Abstract
The postal sector is changing at a fast pace induced by many innovations and disruptive technologies. We aim to explain how the postal supply chain is increasingly fragmenting into modules, where some of these modules are virtualized and no longer needed to be carried out physically in order to offer end-to-end delivery services.
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Notes
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It does not necessarily mean they should be labelled with an address, as unaddressed mail are postal services too, nor that it is compulsory that postal items need to be delivered in an envelope or in a box.
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Transport also takes place between the clearance and sorting stage, and – as mentioned in the ECJ jurisprudence (DHL International NV, formerly Express Line NV vs. Belgisch Instituut voor Postdiensten en Telecommunicatie), as well as in the EU Regulation n. 2018/644 – can be considered a postal activity only if undertaken with one of the other activities already mentioned.
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See www.mpost.co.ke for a nice example of blockchain use in postal services.
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In addition, e-consumers often get low-cost or free delivery. Although the sustainability of this model of free delivery (and returns) is contested, e-tailers seem to be prepared to reduce their profit margin in order to gain market share.
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Pick Up Drop Off locations are manned postal points (mostly local enterprises) where the consumer can collect its postal item.
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Confederazione Generale Italiana dei Trasporti e della Logistica (Confetra) and Others v Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni and Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico.
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Patent named “autonomous delivery platform” with patent number 9.256.852 B1 granted on 09/02/2016.
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ECJ C-434/15 Asociación Profesional Élite Taxi v Uber Systems Spain SL. http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf?num=C-434/15
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Zurel, O., Scorca, L. (2020). How the Fragmentation of the Postal Supply Chain Leads to New Business Models. In: Parcu, P.L., Brennan, T.J., Glass, V. (eds) The Changing Postal Environment. Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34532-7_4
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