The 28th Universal Postal Congress in Dubai marks a pivotal moment for the future of the global postal network. At this critical juncture, the UPU’s 192 member countries will be invited to endorse the UPU Strategy for the Dubai Cycle (2026-2029) – a forward-looking roadmap that redefines how the UPU and its stakeholders will adapt to the rapidly evolving communications and trade landscape.
Through an extensive and inclusive consultation process, the strategy was shaped by voices from across the entire postal ecosystem: member countries, regulators, private-sector partners, postal operators, and the general public.
This openness and diversity of inputs signal a powerful push for the sector’s future.
A sector in urgent need for reinvention
Our analysis of the postal environment shows us that a revolution, not mere evolution, is what is needed now more than ever before.
According to UPU data, international letter volumes – which includes small packets favoured by e-commerce providers – have dropped nearly 67% in the period between 2019 and 2024. This loss is at odds with an increasing demand for cross-border e-commerce services, leading to a simple explanation: postal operators are losing out to faster, more efficient, and customer-focused service providers. This in turn has implications for the ability of postal operators to deliver on their universal service obligations.
There is an urgent need to bring the volumes associated with e-commerce growth back to the postal sector. Without immediate, transformative action, our analysis projects a continued decline in international mail volumes making use of the UPU network and the relative e-commerce market share of designated operators.
However, if we manage to get the basics of modern postal services right and improve our quality of service, postal services across the world can regain their place as the preferred channel for e-commerce.
A strategy derived from inclusive consultations
As many hands make light work, many perspectives shape an effective and inclusive strategy.
The challenges ahead of the sector call for a bold and swift course of action, defined collectively by those who operate it, those who regulate it, those who partner with it and those who are the end users of the service it offers.
That’s why we launched the UPU’s most extensive, inclusive and transparent consultation process to date to ensure that all voices were heard and that stakeholders find their needs reflected in the strategy.
Cutting-edge thought leadership, vision-setting by policymakers at the 2023 Strategy Summit, five virtual regional roundtables and six in-person Regional Strategy Forums, and a public global stakeholder survey yielded much-needed insights.
Our analysis of the feedback makes us confident that, by working together, we can overcome key challenges facing the sector – regulations that are no longer fit for purpose, rigid products and pricing models, increasing operational costs, lack of interconnectivity with postal ecosystem partners, and diminishing quality of services – so the post can reinvent itself as the indispensable backbone of an inclusive and sustainable digital economy.
A clear path to success
The result is a bold vision for “a society that is interconnected, inclusive and sustainable, empowered by a seamless, innovative postal network”. It articulates a future where the postal network reimagines its role to connect and empower people globally – as it has for more than 150 years – into the future.
This vision is the guiding principle of the UPU Strategy, which will govern the work between 2026 and 2029. The strategy articulates three overarching goals to attain it:
- Leverage the single postal territory through an effective rules-based system – The UPU’s greatest asset is its unparalleled coverage reaching the furthest corners of its 192 member countries. As the premiere forum for dialogue at the global level, the UPU ensures that all parties to this network can agree on multilateral frameworks, share knowledge, define the best practices and forge partnerships within the sector to maintain a cohesive and interconnected, global postal network that brings benefits to all those it serves.
- Strengthen the global postal ecosystem through innovation for facilitating communication and trade – This is an answer to stakeholders’ call for improved technological capacity and quality of service across the global postal network, targeting the adoption of new technology and emphasizing the role of innovation to develop customer-centric products and services. The UPU’s programmatic work will support member countries in implementing new technology and developing partnerships that drive innovation forward.
- Enable postal development through enhanced cooperation and regionalization – This goal will see the UPU ramp up its regional presence through cooperation and technical assistance activities. The regionalization agenda will be delivered in collaboration with restricted unions to ensure no country is left behind.
These goals have been defined through the many consultations with stakeholders and validated by member countries during regional meetings and over several Council of Administration sessions.
Defining a way to measure success
A cornerstone of this proposed strategy is its comprehensive new end-to-end results-based management framework where the Union evaluates the strategy’s success based on the outcomes it achieves, rather than outputs it produces.
Mapping success against 10 strategic indicators, the strategy takes the entire postal ecosystem – governments, regulators and postal operators – into account, with activities carried out by the UPU secretariat under the strategy’s accompanying business plan feeding into achieving these indicators. In addition, detailed domain work proposals set out through the Dubai Business Plan serve as an implementation tool to translate vision into action.
But perhaps most importantly, the strategy is designed to evolve. With robust data collection and ongoing evaluation, the UPU and its members will be able to adapt to emerging trends and pivot where necessary.
Saleh Khan coordinates the UPU secretariat’s Knowledge Centre and Think Tank, which is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the UPU Strategy and Dubai Business Plan.