The EMS Cooperative came together on 28th March to celebrate 20 years of delivering growth and profitability for its postal members and to discuss a future driven by technology.
In a high-profile event held at its Berne headquarters, the EMS Cooperative brought together its member representatives, who belong to designated operators of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), for a full day of celebrations and diverse discussions on the postal sector.
During the early afternoon, the Chairman of the EMS Board Patrick Richon opened the anniversary event, followed by a presentation by Colography Group CEO Mark Schoeman, who provided his views on the EMS Cooperative and the postal market.
Mr Schoeman called on Posts to leverage their infrastructure to the fullest possibility and emphasized changes in the global market from the time of EMS formation in 1999 until the present day. He stressed the importance of changes in internet adoption and the growth of e-commerce.
Following a group photo, the audience heard a series of presentations from chief executives from Brazil Post, Cayman Islands Post, and China Post. Each speaker highlighted very real opportunities for the Post, as well as possible challenges.
A ceremony in which successful postal operators received EMS performance and customer care awards from the UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein and Mr Richon completed the first half of the day’s celebrations.
In the early evening, Mr Hussein opened a special reception with a speech on the EMS Cooperative’s achievements. He said, “EMS Cooperative members generated EMS export growth of over 20 per cent during the Doha business cycle and during the first two years of the Istanbul business cycle EMS export volume is already trending 30 per cent higher this cycle, compared with the first two years of the previous cycle.”
Mr Hussein added that UPU will wholeheartedly support the EMS Cooperative to ensure that the growth over the next 20 years is as exciting as the previous two decades. In his own speech, Dr Liu Aili, the Chairman of China Post, noted that the 1999 UPU Congress held in Beijing established the EMS Cooperative.
The China Post Chairman said, “Over the past two decades, China Post has attained sustainable EMS growth. Between 1999 and 2018, the compound annual growth rate of our international EMS volume was over 10 percent, a seven-fold increase in 2018 than that of 1999. China Post has always been a leading market player of premium logistics in the cross-border e-commerce market.”
Akio Miyaji, Executive Manager for the International Business Division of Japan Post and a founder of the EMS cooperative, also delivered keynote remarks. He discussed the Cooperative's early days and successful efforts to streamline governance and organizational matters. “I can hardly believe that 20 years have actually passed since then,” he said.
After the opening speeches, Mr Hussein handed awards to the winners of the EMS photo contest. First place went to Vanuatu, followed by joint second place for Georgia and Latvia. Third place went to Viet Nam.
The UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz and Mr Richon also unveiled a commemorative stamp celebrating the EMS Cooperative’s 20th anniversary. The commemorative stamp will be issued on 10 September 2019, the exact day of the EMS Cooperative’s formation. So far, 21 countries have agreed to issue the stamp with others likely to follow.
Mr Clivaz delivered closing remarks and offered a toast to EMS. He said, “The EMS Cooperative includes the participation of most UPU members and is therefore a vivid showcase of inclusiveness. I am confident that I can count on each member to commit to positioning EMS services for the growing e-commerce market.”
Jane Dyer, Head of the EMS Unit, highlighted the importance of the EMS Cooperative to look to the future. “Cooperative members working with the high performance EMS Unit team can be proud of the value created for global customers over the lifetime of the EMS Cooperative, collectively generating more than 2.4 billion USD in annual business for its members and growing strong. With a solid foundation, the next 20 years promise an even brighter future,” she said.
EMS is an international postal Express Mail Service, for documents and merchandise, offered by postal operators of UPU and connecting more than 180 countries and territories worldwide.