How large data and IoT will change postal services

The Xu Meiyin of Wave School

Do you also have "Internet of things, data strategy and analysis, and professional skills and key knowledge in the operation, facilities, products and services of the postal Service"? Yes, you can try to bid on the USPS (United States postal Service) and they are looking for the right suppliers to help them achieve the "Postal Networking Project". If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a brief introduction.

Let's start with the obvious: few things are as ubiquitous as postal services. Another point may be less obvious: very few people have collected such a large amount of data. Postal operators gather huge amounts of information from their vast physical networks, for example, the United States Postal Service scans up to 11 times for each mail and parcel, meaning it scans 1.7 trillion times a year. Its vast supercomputer data center is already one of the largest data centers in the United States.

In a report released this May, the office of the Chief Inspector of the United States Postal Service wrote in the future, "the combination of a growing number of operational data, the integration and sharing of these data through ubiquitous network connectivity, and the rapid development of analytics, these three points may open a new world of opportunity for postal operators- -Postal Internet of things.

Postal networks (mail, mailboxes, mailings and parcels, sorting centers, etc.) may be equipped with low-cost sensors, which will greatly enhance the ability of postal operators to collect valuable data. This vast new data source can help the postal service improve operational capabilities and improve customer service, create new products and services, and provide support for more efficient decision-making processes. Experts point out that the "postal networking" will also have a positive spillover effect on other nearby non-postal services, as the information collected by the postal service itself or gathered for someone else is equally useful to others.

For example, having a mail vehicle equipped with sensors lowers the maintenance costs of the convoy, optimizes the route, reports on the blind spots of mobile and wireless networks, monitors environmental conditions, and detects harmful chemicals and contaminants. The data collected by these sensors can also be the basis for new assets in the postal service, providing services to government agencies and other public and private enterprises. For example, an accelerometer could be placed on a mail cart to assess road conditions and detect potholes, and then sell the collected data to the municipal councils.

Postal data can even help retailers locate new stores. This has been put into practice in Germany: DHL provides businesses with a paid online geographic marketing tool called Geovista. The tool combines geographical data from Deutsche Post, social population and housing data from other institutions, and statistical data on consumption patterns. This information can help marketers to locate new stores and prepare for sales forecasts. Open data also creates opportunities for third-party developers. The French Post office is working with innovative software companies to launch new services using databases such as postcode, post office location, and address file changes.

On the end user side, the postal large data can promote the formation of consumer-centric new delivery services. The authors of the report cite examples of the Sopost platform. In the UK, the platform allows people to use Facebook and Twitter accounts as mailing gifts or product demo addresses without having to specify the actual detailed delivery address. In Sweden, DHL is testing the "crowdsourcing express", so that individuals also have the opportunity to put the package of online shopping products directly to other end consumers. With a mobile phone app, the service called Myways links people who need to be flexible in their delivery time and those who are willing to drop parcels to make a little money.

In view of the above and other benefits, the inspector general's office issued a tender notice on June 17 hoping to find a company to help them make full use of all the data generated by the Postal Service and devise new ways to build innovative services around the data. Bidders are hopeful of winning a 100,000 dollar contract.

Excerpt from: Forbes Chinese

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)