Today the Postal Operations Council plenary meeting under Chairman Andreas Taprantzis (Greece) began its review of the accomplishments and projects of the various committees and work groups previously established to carry out budgeted projects.  We will report on some of these in The Prescott Report and this blog in forthcoming issues. Today we report on the opening presentation of Director General Edouard Dayan.

The DG opened the meeting by pointing out some quite dramatic improvements in the communication facilities in the UPU. It is now possible for delegates to observe the proceedings in the main hall, which are webcast.  In all other meeting rooms teleconference facilities are available. A major renovation on the 7^th floor of the building has created a multi-purpose space for receptions and large meetings with state of the art AV equipment and easily re-arranged furniture and podiums.  For anyone who has attended meetings here, these changes are very welcome.

Turning to the accomplishments of the international postal system, Mr. Dayan noted that “all indicators are “green”, which is to say, they are indicating significant progress.   As can be seen from the adjacent slide, there has been profound improvements in the quality of service since 2005 throughout the membership.

The increase in bar-coding of 91% of all parcels, and by 197 countries, is among the most promising  developments imaginable. Related to this, of course, are the increase in electronic exchange of parcel data to 140 countries and an electronic inquiry system to track down parcels to 96 countries.  This makes the international postal system remarkably more competitive with the express industry.

There has been a dramatic take up of the electronic networks of the UPU.  The International Parcel Service is up 36% to 147 countries, while the Postnet letter tracking network now has 135 countries, an increase of 25%.  In continuing to fulfill the strategic goal of building international financial services, 103 countries are now connected to or testing the International Financial Service (electronic money transfer network), of which 41operate regularly, a 78% increase.

These results, Mr. Dayan noted, are due to a clear strategic vision coming from the Nairobi Strategic Plan and a “permanent obsession with results”.  Moreover, the International Bureau (IB) has created a totally secure network during the last three years and this functions 24/7.  He also attributed this success to the confidence and support of many countries who contribute on an “extra-budgetary” basis, such as Singapore, Korea, Japan, and France, as well as a profound sense of co-operation, innovation, discipline, and the professionalism of the International Bureau.

Mr. Dayan continued to outline some of the many programs and relationship which have been built over the last year “to construct the future today”. The detail is beyond the scope of this report, but many programs and new relationships have been undertaken, as reflected in the accompanying slide. In short, member countries are telling him that “the UPU is no longer the same and has definitively entered the 21^st century.” And his vision is to continue to “engage the future, throw off certain old habits, push back the frontier and obtain results.”

To this observer, progress and improvement are tangible here at the UPU, and the international postal network, and its customers, are benefiting.

Charles Prescott