Who Are You?
When online, how do you know who you’re really communicating with? Does that affect your shopping or banking habits? Do you know people who don’t use the Internet much because they are afraid of identity theft?
The latest statistics from a Pew Research Center study demonstrate the pull of the Internet:
• 80 percent of Americans are users, whether through personal computer, tablet, or smartphone;
• many of those users do not conduct any kind of commerce;
• 30 percent have not made a purchase online;
• and 40 percent do not bank online.
Would a more secure approach to online identity raise those figures?
The Office of Inspector General’s new paper Digital Identity: Opportunities for the Postal Service examines the world of digital identity as well as many existing digital authentication solutions, including pilot projects, and potential roles for the Postal Service in the digital identity ecosystem.
Read MoreOffering eMailboxes to Consumers: An Opportunity for the Postal Service?
Out of 23 posts in industrialized countries, the U.S. Postal Service is one of the few remaining posts not offering an eMailbox solution to its citizens. And while there are private sector technology industry standouts in the U.S. that have developed widely popular e-mail and secure storage services, their business models sacrifice consumer privacy in the interest of ad-based revenue generation.
In an increasingly digital world, it may make sense for the Postal Service to offer eMailbox services in addition to traditional delivery. A consumer would also be able to sign up for an accompanying highly secure data storage area service called the eLockbox, which would provide added security for the archiving of important legal and personal documents with anytime, anywhere secure access. Today many electronic documents, especially financial records, reside primarily on the banks or billers Web site and not with the consumer.
Read MoreMake Way for www.—-.post
In December 2009, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) obtained exclusive rights to the “.post” top-level domain for the postal community from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
The .post domain joins existing prominent top level domains (such as .com, .edu, and .org), along with recent additions (such as .museum, .biz, and .aero.) The .post domain is intended to provide a secure space for members of the postal community to develop and deploy digital products and services.
The .post domain is expected to be available for use by private postal operators, regulators, suppliers, vendors, trade unions, and trade associations.
By linking well-established national networks, the UPU hopes .post will allow postal operators and customers to reap the benefits of a global physical/digital network that permits postal service providers and end users to connect quickly and securely to other end users around the world.
The .post domain could be an appropriate platform for a variety of services. Common suggestions include: a global track and trace system linking the existing systems of the posts; the creation of an accessible database holding a universal and global addressing system; and a feature allowing consumers to decide whether to have an item delivered to a physical address or an electronic address.
Loading ...Should the Postal Service Offer Volume Incentives to E-Retailers?
Offering volume incentives is a common business practice in the U.S. and around the world. Although the U.S. Postal Service offers incentives to businesses that presort their mail, the agency does not offer incentives based strictly on the volume of packages shipped. One reason might be that offering volume incentives would lower the profit margin on each package shipped; yet, the potential volume increase of items shipped would make up for the smaller profit margins.
E-retail is a multibillion-dollar industry through which millions of transactions are made via clearinghouses, such as Amazon.com and eBay. The e-retail industry continues to grow and includes on-line sales in virtually every industry. In the U.S., online retail spending for the Q4 2010 reached a record $43.4 billion, up from $39.0 billion in Q4 2009. This accelerated growth rate represented the fifth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and second quarter of double-digit growth rates in the past year. This trend will likely continue as more online people turn to the internet for their shopping needs, and younger, digital-savvy generations increasingly flex their spending power. Companies like eBay, Amazon.com, and traditional retailers with strong web operations should continue to benefit from this growth.
Increases in e-shopping means an increase in the quantity of goods shipped is also increasing. Most vendors have their preferences, which are frequently based on cost. Should the Postal Service take advantage of the increased amount of shipping generated by e-retailers by offering incentives?
Yes or no, and why?
This blog is hosted by the Office of Audit’s Financial Reporting Directorate.
Read MoreIt’s a Small World, After All
Globalization is not a new phenomenon. Throughout history, people sought better ways to correspond and trade over great distances. In recent times, a number of key forces emerged to fuel globalization. Perhaps most important, technological advancement like the internet, personal computers, mobile devices, and global positioning systems (GPS) energized globalization at an unprecedented pace by facilitating instant information transmission, regardless of distance, at a decreasing cost. The result was a dramatically changed business environment.
Businesses and governments, capitalizing on new technologies to improve efficiency, trade, and financial performance, spurred international policy integration, operations standardization, and deregulation and privatization of many public monopolies like power companies. The postal services were no exception. The competitive pressures resulting from an increasingly interconnected marketplace such as the rise of integrators and electronic substitution created profound changes in the postal service ecosystem, which both threatened traditional mail segments and created new opportunities. As a result, the postal sector entered a new era that stimulated many foreign posts to adapt their business model to enter novel markets, diversify product offerings, and develop opportunities in non-traditional sectors to stem the posts’ declining mail businesses.
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