Physical and digital

Growth opportunities in the physical core business and with digital services

In Switzerland today, the letter remains an important means of communication, with letter volumes declining relatively slowly in comparison with other countries. Swiss Post is also expanding its digital services: in the future, recipients will be able to decide for themselves whether they want to receive their mail physically or electronically.

Never before has there been as much mobile communication as today: e-mail, chat, mobile phone calls, text messages, Twitter, blogs – the channels are many and varied, and the devices are getting more powerful all the time. And in the midst of this digital world, one physical channel is holding its own: the letter. In 2013 alone, Swiss Post delivered 2.2 billion addressed letters, with a relatively small decline in volume of 2 percent. By way of comparison, the Netherlands recorded a decline of about 11 percent. Ulrich Hurni, Head of PostMail, feels certain that the logistics of physical letters, newspapers and promotional mailings has a future: “Given their appeal to recipients, physical consignments will remain an important pillar of Swiss Post's business in future.”

It's up to the recipient to choose

Swiss Post is aware of how rapidly digital communication is advancing. It remains innovative, continually providing new services to keep pace with the changing needs of customers. The company's latest service is called ePostOffice: in the future, recipients will be able to use this online platform to specify the mail they want to receive digitally and the mail they want to receive physically. For instance, they might want to have health insurance bills sent to their computer, tablet or smartphone, but still want bank statements sent to their letter box. The senders' mail is submitted in purely digital form. The online platform is currently being tested internally and will be gradually developed to full capacity at Swiss Post.

Hybrid and digital

“We want to accommodate customer needs at an early stage. That's why we're continuously developing our range of hybrid and digital solutions”, says Frank Marthaler, Head of Swiss Post Solutions. These include solutions for printing and sending digitally processed data from major customers and automated integration of secure electronic mailings. Digitization solutions for receiving physical postal consignments are available to business customers. For years, Swiss Post has been one of the leading companies in the field of digital document solutions for business customers. With IncaMail, Swiss Post has developed a solution for sending e-mails securely, and with SuisseID has laid the foundation for secure identification on the Internet and electronic signing of legally valid contracts. As Frank Marthaler notes: “These solutions don't just keep us at the cutting edge – we are also creating growth opportunities around Swiss Post's core business.”

Market /volume trends

Performance between products in the communication market varied. The number of addressed letters handled by PostMail and Post Offices & Sales in 2013 was 2 percent lower year-on-year. Unaddressed mail on the other hand increased by about 1.7 percent year-on-year as a result of acquisitions. Newspaper delivery volumes saw negative performance (– 3.2 percent) due to changes in customer behaviour. Post Offices & Sales recorded a downturn in the logistics products letters and parcels. Import and export volumes (mail) fell 6.2 percent year-on-year. At Swiss Post Solutions, income from services provided increased year-on-year.

Successful internationally

Since 2012, Swiss Post and France's La Poste have been conducting their cross-border activities in the mail sector as equal partners in the joint venture Asendia. The new joint venture has been successful from the outset, generating turnover of 452 million euros in 2013. In spring 2013, Asendia took over the international mail business of Pitney Bowes UK, a company with 50 employees.