Postal Hub podcast

Brody Buhler, Global Managing Director of Accenture’s Post & Parcel business, joins me to discuss e-commerce's new battleground: delivery. We cover free and fast delivery, drone delivery (and how cheap it is), delivery start-ups, consumer control of the last mile, and much more.

Postal reform is a recurring topic in the USA, but little seems to have happened so far. Joining me to analyse the current state of affairs is Mark Fallon, President and CEO of the Berkshire Company.

Swiss Post is diversifying the last mile with a new service, where its postal delivery officers read electricity meters. I talk with Christian Beyeler from Avectris, Swiss Post's technology partner for the project. Also in this episode: Cathy Morrow Roberson on Ukrainian postal operator Nova Poshta's new Chinese e-commerce deal, and DHL's great big new hub in Sydney.

There's a lot of hype about drone delivery, but are customers ready for drones to drop off their parcels? I talk with Jake Soffronoff from the USPS OIG, who has researched public attitudes towards drone delivery. Also in this episode: the new cross-border returns service from La Poste operating between Australia and France.

Let's kick off 2017 with a snapshot of some of the big trends in last mile delivery. My guest is Dean Maciuba, from the 4Front Consulting Group. We cover parcel locker networks in the USA, carrier specific lockers vs carrier neutral lockers, unattended delivery and the effect on shipping rates, porch piracy, network access points, and the future of home delivery.

Australia Post has signed a deal with supermarket chain Woolworths to install parcel lockers at 500 supermarkets. This will radically increase Australia Post's parcel locker network, but what are the other benefits? Also in this episode, the recent PUASP initiative to replace polluting vehicles with pushbikes and electric vehicles.

Royal Mail has implemented an e-commerce parcels returns portal. Roger Morris, Head of Parcels at Royal Mail, discusses how the returns portal helps e-commerce retailers and customers. Later in the podcast, Cathy Morrow Roberson and I discuss Amazon's expansion plans as well as the handling of bulky and heavy parcels.

Quantium Solutions CEO Sam Ang joins me to talk about Singapore Post's massive new e-commerce hub. It's more than just a parcel sorting centre - it's a fully-automated parcel sorting and warehouse facility.

What are Donald Trump's policy positions that will impact on trade, logistics, e-commerce, and the supply chain? Logistics expert Cathy Morrow Roberson analyses what the new US President will mean for transport and global trade.

Postal and parcel operators are preparing for the Christmas peak. Is hiring temporary staff the only option? I discuss some of the strategies Australia Post has in place to deliver huge volumes of parcels. Also in this episode, highlights from USPS's press conference following the release of USPS's full-year financials.

Insights into Transport Intelligence's recently released 2016 Global Express and Small Parcels report, covering competitors, market predictions, and cross-border deals. Also in this episode, coverage of UPS's recent financial results, Amazon's expansion plans, Aramex, some Amazon rumours, and Alibaba's earnings call.

Letter volumes are falling all around the world, and postal operators are striving for new ways to make the most of their delivery fleets. A team of researchers at the USPS Office of Inspector General investigated the smart cities concept and found ways that the postal service's delivery network could be used to collect data for smart city projects while doing deliveries.

Peter Somers, CEO and owner of e-commerce company SprintPack, joins me to analyse the latest news and trends in grocery delivery.

How is DPD putting the customer in control? DPD's Director of Sales and CRM, Elaine Kerr, details how DPD approaches delivery day, and how customers can interact with their DPD driver. Also in this episode, a logistics and postal industry news wrap-up with logistics expert Cathy Morrow Roberson from Logistics Trends & Insights.

Kiel Harkness, UPS's Director of Marketing UK Ireland and Nordics, and Gunnar Adalberth, Director of Business Development e-commerce at UPS, join me to talk about recent UPS e-commerce research and some of UPS's e-commerce initiatives. We cover cross-border, returns, parcel collection networks, growth into Asia, and much more.

Andrew Starkey from Spiral 4 / IMRG discusses recent research showing more online shoppers select express delivery compared to economy shipping. Why is this happening, and what does it mean for the delivery sector? Cathy Morrow Roberson discusses postal operators' forays into logistics, comparing An Post's new venture with DHL's partnerships with national posts. We also cover DB Schenker's deal wi...

An Post's Director of Mails, Liam O'Sullivan, discusses the new Post Logistics service. He gives the reasoning behind the launch, describes the target market, details the strategic partnership, and talks about the benefits to An Post.

Can the USPS become a logistics operator? The USPS OIG recently released a report addressing this question. Two of the report's authors join me, and we cover: what other posts have done in logistics; competition in last-mile delivery; e-commerce delivery bottlenecks; partnering with new delivery companies; returns and reverse logistics.

UPS Chief Alternative Fuel Engineer Mike Britt discusses UPS’s One Billion Cleaner Miles project. We cover route optimisation, delivery to congestion zones, alternative-powered vehicles, emissions reductions and the fuel savings generated by the project. Also in this episode, a review of Australia Post's 2015-16 results, including plummeting letter volumes and Australia Post's tur...

Alibaba and Singapore Post are continuing to extend their reach beyond Asia. 4PX recently announced that it would be expanding into Australia under the TransRush banner. 4PX is part-owned by Alibaba and Singapore Post. Leading transport analyst Cathy Morrow Roberson from Logistics Trends and Insights joins me to analyse this move. Also in this episode, an overview of Canada Post's recent financial...

Lim Ann Nee, Senior Vice President SP Parcels, joins me to discuss SingPost's Rent-a-POP initiative. It's a new way to make money from parcel lockers. Also in this episode, USPS Postmaster General Megan Brennan and CFO Joe Corbett give an overview of recent USPS results, as well as the future of Sunday parcel deliveries.

Royal Mail's Community Investment Manager, Gary Grange, talks about Royal Mail's partnership with UK charity Missing People. Analyst Cathy Morrow Roberson from Logistics Trends and Insights joins me to dissect Amazon's plans to build up a fleet of 40 aircraft.

Swiss Post achieves consistently high first-time parcel delivery rates. But how? Walter Krieger, Swiss Post's Key Account Executive Mail-order, joins me to discuss this and much more, including the Swiss regulatory environment, rural vs urban delivery, letter and parcel volume trends, and cross-border e-commerce.

China-Japan cross-border e-commerce is forecast to explode. We analyse the driving forces behind the growth, including the role of the post. Also in this episode, Gina Mulligan, the founder of US charity Girls Love Mail, talks about how the hand-written letter can help breast cancer patients.

What will self-driving trucks mean for the transport and logistics sector? Logistics expert Cathy Morrow Roberson joins me to analyse the impact self-driving trucks will have on the current driver shortage and future driver recruitment. We discuss how self-driving trucks might improve productivity and driver health and safety. We also look at what lessons can be learned from the aviation sector.