. More than 30 postal operators now use its technology worldwide.
Wincor Nixdorf has an integrated and seamless offering. Unlike its competitors, it is able to access comprehensive in-house expertise, not only in the area of hardware, software and services, but also in a range of sectors, including banking, retail and postal. The company ranks number one in Europe and number two in the world for programmable electronic POS (EPOS) terminals, and number two in the world for ATMs.
The white paper is available to download by clicking here.
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