2007 Show Review

POST-EXPO delivers

The 11th annual POST-EXPO exhibition and conference was another smashing success. Held this year in sunny Barcelona from 2 to 4 October, the show boasted over 4,000 visitors from 82 countries, who came to talk with the top companies in the industry and listen to talks from experts in the field.

The three-day event attracted top-level personnel from postal organisations worldwide, and is recognised as the premier event for the postal, mailing and parcel industries. Neighbour exhibition Courier and Parcel Logistics Expo ran at the same time, and gave a bonus insight into companies and issues in the ever-growing courier and express parcel distribution aspect of the industry.

Universal Postal Union director general Edouard Dayan and president of Correos Spain Jose Damian Santiago Martín opened the World Postal Forum. “New technologies place the postal sector at the heart of all forms of communication. The postal sector is the only one where its physical, electronic and financial dimensions converge to place it at the heart of the communication society,” said Dayan. In his opening address, Martín said that technology was an essential element of business strategy and Correos, like other posts, has invested heavily in recent years to modernise its business infrastructure and launch service innovations.

Companies on show at POST-EXPO 2007

A large variety of new technologies were on show at POST-EXPO.

Motorola introduced a new version of its MC70 mobile computer, which now has integrated GPS capability. “Mail and express enterprises need to know exactly where their packages and workers are, in order to operate in a highly competitive market,” said David Picton, industry director for logistics of Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility business. “The GPS location function of the MC70 will allow operators to ensure that their pickups and deliveries occur at the right place at the right time.”

Microsoft made an appearance with several of its partners including Accenture, CCS Software Solutions, Correos, Earth Class Mail, Iconics, Poste Italiane and Quintiq. The company showcased technology solutions used by postal customers around the world in areas including enterprise efficiency, sales and marketing efficiency, supply chain visibility and optimisation, branch renewal and e-postal services. “IT has become business-critical for posts to improve internal and external performance and gain competitive advantages,” said Maxim Lesur, worldwide postal industry executive director, Microsoft. “Posts have many ideas; we have the technology.”

New-generation sorters were shown off at FKI Logistex’s stand. Tilt-tray and cross-belt sorters have flexible layouts, reduced installation and commissioning time and increased energy efficiency to reduce life-cycle costs. The new models have a common platform to enhance flexibility; they also incorporate a new energy system to reduce energy expenditure.

The Danish Export Association’s Danish Postal Technology Group is a network of consultants, manufacturers and subcontractors exporting to the international post and parcel distribution industries. The Group brought many of its members to the show to display their technologies, including Handy Moving System, IHPostal, Jokan System, Lyngsoe Systems, Postmark, Rose Technology, Schur Packaging Systems and Treco.

Another company that displayed a range of technologies was Solystic, which specialises in letter and flat sorting machines, address recognition systems, optical reading and video-coding subsystems and information systems. The company also showed its V-Id tag – a virtual identification tag that enables each letter to be located without a mark having to be printed on it.

Earth Class Mail exhibited at its first-ever POST-EXPO with excellent results. “POST-EXPO is amazing. We’ve been waiting for four years until our product was ready to come, and now we’re finally here,” said Ron Wiener, CEO and postmaster general of Earth Class Mail. “We’ve talked to at least 25 posts and several visionary posts have shown great interest.”

Earth Class Mail gives people the ability to access their mail online from anywhere in the world, and is similar to an online PO box.

Reactions from POST-EXPO 2007

“We’ve had a lot of really interesting conversations with current and potential customers. There is a large range of interest in the possibilities of our products, from blue-sky RFID to courier services. There have been enquiries from all over the world, and it’s great to be able to have such a good opportunity to meet all these people in one place.”
David Picton, industry director for logistics of Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility business

“POST-EXPO is an opportunity for a focused industry to come together to challenge each other with new ideas and to share ideas, which contributes to the continuing evolution of the mailstream. When suppliers, customers and posts get together it can only lead to a positive effect for the industry in the long term.”
Murray Martin, president and CEO of Pitney Bowes

“POST-EXPO is an excellent place to sign contracts and attend meetings. It is definitely an important event for us. The quality of people is very good – there are a lot of management-level visitors from worldwide organisations who attend.”
Bernd Anders, global marketing services manager, PrintSoft

“Most companies that should be here are here. The conferences are very interesting, with high-level speakers. There are excellent opportunities for networking. Overall, I’ve had an excellent time at my first POST-EXPO, and I will be at next year’s show in London.”
Jan Dekeyser, director pickup and delivery operations Europe, DHL

“POST-EXPO is a very good, very international show. There has been a lot of interest and we have made a lot of contacts. There are many big posts that attend the show, and we will definitely be at next year’s show in London.”
Uwe Lange, product manager, Bowe Bell+Howell

“POST-EXPO is amazing. We’ve been waiting for four years until our product was ready to come, and now we’re finally here. We’ve talked to at least 25 posts and several visionary posts have shown great interest. We will absolutely be in London next year with a much bigger stand!”
Ron Wiener, CEO and postmaster general, Earth Class Mail