Postal Hub podcast

Scott Ashbaugh, CEO of DHL eCommerce Americas, discusses DHL's deal with the USPS and future trends in the US parcels market. We cover: A brief overview of DHL eCommerce Americas and its B2C delivery business The $10bn deal with US Postal Service How the partnership with the USPS works Direct injection of DHL parcels via USPS Parcel Select into USPS facilities How DHL eCommerce decided to partner with the USPS The reach and reputation of the USPS The future of the US parcel market The gig economy model's need for scale and its expansion issues in the USA Light and heavy parcels in the US parcel market DHL's history with smaller packages, and its growth to take on larger parcels Impact of COVID on automation and flexibility Using AI in back office operations Role of AI in sorting DHL eCommerce partnering with universities

Bloq.it CRO João Lopes on finding locations for parcel lockers, maximising parcel locker usage, e-commerce returns, drop-boxes, secondhand marketplaces, and more. Priorities for setting up a parcel locker network, in particular proximity Analysing customer behaviour to determine locker locations Understanding why some parcel locker locations won't work Autonomous parcel lockers, including batteries and solar power Maximising parcel locker usage, including e-commerce returns Drop box solution and dealing with non-standard return parcels Monitoring and clearing drop boxes Drop boxes in parcel shops (PUDO points) Busting queues and improving customer experience Second hand marketplaces and parcel lockers Bringing hardware and software expertise to parcel and postal operators

Laura Shields and Garrett Byrne from An Post, along with Peter DeSantis from Giro, share how An Post was able to deliver 48% more parcels to more delivery points without increasing the number of hours worked in its last mile delivery network. Taking a test-and-learn approach to route optimisation and network design Key pressure points for An Post, including falling letter volumes, growth in parcel volumes, and dealing with fixed costs in a competitive market Parcel growth trends for An Post Implementing change across numerous sites Need to keep staff and unions engaged during periods of change Creating a fair day's work for workers Merging collections and delivery in route optimisation Redesigning the last mile to reflect current letter/parcel mix Tuning Giro's Georoute solution for different postal operators Early buy-in from senior An Post executives National Route Design project objectives Parcel volumes up 48%, with 8% increase in delivery points, but final mile hours have not increased The need to stretch for peak season Tips for last mile transformation success This episode is sponsored by GIRO. GIRO's route optimisation solution GeoRoute has been deployed by some of the world's most advanced postal and parcel networks. For more information about GIRO, visit giro.ca

Why is out-of-home delivery popular in Norway? And can parcel lockers work in the freezing cold? Håvard Femtehjell, Head of Parcel Locker Development at Posten Bring, discusses: Overview of Posten's out-of-home delivery network, including parcel lockers and parcel collection points Long-term trends in out-of-home delivery in Norway Delivering small packets with letters Partnering for retailers parcel collection points Finding parcel locker locations Parcel locker performance in very cold climates Evolution of customer delivery preferences Role of proximity in customer delivery preferences Competition in the last mile in Norway, including from PostNord and Instabox Strategies to reduce parcel dwell times - especially during peak season Increasing parcel network utilisation during peak season Håvard is one of the many expert speakers appearing at Parcel+Post Expo this year. Go to ParcelAndPostExpo.com for more information about this year's event being held in Amsterdam from 21 to 23 October.

President Trump has decided to suspend duty-free de minimis for the USA, effective 29 August. Aaron Bezzant, Head of Supply Chain at Zonos, discusses the background to the President's Executive Order, what it means for e-commerce and the postal world, and what steps need to be taken to be compliant. The details of President Trump's Executive Order Previous attempt at eliminating de minimis for the postal stream Customs and Border Protection and USPS collection processes Duties for China Post and Hongkong Post shipments Tactics used to exploit previous de minimis crackdown on Chinese-made goods Compliance that has to be in place to meet 29 August deadline Effective mandate on DDP Bona fide gift exemption for low-value items How postal operators can start the journey to be compliant by 29 August Temporary simplified tariffs Remittance requirements and options from 29 August MFN and IEEPA tariff rates Role of third party in collecting funds and remitting to CBP Who ends up paying the duties? How Zonos can help pre-collect duties and taxes Why building a postal DDP network is central to winning in e-commerce delivery The importance of DDP for goods shipped to the USA Zonos tools and systems for postal operators for handling tariffs, including collection Other Zonos tools for posts to help e-commerce retailers Zonos app to facilitate over-the-counter lodgement of international parcels Simplifying the start online finish in-store process for post office parcel lodgement Helping postal operators no matter what stage of the digital transformation journey they're at Simple calculation tools

Roel Gevaers, professor in last mile logistics and supply chain at the university of Antwerp, discusses moves to impose fees on inbound low-value parcels from outside the EU. EU and EC proposal to add €2 fee for inbound international parcels Fee for cross-dock parcels from overseas Focus on import-free parcels Huge volumes of Chinese parcels entering Europe each year EU and EC intentions with this fee - is it a symbolic action? Timeframes - contrasting Europe with the USA Future plans for full customs reform Consumer protection and standards How the €2 fee will be collected Passing costs on to the consumer Likelihood of impact on low-value cross-border parcel volumes Impact of US tariffs on Chinese exports to other nations Is the proposed fee legal? EU member countries' responsibilities for customs Also in this episode: An update on Belgium's legislation compelling parcel locker networks to be carrier neutral.

Jan Van Roey, Head of International at Poste Italiane, discusses cross-border parcel volumes and recent improvements to digital customer experience. He covers: Cross-border volume growth New Poste Italiane outbound international product Domestic parcel trends Coping with volatility and uncertainty in international parcels Retailers moving warehouses to Europe Poste Italiane's partnership with DHL eCommerce for inbound and outbound Locker Italia joint venture in parcel lockers with DHL Strategic reasons for setting up partnerships Parcel lockers and international delivery Recent changes to Poste Italiane's app and digital customer experience

International postal expert Alan Barrie along with CEP-Research Chief Editor Paul Needham have their say on 10 years that have changed the delivery world. Alan Barrie discusses: Keeping letters profitable to avoid draining postal businesses of cash The e-commerce runaway train Data and the digitisation of the post Transformation in the last mile Growth in out-of-home parcel delivery Facilitating international e-commerce via data Paul Needham covers: Consumer behaviour changed by the pandemic Overall parcel volume growth trend in B2C and B2B International parcel flows and the growth in new lanes Fast growth in China and Asia Amazon's emergence challenging growth of traditional parcel carriers The profitability challenge Consolidation in the delivery sector Postal privatisation Diversification of last mile delivery options Sustainability Innovation and the impact on availability of labour