Postal Service Innovation: New Value Propositions to Enable International e-Commerce

Shipping is one of the most important barriers for the growth of international e-commerce. Current research focuses primarily on the role of postal operators in supporting domestic e-commerce and analyzes particular services covering a few aspects of the cross-border e-commerce value chain. This book chapter aims at analyzing the role of postal operators in supporting the growth of international e-commerce. It proposes and discusses four key value propositions of postal operators: 1) cost effective shipping services, 2) enhancing trust, 3) customer management, and 4) universal coverage. The chapter also identifies and analyses innovative postal services along the value chain of cross-border e-commerce, namely: access, payment, collection, transport, delivery, customer service, and return services. By the end of this chapter, executives from the e-commerce industry will have an understanding on how to better cooperate with postal operators to provide new value added services for customers. Postal operators' executives will also be invited to develop new global business models based on product innovation and service diversification adapted to the new needs of e-commerce customers.