Executive Insight – Booz & Co.

ULRICH KÖGLER is a partner and IVAN JAKOVLJEVIC a senior associate at Booz & Company In an age when email and digital social media dominate the present and future of communications, traditional postal systems are losing their role as the primary means of communication. Yet, postal systems remain a vital way to reach people, even in the age of instant communication. What postal systems lack in speed they make up for in other benefits. They offer a way for citizens, especially those in rural areas, to better communicate with each other and their communities; a way for companies and merchants to reach their target audiences with direct mail, e-commerce deliveries and, perhaps most important to governments, a way to locate citizens in an emergency, get them essential services and documents and help them transfer money safely. These benefits, while balanced among citizens, businesses and governments, nevertheless will not be available