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Proactive Surveys and Calculations for Meeting Declining Mail Volumes

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Postal and Delivery Innovation in the Digital Economy

Part of the book series: Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy ((TREP,volume 50))

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Abstract

During this decade, postal organizations have faced with the fastest ever decrease in mail volumes and this is likely to continue. This situation will demand a well-planned adaptation. It will not be possible to continue 5- or 6-day delivery, not at least in all areas. This will also mean that Universal Service Obligations (USOs) should be redefined proactively before operators begin to encounter major problems. This paper will examine the anticipated decline in mail volumes from three perspectives: (1) measuring customer needs with surveys, (2) new calculation methods for necessary cost savings, and (3) pressure for reform of legislation and regulation. The surveys and calculations are tools both for determining possibilities for change and outlining the needs in reforming legislation.

The views expressed in this chapter are those of authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Itella Corporation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Statistical detail of presented three surveys are available from the authors.

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Correspondence to Kari Elkelä .

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Elkelä, K., Nikali, H., Rokkanen, P. (2015). Proactive Surveys and Calculations for Meeting Declining Mail Volumes. In: Crew, M., Brennan, T. (eds) Postal and Delivery Innovation in the Digital Economy. Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy, vol 50. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12874-0_20

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