Expert commission calls for the yellow giant to be cut down
Done A Mail, only 3 deliveries per week, no newspapers
A commission of experts wants to turn the yellow giant into a yellow dwarf. Among other things, she suggests that the postman no longer come every day.
Published: 12:59 p.m
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Updated: 48 minutes ago
“Anyone who has visions should go to the doctor,” say mockers. The commission of experts set up by Post Minister Simonetta Sommaruga (61) and the Federal Finance Administration for basic postal services also has a vision.
Only snail mail
She has her “Vision 2030” – and it has it all: Letters should only be delivered three times a week. There should only be B Mail instead of A Mail, i.e. only snail mail. And the newspaper contracts should no longer be part of the basic job of the post office. The Swiss Post experts also want to take payment transactions away.
The Commission, headed by the former Aargau Councilor Christine Egerszegi (73), emphasizes in its final report how important digitization is. Right here is the expert report unveiled on Thursday, but particularly vague.
Big post for the post
Criticism of the expert team’s proposals should not be long in coming. She probably just comes from the rural regions.
But the “Vision 2030” is also big news for Swiss Post itself. After all, some of the experts’ plans run counter to their own “Swiss Post of tomorrow” strategy. The aim of this strategy is to increase profits again and continue to offer self-financed postal services throughout Switzerland of today’s quality. For example, the number of branches operated by the post office is to be reduced to 800.
Meanwhile, the experts are relying on “technology-neutral access” for the posting of letters and parcels – in other words, ready branches in rural areas.
Newspaper delivery no longer necessary
Unlike the newspaper publishers themselves, the experts employed by the federal government believe they know that the daily delivery of printed newspapers will be “discontinued” by 2030. Consequently, they no longer need to be part of the basic service. A look into the experts’ crystal ball shows that printed weekly newspapers and magazines will still be in demand in the future and that there will also be a demand for information that can be consumed anonymously, i.e. for offline offers. But that no longer justifies that newspaper delivery is part of the basic service mandate.
According to the ideas of the experts, everyone should be able to continue to satisfy their need for information with printed media. In fact, according to the Commission’s will, only those print products that can afford to be delivered by private companies should find their way into their mailboxes. In rural areas in particular, it will be more difficult to get the newspaper in the mailbox, because there it is not financially worthwhile for private companies to contract a newspaper. This preference for wealthier city dwellers is sensitive in terms of democratic politics.
The cat bites its tail
And even in 2030, everyone living in Switzerland should still be able to have a postal account. Even access for everyone to electronic payment transactions, for example with debit cards or payment apps, should now be part of the basic service. But: The experts recommend decoupling the basic payment service from the basic postal service.
If the authors of the final report have their way, the modernized payment transaction order will be put out to public tender – and the additional costs that arise as a result will be compensated financially for the service providers.
This is where the cat bites its own tail: The experts seem to do everything so that the state doesn’t have to subsidize the post office. But they want to take payment transactions away from Swiss Post and subsidize other financial institutions that would then provide the same service.
Benefit is not seen
At the same time, everything that depends on PostFinance’s payment business for the postal mother is forgotten. So that with the loss of the payment business, further synergies are also lost. Just think of the customers who go to the post office to get money – and buy a stamp and a legal pad at the same time.
The Post would not only have to cope with the loss of the Postfinance profit, but the lack of it would also make it even more difficult for the yellow giant to work cost-effectively.
The same applies to the self-operated branches, which Swiss Post recognizes as an asset in its strategy, i.e. as an asset with which added value can be achieved – including financial value. Because Swiss Post is currently trying to get other companies into the branches with a shop-in-shop concept – for example insurance companies, but also online shops that would like to operate a physical location.
Report for the drawer?
The experts’ proposals will still give a lot to talk and write about. Many of the proposals are likely to prove unsuitable. And if need be, the final report could quickly disappear in a drawer forever.