Disruption within an industry is the radical change, caused by the creation of a new product or service. This in turn, creates a new market, affecting the way the industry needs to react to consumers.
New technologies are disrupting all areas of our economy and society. E-commerce and the postal industry are no exception.
Disruption in the e-commerce environment and the challenges and opportunities for posts was the main theme for the IPC Annual Conference 2018 which took place in Vancouver, on 17-18 May.
Driverless vehicle technology is being trialled by a number of e-commerce and technology firms. Although there are many legal and technical barriers, this technology will make a major breakthrough into the logistics market. Likewise, delivery robots are also being increasingly piloted, including by posts, and are seen as a key potential entrant to e-commerce delivery.
With increased smartphone penetration, the traditional e-commerce experience is evolving. Technology platforms such as Uber are providing consumers with last-mile delivery fulfilment. With the emergence of the collaborative economy, crowd shipping platforms and applications provide consumers with multiple options for the delivery of their parcel. To what extent will crowd shipping impact on traditional delivery? How are posts embracing crowd shipping? Are crowd-sourcing options being considered to reduce operational costs? All these questions were addressed during the IPC Annual Conference 2018.
Speakers and attendees
To generate debate, keynote speakers included executives from leading technology and logistics companies in the United States and Asia.
The IPC Annual Conference brings together the leading postal chief executives from America, Asia Pacific and Europe to discuss strategic developments in global logistics. Attendance at this high-level conference is by invitation only, and is open to postal CEOs accompanied by one or two senior executives.
Click here to see the CEO interviews taken at the IPC Annual Conference 2018.
A selection of photos taken at the conference is available below.
Conference material and presentations
- Conference programme
- Speaker biographies
- IPC Annual Review 2017
- IPC Cross-border E-commerce Shopper Survey 2017
Provisional programme
17 May
19:00 Dinner hosted by Canada Post
18 May
08:00 Welcome coffee
08:30 Welcome and introduction by
Mark Harrison, Head of Markets, IPC, Conference Moderator
Holger Winklbauer, CEO, IPC
08:45 Keynote speech by Andrea Sapuppo, Director Surface and Air Transportation EU, Amazon
09:15 Keynote speech by Charlie Chen, Regional Special Projects Lead, Lalamove
09:45 Reflections by CEO panelists and debate:
Koen Van Gerven, CEO, bpost
Philippe Wahl, CEO, Le Groupe La Poste
10:45 Group picture and coffee break
11:15 Keynote speech by Brad Vroom, former Apple Executive
11:45 Reflections by CEO panelists and debate:
Javier Cuesta Nuin, CEO, Correos
David McRedmond, CEO, An Post
Susanne Ruoff, CEO, Swiss Post
12:45 Conclusion by Dag Mejdell, Chairman of the IPC Board and by Holger Winklbauer, CEO, IPC
13:00 Conference lunch
Previous editions
- 25 postal operators chief executives attended
- More than 70 senior executives attended from over 20 posts from America, Asia Pacific
and Europe - Keynote speakers from leading global players (previous conferences have included CEOs
and senior executives from Amazon, Alibaba Group, eBay, Tmall, Rakuten, Temando, Magento
and Endicia)
Please find the information and conference videos of the 2017 IPC Annual Conference here.
