Consultative Committee

As of 1st July 2022, private companies are welcome to apply for the membership of the Consultative Committee.

Postal stakeholders that are not public postal operators or regulators can add their voice to the UPU's deliberations through the Consultative Committee (CC). The Committee represents the interests of the wider postal sector and provides a framework for effective dialogue.

The Chair of the UPU Consultative Committee (CC), Mr Walter Trezek, is pleased to announce that the application of mail alliance (mailworXs GmbH) to become a Gold member of the UPU CC has been approved.

MailworXs GmbH, Germany’s large network of private postal service providers, is now a new member of the UPU CC to deepen existing cooperation with designated postal operators of UPU Member Countries, and to gain better access to UPU products and services which are directly required for the international exchange of postal items to Germany, as well as from Germany to the territory of designated operators abroad.

Michael Kunter, spokesperson for mail alliance's management explains the background of the accession: "In order to keep pace with changing consumer and order behavior and increased competitive pressure in e-commerce, postal services are looking for new delivery solutions that meet and are compatible with the global IT systems and standards of the postal world. As mail alliance, we have laid the foundations for this and are very pleased, that our application for membership in the Consultative Committee of the Universal Postal Union has been accepted!"

Mario Eichelmann, Managing Director of mail alliance, adds: “Via the universal postal network, international consignments can now also be handed over to mail alliance for delivery in Germany".

Mario Eichelmann (left, Managing Director) and Michael Kunter (right, Spokesperson) are the new leadership-duo of mail alliance.

 

The Chair of the UPU Consultative Committee (CC), Mr Walter Trezek, is pleased to announce that the application of Ship2MyID to become a Gold member of the UPU CC has been approved.

Ship2MyID's patented platform integrates addresses, identity and customer preferences into one platform and can enable Posts or national carriers to become the digital data hubs for their respective countries. Ship2MyID's core platform replaces mailing addresses with digital identities. This empowers consumers to choose their delivery locations instead of being tied to fixed locations.

Ship2MyId aims to realize the UPU's mission of "one unique lifetime address for everyone" and "one postal network" worldwide. Ship2MyID can enable digital and physical transactions without exposing the consumer’s personal identifiable information. Ship2MyID can transform cross-border transactions, empower electronic advance data, revolutionize direct marketing, and offer enhanced data privacy and data shielding.

Santosh Gopal, CEO

 

The Chair of the UPU Consultative Committee (CC), Mr Walter Trezek, is pleased to announce that the application of Zonos to become a Bronze member of the UPU CC has been approved.

Zonos is a cross-border technology software company specializing in application programming interfaces that provide cost transparency and prepayment of duties, taxes, and fees; global compliance management; HS code classification; and language/currency localization.

Zonos’ participation within the UPU CC will provide additional industry-wide empirical data from thousands of ecommerce customers within its portfolio. Zonos’ will bring its cross-border business acumen, ecommerce experience, and industry knowledge to the various thematic chapters and deliberations in the areas of direct marketing, ecommerce, cross-border duty & tax and customs, to assist the postal sector in meeting the objective to regain market share from express carriers, and expand use of postal products through cross-border technologies.

Clint Reid, founder and CEO

 

For more information, please contact the CC Secretariat by e-mail at alexander.thern-svanberg@upu.int

If you would like to become a Consultative Committee member, please complete the application form using one of the following options:

• Download the default PDF application form, print, fill in manually, scan and send it back to cc@upu.int
• Download the interactive PDF application form (recommended), fill in, sign digitally and send it back by clicking the "SEND BY E-MAIL" button. Please note that it is required to use ADOBE Acrobat Reader, if you chose this option.

Should you have any questions, please contact us by e-mail: cc@upu.int

As of 1 July 2022, the CC will comprise non-governmental organizations (including organizations representing customers, delivery service providers, postal employees or postal employers); philanthropic entities; standardization, financial and development organizations; suppliers of goods and services to the postal services sector; transportation entities and other private sector entities; and like organizations of individuals and companies which have an interest in supporting the mission and objectives of the Union. 

Any requests for membership of the CC, as submitted by the entities or high-level figures referred to in article 120 of the UPU General Regulations, shall be accompanied by the prior written authorization or recommendation of the corresponding Union member country, in accordance with article 120.2.

All Union member countries will receive a circular letter informing them of the decisions of the CA and the new membership application procedure for the Consultative Committee as of 1 July 2022. 

The CC secretariat will process the written authorization or recommendation of the corresponding Union member country upon receipt of the duly completed and signed membership request form. 

In other words, a CC applicant is responsible for contacting the competent authority (ministry or postal regulator) of the Union member country in which the applicant is established, to seek validation/accreditation from the said authority in the form of signature of section 2 (Authorization) of the CC membership request form.

In addition to validating/accrediting the CC membership application, the competent authority (ministry or postal regulator) of the Union member country will also ascertain:

• In the case of a non-governmental organization, that the entity is established (and registered, if so required) in the Union member country;
• In the case of a company, that the entity is registered in the Union member country, in accordance with the laws and regulations of that country, as an entity operating in the postal market.

There are two types of membership of the Consultative Committee, with their own particular benefits and fees:

• Non-governmental organizations wishing to apply for membership of the CC (specific membership benefits as presented in the scale of fees defined by the CC)
• Individual companies wishing to apply for membership of the CC (specific membership benefits as presented in the scale of fees defined by the CC) in one of the following three categories:

1. Gold member
2. Silver member
3. Bronze member

Six thematic chapters have been established to complement the new structure of the Consultative Committee, as of 1 July 2022:

• Policy and regulations: liaison with CA C 2 and the POC C 1 Standards Board;
• Freight and transport: liaison with the POC C 1 Transport Group (and subgroups for different transport modes);
• Customs and product security: liaison with the POC C 1 Customs Group and Postal Security Group;
• Addressing and direct marketing: liaison with the POC C 1 Addressing Group and POC C 3 Direct Marketing Advisory Board;
• E-commerce: liaison with CA C 3, POC C 2 and POC C 3; 
• Postal financial services: liaison with POC C 4.

The work of the CC will be conducted according to these thematic chapters, which reflect the membership structure of the CC. Each thematic chapter will be represented by a rapporteur. The rapporteur will be elected and appointed by the CC to (i) represent the thematic chapter, (ii) present any opinions developed by the CC and provide input to the relevant CA and POC commit­tees and working groups, (iii) report to the CC and its members, and (iv) propose appropriate responses to and positions on work proposals and working drafts. Sub-themes and sub-rapporteurs may be created in the future.

The committee plays a key role in developing a more global vision of the issues affecting the sector. This role enhances the UPU's value to the industry and its effectiveness.

The Consultative Committee (CC) meets once a year at the UPU headquarters in Berne at the same time as the Postal Operations Council (POC) meetings.

The next CC Management Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for POC S2, which will be held during the week of 17 to 21 October 2022. The exact date will be communicated later.

The next CC General Assembly is tentatively scheduled to take place during POC S3 in April 2023. The exact date will be communicated later.

If you have any questions, please contact the CC Secretariat at alexander.thern-svanberg@upu.int.

The Consultative Committee is holding a series of three one-hour webinars dedicated to the disrupted market environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic: accelerated digitalization of communications and commerce, leading to changes in e commerce logistics; changing consumer behaviors; and what citizens should expect from the universal service obligation in their respective countries.

Watch webinar 1:  In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 1, you will be hearing a presentation by the Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe based on a recent survey. The survey was carried out in the context of the second lockdown at the end of 2020, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the e-commerce sector in Europe.	Watch webinar 2: In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 2, you will be hearing a presentation by the Chief of the ICT Policy Section at UNCTAD based on a recent UNCTAD report titled “COVID-19 and e‑commerce: a global review”. The aim of this UNCTAD report was to jointly assess how the impact of the pandemic was playing out in various regions of the world.	Watch Webinar 3: In this recorded version of the Trilogy Webinar 3, you will be hearing a presentation by the Executive Director of the International Mailers Advisory Group partly based on a report of individual research by the USPS Office of Inspector General on the universal service obligation (USO).