{"id":53,"date":"2015-04-14T17:26:03","date_gmt":"2015-04-14T17:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/?p=53"},"modified":"2015-05-22T18:15:54","modified_gmt":"2015-05-22T18:15:54","slug":"digital-disruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/?p=53","title":{"rendered":"Digital disruption"},"content":{"rendered":"

As it stands today, Canada Post\u2019s operations are at odds with sweeping technological changes affecting traditional postal systems. This effect\u00a0is known as digital disruption, which describes rapid changes that outpace established social and operational business models. Even the most basic assessment of the corporation\u2019s main features and issues reveals a critical turning point, requiring careful restructuring acknowledging the network\u2019s history and national significance.<\/p>\n

Opposing the need for change are those who point to Canada Post\u2019s recent earnings. Since its 2013 introduction of the five-point action plan targeting strategies such as labour attrition and expanded retail franchising, it has managed to turn a profit. Its 2014 annual report<\/a> revealed net revenues totaling $148 million, far surpassing $75 million in losses from the year before.<\/p>\n

Misleading financial gains<\/p>\n

Financial gains only tell part of the story. While operations revenue from the Canada Post group of companies rose to $8 billion in 2014 from $7.6 billion in 2013, letter volumes continued to drop, seen in a downward slope from 10.6 billion pieces in 2010 to 9.1 billion pieces in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some instances where we still rely on letter mail, but it\u2019s generally seen as quite an archaic way to communicate with customers\u2026the question is, does it legitimately make sense to have a postal service in the way we conceived it?\u201d -Amanda Clarke<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shrinking use of \u2018snail mail\u2019 in the advertising, publishing and business spheres aggravates this downward trend. Moreover, though online shopping is often identified as essential to Canada Post\u2019s future, a close up look at e-commerce reveals an industry crowded with competitors and, so far, weak commercial uptake in Canada. Combined with a reduction in personal, face-to-face services, future financial gains may not be assured.<\/p>\n

\"Parcels

Parcels at Ottawa’s Canada Post mail sorting facility. [Photo \u00a9 Jordanna Tennebaum]<\/p><\/div>What\u2019s more, as websites such as Facebook and Twitter continue to replace postal mail, the role served by Canada Post as a respected national institution becomes increasingly irrelevant.<\/p>\n

Carleton University public administration professor Amanda Clarke suspects that it will be difficult to reconcile the tension between the Crown corporation\u2019s dated business and the rapid-fire appeal of e-mail, websites and smartphone messaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some instances where we still rely on lettermail, but it\u2019s generally seen as quite an archaic way to communicate with customers\u2026the question is, does it legitimately make sense to have a postal service in the way we conceived it?\u201d says Clarke.<\/p>\n

Union denial<\/p>\n

The answer to that question depends on whom you ask. At CUPW, there appears to be little if any recognition of Canada Post\u2019s precarious place in the digital realm. In fact, CUPW Ottawa president Ian Anderson denies the existence of imminent threats outright.<\/p>\n

If the Crown corporation maintains its\u00a0current state of affairs…it will have great difficulty weathering disruption in the digital age.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI think Canada Post is doing just fine\u2026it\u2019s self-sufficient. This five-point plan is just a manufactured crisis,\u201d says Anderson.<\/p>\n

\"\"

CUPW Ottawa president Ian Anderson. [Photo courtesy of Ian Anderson]<\/p><\/div>The proof will be in the pudding. Even with Canada Post expanding into the e-commerce market, the corporation admitted in its 2014 report that, \u201c\u2026there is still a long way to go to create a financially sustainable postal service.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, this uphill climb may put off taxpayers who are already becoming more and more removed from Canada Post\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n

Waning public support further complicates Canada Post\u2019s ability to succeed in the coming years. If the Crown corporation maintains its\u00a0current state of affairs in terms of e-commerce, letter mail, delivery services and overall ownership, it will have great difficulty weathering disruption in the digital age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Canada Post maintains its current state of affairs in terms of e-commerce, lettermail, delivery services and overall ownership, the Crown corporation will have great difficulty weathering disruption in the digital age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDigital disruption - Modern Mail<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/?p=53\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Digital disruption - Modern Mail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If Canada Post maintains its current state of affairs in terms of e-commerce, lettermail, delivery services and overall ownership, the Crown corporation will have great difficulty weathering disruption in the digital age.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/?p=53\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Mail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-14T17:26:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-22T18:15:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-19-at-9.21.55-PM.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1198\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"415\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jordanna Tennebaum\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/\",\"name\":\"Modern Mail\",\"description\":\"Can Canada Post survive in the digital age?\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/?p=53#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-19-at-9.21.55-PM.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Screen-Shot-2015-04-19-at-9.21.55-PM.jpg\",\"width\":1198,\"height\":415},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/?p=53#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/canadapost\/?p=53\",\"name\":\"Digital disruption - 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