05/17/2013 - Ray Barber presents results of Peru IDB study in Lima
Ray Barber, head of decision/analysis partners’ ICT practice made a presentation to the Fondo de Inversion en Telecomunicaciones (FITEL) Technologies, Proyectos y Acceso a Servicios de Telecomunicaciones: Oportunidades para un Futuro Digital conference in San Isidro,Peru, May 17, 2013. Click here for a description of the broadband telecommunications project in Peru.
04/23/2013 - Webinar: Evaluating Postal Automation for Middle Income Countries – June 20
This is the fifth webinar in our series of free 2013 postal webinars;
Evaluating Postal Automation for Middle Income Countries
45 minute presentation followed by 15 minute Q&A
Registration is limited.
Middle income country postal operators have the opportunity to leverage their rising middle class to increase mail and parcel volumes. Advertising mail can become a successful new source of mail, and increased B2C commerce can be a source of new parcels. Additional revenue from these activities would enable postal operators to transform their enterprise while reducing average costs and improving service quality through automation. This webinar will look at a postal operator’ main automation areas, including address management, automated sorting and computerized retail systems.
Address management is the foundation of any automation program, enabling automated sorting to direct each piece of mail accurately to its destination.
Automated sorting improves service, reducing error and increasing speed, while potentially reducing costs.
Computerized retail systems improves customer service and reduces revenue leakage.
We will provide examples of systems and innovations in each of the three areas above, and discuss issues, benefits and how automation projects should be evaluated.
Presenters:
Pierre Kacha, Ph.D., director of decision/analysis partners postal practice will lead this webinar. Pierre has led over 60 postal projects with decision/analysis partners, including operations planning and perfromance measurement projects.
Measuring the performance of a postal operator extends beyond the traditional metrics used by private companies such as return on equity for instance. Postal service is a public endeavor, and its performance must be measured in light of universal service obligations, and limits to missions and risks that constrain its strategy and operation. In addition to that, posts are networks, and the management of networks is inherently complex. In this webinar, we will talk about what makes the postal service challenging to manage and measure, including public service and network issues.
Presenters:
Pierre Kacha, Ph.D., director of decision/analysis partners postal practice will lead this webinar. Pierre has led over 60 postal projects with decision/analysis partners, including operations planning and perfromance measurement projects.
Bernard Markowicz, Ph.D. is the managing director of d/ap. He has contributed and led large postal projects, including the designa and implementation of a network operations management center for the USPS
decision/analysis partners is proud to announce our 2013 free postal webinar series. Each webinar is 35 minutes in length + 10 min Q&A. Click here to sign up and receive announcements by email.
03/18/2013 - Same day delivery: What role for the Postal Service?
In one of our recent blogs, we suggested that cost-effective same-day delivery service needs to be fulfilled from outlets that are close to the consumer, and we suggested that retailers operating an extended retail network are at an advantage to satisfy customer expectations for same-day service.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Macy’s CFO mentioned that 2012 Q4 same-store sales where boosted by online orders fulfilled from retail locations. The CFO underlined that this was part of Macy’s omni-channel strategy, recognizing that the purpose of its retail outlets was changing.
As retailing evolves, retailers like Macy’s will need to establish relationships with nimble and cost-effective regional carriers (e.g., Lasership, Eastern Connection, Ontrac, etc.) to provide same day delivery at a reasonable cost. These regional carriers are not the only solution besides nationwide carriers such as FedEx and UPS. The U.S. Postal Service commands a unique regional infrastructure of plants, post offices, delivery units, and transportation links that can be leveraged forsame-day delivery.
Originally designed for the mail, the USPS regional network is today underutilized and could be re-purposed and adapted to the changing dynamics of e-commerce fulfillment and specifically for same-day delivery. In addition to transport from retailer location to customer, the Postal Service could leverage delivery units to become micro-warehouses to fulfill same-day delivery economically and timely.
Can the Postal Service play a larger role in fulfilling the omni-channel strategies of e/retailers? Is it reasonable to foresee a tighter integration between e/retailers’ distribution centers, their brick and mortar stores, and the Postal Service’s own regional infrastructure that would offer economical same-day delivery service, as well as a range of additional logistical services?
Advanced postal organizations have implemented delivery sequencing to reduce labour costs and improve the efficiency of their delivery workforce. The availability of sequencing hardware and the quality of multi-line address recognition has made delivery sequencing a lot more affordable than it was 20 years ago. This webinar will discuss how postal organisations in emerging economies can evaluate the cost and benefits of delivery sequencing, and how they can determine which sequencing strategy to use.
Presenters:
Pierre Kacha, Ph.D., director of decision/analysis partners postal practice will lead this webinar. Pierre directed decision/analysis delivery sequencing projects with Canada Post, from strategy to plant design.
- Can the Posts survive in an integrated supply chain world?
Competitiveness in the e commerce market is forcing retailers to continuously tighten their supply chains in order to squeeze out waste. First, they looked to minimize inventory costs by using point of sale information to position items in the most judicious way. Next, they unified their independent channel stocks and inventories (e commerce, store and catalog sales) through multi-channel, then omni-channel retailing.
Now, retailers are working with carriers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to integrate their respective information systems in order to better control stock movements, further adding flexibility and responsiveness. Carriers and 3PLs are investing heavily in integrating their systems with retailers in order to stay competitive and relevant themselves.
To survive, postal service organizations must do the same: align with customers and develop systems that will integrate their operations with that of each major retailer. Another possible step is for posts to acquire or strongly partner with 3PLs with such systems in order to get a leg up. Without such supply chain integration, posts will slowly become irrelevant in the parcel business…
03/01/2013 - Webinar: The Adaptable Post Concept – February 28, 2013
We are all familiar with the pressures facing most posts in the last few years, including a steep decline in mail volume and increased competition. Operating plans remain essentially static and are changed infrequently. To cut costs while improving service performance, posts need to come up with new distribution and operating plan approaches, using information about mail and its characteristics to create an adaptable operational environment to generate more cost effective routings and processing capacity. The webinar explores five practical ways to make operations more adaptable.
Presenters:
Pierre Kacha, Ph.D., director of decision/analysis partners postal practice
Bernard Markowicz, Ph.D., Managing Director, decision/analysis partners
45 minute presentation followed by 15 minute Q&A
Registration is limited.
Advanced and emerging postal organizations are increasingly vulnerable to various forms of revenue leakage,including no payment, underpayment, counterfeited evidencing. Postal revenue leakage in Europe alone is estimated at over $1.0 billion annually. The question often asked is whether the cost of protection will justify the returns. As new technology solutions emerge, protection from leakage can be better integrated into business processes in order to deter theft. The webinar will discuss practices that can be applied in various environments across postal organizations, and across evidencing channels (bulk-permit, bulk-meter, retail, online postage, etc.)
Presenter:
Mr. Jean Philippe Ducasse, who created and chaired the UPU Postal Revenue Protection Consultative Committee Working Group, will lead the webinar. Mr. Ducasse has facilitated workshops on this subject with about fifty postal administrations.
Mr. Chris Paterson, noted economist and director, Diversified Specifics Pty Ltd. Chris specializes in Postal and Delivery Economics and has worked on Australia Post’ revenue leakage problems.
02/14/2013 - Implications of 3D Printing on the Postal Industry
3D printing has been around for a few years now. One of the questions is whether it will ever take off. The industry is growing, turning what used to be experimental items into useful objects. Check this article on 10 fascinating facts about 3D printing from Nokia.
What is 3D Printing?
3D printing or additive[1] manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from digital models. The digital models help define, execute, control, and manage the 3D manufacturing process, substantially reducing the time and cost of product development and delivery[2], and enabling the rapid creation of customized products leading to lifelong customer services[3].
A number of techniques exist, such as stereo lithographic and fused deposition modeling, and others are under development. The market for 3D printing is growing at an estimated 16% a year and is expected to reach about $5 billion in the United States by 2020.[4] The effects of 3D printing are beginning to be felt across a wide variety of industries[5] 3D printing is currently used in jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction, automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education and consumer products and may soon be used to build printed circuit boards. Audi, for example, uses an Object 3D printer (utilizing the photopolymerization technique) to produce parts. A video posted on their YouTube channel – “Print My Audi” – demonstrates the process. The range of plastics that can be used with 3D printers is currently limited.
Implications for the Postal Industry
What impact will 3D printing have on supply chain management and on the postal industry?
3D printing will likely reduce supply chain costs including transport (smaller distances) and warehousing costs (print on demand)
3D will likely prove successful with custom or low-demand items such as auto parts (specific to certain models and year). 3D printing is already used in the dental industry.
Shipment size will be reduced because 3D printing will create specific items that will be shipped directly to the client.
3D printing provides opportunities for postal organizations because of smaller shipment sizes and because of a focus on delivery to the ultimate client, leveraging a strong delivery capability.
Finally, postal organizations have typically a strong regional presence that will enable them to link efficiently closer-by 3D printers and their clients.
[1] Additive manufacturing is distinct from traditional machining techniques (subtractive processes) which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting and drilling.
[2] Frechette, S. P. (2011). Model Based Enterprise for Manufacturing. 44th CIRP International Conference on Manufacturing Systems, (p. 6). Madison, WI.
[3] Next-Generation Manufacturing Technology Initiative. (2005). Strategic Investment Plan for the Model-Based Enterprise. NGMTI.
[4] Seitz, P. (07/20/2012 ). 3D Printers Graduate From Prototypes To End Products. INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY.
[5] Consumer Electronics Association. (2013 Edition). Five Technology Trends to Watch. 24.
Advanced postal organizations have implemented delivery sequencing to reduce labour costs and improve the efficiency of their delivery workforce. The availability of sequencing hardware and the quality of multi-line address recognition has made delivery sequencing a lot more affordable than it was 20 years ago. This webinar will discuss how postal organisations in emerging economies can evaluate the cost and benefits of delivery sequencing, and how they can determine which sequencing strategy to use. 
