The Journey of Postal Operators into Digital Services Using the Concept of Business Models

Traditional national postal operators are trusted in many countries, having enjoyed stable growth, low costs and societal acceptance for the past 100 years. However, the recent decade has created a threat to their traditional letter delivery services due to advancements in information and communication technology. In response, postal operators have slowly begun to diversify into digital services. This article uses the concept of business models, which have been a recent area of interest in management literature, to provide an innovative perspective on the postal operators' businesses in traditional letter delivery and digital services. The business model concept has four components (partnerships, value proposition, finance and network), and is used in this article to map the traditional letter delivery services business and the ongoing digital services business of postal operators. The key findings are that the business model is standardized for the traditional letter business, such as common products and common revenue generations, and has been consistently used by many postal operators for the last 100 years. However, the business model for the digital services business is not standardized, as this business entails different partnerships and different revenue streams, and has not been consistently used by postal operators since the last decade. The implication is that the business model provides a clear understanding of the current progress of postal operators in the digital-services business area. This understanding will help to create a standardized business model that postal operators can use to diversify into digital services.