Universal Postal Union (UPU)

One world. One postal network.

The Universal Postal Union is a United Nations specialized agency and the postal sector’s primary forum for international cooperation. 

Description of Activities on AI

Project 1: State of the Postal Sector Report

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of revolutionizing the next wave of postal services. The “State of the Postal Sector” report, UPU’s flagship publication, delves into AI’s transformative role in fostering enhanced collaboration among postal sector stakeholders worldwide. Spanning two dedicated chapters, the report explores the vast, yet to be fully realized, potential of AI within the sector and among UPU member states. It outlines a strategic roadmap to capitalize on AI, detailing pivotal use cases that could significantly elevate the efficiency and innovation of postal services at all development levels.

Project 2: Prediction of postal item delivery day on the UPU global track and trace system

The UPU’s global postal supply chain consists of almost 700,000 postal access points and reaches 95% of the world’s population for the delivery of postal items; mail, parcels and postal payments. In the delivery process to the addressee, the provision of reliable information on the expected delivery date of the postal item is a challenge, especially so for postal operations in least developing, developing countries and small island developing states. Using machine learning models trained on postal big data, the UPU’s global track and trace solution (https://globaltracktrace.ptc.post/) which provides international routing information of the postal item, now includes a prediction engine for the estimated delivery day. It achieves up to 67% accuracy from posting and up to 87% accuracy on the delivery leg.

Related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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