Using data-driven solutions to identify areas of growth and potential risk areas that may fall behind in terms of connectivity and digital services using postal, trade, and other data.

Final presentation slides: 📎 Bridging the digital divide (PDF of original slides)

Challenge

Leveraging trade and postal data on consumer’s and provider’s electronics flows to identify tendencies and predict changes in developing digital and communication services.

Problem: Utilizing postal and trade data, we aim to develop data-driven solutions that can help identify growth and contraction areas in the digital and internet connectivity sectors. By tracking the flow of electronic goods deliveries via the postal sector, we can infer regional development trends in the internet and e-services environment. The challenge is to analyse the flow of consumer electronics deliveries to understand where these technologies are most utilized. Moreover, analysing trade data can help us identify the key suppliers and consumers of these products, providing insights into the infrastructure and digital services development trends. Leveraging this data, our aim is to generate visual representations and maps that depict the current landscape in the digital and communication services sector. Further, we seek to construct predictive models to forecast changes in these sectors' development. This will assist in identifying areas of growth and potential risk areas that may fall behind in terms of connectivity and digital services.

For: For stakeholders in the digital and telecommunication sectors, international organizations, funds, and initiatives, aiming to locate areas and regions where their efforts can be most effectively directed.

Goal: Create a solution that leverages postal and trade data on electronics flow (user’s and provider’s segment) to identify tendencies, predict changes, and consequently drive informed decisions in the digital connectivity sphere.

Potential solutions: We aim to use UPU data to obtain insights into the development of the digital and internet connectivity sectors. Participants can utilize the data collected by the ITU on ICT access, use, and affordability. The ITU's statistical database, found at https://datahub.itu.int/indicators/, provides details on ICT infrastructure development, usage, and service affordability. The UPU and Comtrade databases can also be leveraged, analysing goods with HS codes such as 851761, 851762, 851769, etc. Other open-source databases, including geospatial ones, can be incorporated as well.

Challenge Owner: Ihar Shchetko

📎 Initial presentation (PDF)

## Countercheck is the global standard software that is able to intercept counterfeit/illicit parcels at the point of sortation using UPU's parcel data.

Initial Deck Google Slides

Final Deck Google Slides

Phil Hamilton, Fatih Unver, Martin Sirouspoor

Solution: 📎 Hackathon-Final-Presentation.pdf

How Dr. Simona's credentials are verified in our use case using TRAIN

In our solution Dr. Simona gets information about Yukitrel in the Pulse pharmaceutical Network. But Pulse Network needs to make sure that Dr. Simona's credentials are indeed signed by a trusted entity, in this case, the Nigirian government. Pulse Network gets Dr. Simona's credentials, extracts the signer's DID and uses TRAIN - TRust mAnagement INfrastructure (see example repo) to check if the Nigerian country is indeed a trusted party. Pulse Network calls the verification API endpoint https://essif.trust-scheme.de/atvtrain/api/v1/ssi/ adding the below JSON payload (you can try it too! Please use it as POST request):

{
  "Issuer": "did:web:nimc.gov.ng",
  "Trust_Scheme_Pointer": "upu.train.trust-scheme.de"
}

"Issuer" is the Nigerian government DID and the "TrustSchemePointer" is where the Trust List of trusted countries is hosted (upu.train.trust-scheme.de for the hackathon purposes).

This is the final response that confirms the Nigerian country as a trusted party:

{
    "VerificationStatus": "OK",
    "VerificationResult": {
        "ReceivedTrustSchemePointer": "upu.train.trust-scheme.de",
        "FindingCorrespondingTrustSchemeInitiated": "OK",
        "FoundCorrespondingTrustScheme": "upu.train.trust-scheme.de",
        "TrustListDiscoveryInitiated": "OK",
        "TrustListFoundAndLoaded": "https://tspa.trust-scheme.de/tspa_train_domain/api/v1/scheme/upu.train.trust-scheme.de",
        "FoundIssuer": "did:web:nimc.gov.ng",
        "ServiceTypeIdentifier": "http://vcissuer.ngi.train.trustscheme.de",
        "VerifyIssuer": "OK",
        "VerificationSuccessful": "OK"
    }
}

As for the next step, our dedicated team showcased an innovative solution for enhancing supply chain auditability by successfully setting up a demo Keri witness network. Using the Keri CLI provided by the GitHub repository https://github.com/WebOfTrust/keripy, we created demo vLEIs for various participants involved in our challenge transaction. As part of our proof of concept, we signed postal data, verified its authenticity, and imagined a scenario in which we could further enhance trustworthiness by verifying the vLEIs as well. Drawing upon elements from the script https://github.com/WebOfTrust/keripy/blob/b03ccf2dc8a92885d97c4ca5f36486b8fc0b469a/scripts/demo/vLEI/issue-xbrl-attestation.sh, our creative solution demonstrated the potential for improved traceability and greater transparency in global supply chain processes.

Challenge: 📎 Challege-9-Team Unity 2023 Hackathon Presentation.pdf

According to DHL, Customs Compliance and Logistics are considered to be their two most important challenges for cross-border shipping of Cargo/Posts. Since Countries have their own regulations on the quality of products that can be imported. If products do not comply with any nation’s regulatory process, respective freights would not be able to enter the country. And in logistics because of the involvement of multiple carrier handoffs (3PLs) it might be difficult to track orders of the shipments or freights which in turn can lead to potential delays of the shipments.

We propose a novel approach by coupling secure digital identities with aggregated postal data from trusted sources (.e.g UPU, Designated Operators, private sector 3PLs) that could provide a potential solution to increase the security, efficiency, and quality of logistics in cross-border delivery of Cargo/Posts.

Use case Specific Problem Statements

#1 Cross Border Movement of Pharmaceutical Products

According to Pharma News Intelligence, the global revenue associated with the pharmaceutical industry is in excess of $1.4 trillion. In Switzerland, the KOF Swiss Economic Institute has estimated that pharmaceuticals accounted for over one-third of Swiss exported products. In 2021 the German Federal Supreme Administrative Court in 2021 invalidated a long standing business model of a Swiss licensed pharmacy company relying upon its Swiss license to sell goods to a German Distributor that were directly shipped from a French affiliate, with the pharmaceutical product never transiting through Switzerland. Providing the pharmaceutical industry access to multiple trusted registry data sources (postal data, licensure data, import/export data, etc.) can help facilitate the movement of pharmaceutical goods through the supply chain in a legally compliant manner.

#2 Use of Drones in the Shipment of Pharmaceuticals & Medical Goods

A growing number of government regulators are exploring the use of drones in expediting the shipment of pharmaceuticals and medical products. These use cases involve both urban and rural settings. By way of example, the Telangana state government in India completed a pilot in 2021 where 175 shipments (some in temperature controlled boxes) were delivered via drones over a 21 day period. In Austria, the Red Cross in conjunction with Thales demonstrated the delivery of a blood supply via drone in 2021. Wider deployment of this use case would require timely and secure access to multiple trust registry data sources (postal data and licensure data (medical & business). The need for accurate postal data for these types of use cases are increasingly important when they involve drones, as the movement of these drones in a three dimensional air volume are critically important for their safe and secure operation.

Goal

Demonstrate the viability of using multiple trust registries to improve the overall security, efficiency and quality of care within the healthcare ecosystem. Specifically, the hackathon will seek to demonstrate how multiples trusted source of data (including postal data from UPU or Designated Operator can facilitate the movement of a pharmaceutical and medical products through the supply chain.

📎 Challege-9-Team Unity 2023 Hackathon Presentation.pdf

Challenge Owner: Michael Palage, InfoNetworks

📎 FINAL Plastic Pollution Challenge.pdf

Challenge

📋 Slides

Tackling e-commerce related plastic pollution by strengthening information flows to inform circularity approaches with green economy policies and service diversification of the postal sector

Problem: The postal sector is clearly linked with the life cycle of plastics, from plastic generation — driven by a growing demand for packaging materials to send items and the transboundary flows of plastics caused by sending post— through to plastic waste. The demand is created for plastic packaging by senders, but plastic waste is handled by recipients at the destination. New business models are needed to create the incentives for circular approaches within the sector, as well as in other sectors. To make this possible, plastic life cycle data is required for understanding the uses of plastics packaging, the movement of plastic products, reuse and disposal.

For: For postal operators, plastics value chain players and for green economy policy makers.

Goal: The expected outcome is to harness the value of postal data and broader logistics sector data for enabling the identification of plastics patterns and flow through parcel data of e-commerce transactions of international posts (e.g. sources of internal plastics package in parcels by products, sectors that are heavily reliant on plastics for transportation, existing practices of recycling and reuse of plastics package in different destinations). Ultimately the goal is to improve data information flow, incentivize new business models of circular economy to close the material loop around plastics, while also informing green economy policies and plastics regulations to incentivize the behavior changes of the sector and the customers (e.g. adopt border measures for plastics alternatives or economic incentives for reuse and recycling models for transportation materials).

Potential solutions: We are interested in how we can use UPU data to tell us about the movement of plastics in the postal sector. As a broad category, plastics in the postal sector include the packaging of products by retailers or producers, postal packaging, and the plastics in products themselves. At the moment, plastic consumption data and data on the movement of plastics is severely lacking. Instead, analysts rely on plastic production data, and plastic waste data where available. We think the postal sector has a unique perspective on how plastics are consumed and how they move around the world.

In addition to current data collection practices, participants will explore how other technologies could be used to gather further information and enable data-driven solutions to incentivize new business models. Internet-of-things or computer vision technologies could improve the recognition of plastic packaging in transit. Machine learning approaches could be used for identifying flows of plastics across borders in real time or predicting plastic waste hotspots. Natural language processing applications could also be used to facilitate data collection from customs declarations. Additionally, online platforms or user-friendly applications could be developed to create incentives to share information on plastic use for packaging.

Data Resources: For this challenge, we firstly hope to focus on UPU data as a new resource for understanding the life cycle of plastics. This may be supplemented by existing data sources, such as data on plastics generation and recycling rates, as well as trade data. A list of additional data resources that may be useful are listed here with some brief explanation, as well as some potential fields of interest from the UPU data: 📎 Additional Data Resources.pdf

Challenge Owners: Ana Gabriela Fernandez Vergara, Angus Hamilton and Nicole Weller

Link to final Pitch Deck: 📎 Ensuring Resilience in the Postal Economy.pdf

SUMMARY

The challenge is to use multiple data sources, but with a specific focus on OPEN DATA, to develop solutions that enhance the resilience of the postal sector in the digital economy. Participants are encouraged to explore various data sources, such as social media, weather data, economic data, postal sector data, and transportation data, to develop innovative solutions that can be implemented by postal companies to improve their performance and service delivery.

PROBLEM

The primary objective of this challenge is to leverage open data to develop innovative solutions that enhance the resilience of the postal sector in the digital economy. The postal sector is facing significant disruption due to the rise of e-commerce and the changing expectations of customers, which has increased demand for faster and more reliable delivery services. This challenge seeks to address this challenge by encouraging participants to explore new ways of using data to improve the performance of postal companies.

For: Postal Operators and their various stakeholders in the postal value chain - especially those in regions such as Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and South East Asia (ASEAN).

• Postal operators: The primary beneficiaries of this challenge would be the postal operators themselves. By leveraging open data to develop innovative solutions, postal operators could improve their service delivery, reduce costs, and remain competitive in the digital economy. This would help them to maintain market share and increase profitability.
• Customers: Customers would benefit from improved service delivery, faster delivery times, and increased reliability. This would increase satisfaction levels and encourage customers to continue using postal services.
• Small and medium-sized businesses: Small and medium-sized businesses that rely on postal services for their operations would benefit from improved efficiency and faster delivery times. This would help them to operate more effectively and compete with larger businesses.
• Governments: Governments could benefit from improved postal services by ensuring the efficient delivery of important documents and goods, such as election ballots, government forms, and medication. Society as a whole: A more efficient and effective postal sector would benefit society as a whole by enabling the delivery of important goods and services and supporting economic growth.

GOAL

Traditional postal operators need to develop innovative solutions and ways to adapt and remain relevant. By leveraging open data, it is envisaged that participants in this challenge will be encouraged to develop solutions that improve the performance and service delivery of postal companies.

Specifically, solutions could address challenges such as:

• improving delivery times
• optimizing delivery routes, reducing costs, and
• enhancing customer satisfaction.

These solutions could have a significant impact on the resilience of postal companies in the face of digital disruption, helping them to remain competitive and meet the evolving needs of customers.

AVAILABLE RESOURCES

Open Data from various sources such as the: UPU, the ITU, other United Nations agencies (see UN Data, UN SDGs Open Data, UN iLibrary, World Bank Open Data, Intergovernmental Organisations, International (non-Governmental) Organisations, Social Media, Statistical Aggregator Websites (Our World in Data and Statista are great starts), National and Regional Transportation Authorities, Meteorological Authorities (start with the WMO, for example), Statistical Authorities, Data Repositories, public APIs and so on. (See this list for a good starting point for a list of Open Data portals from around the world).

A focus should be on sources that provide information on postal services, delivery patterns, customer behavior, and other relevant factors.

• Social media data: Social media platforms provide a wealth of data on customer sentiment, preferences, and behavior. Teams can use this data to develop solutions that better meet customer expectations and improve customer satisfaction.
• Weather data: Weather patterns can have a significant impact on postal operations, affecting delivery times and transport routes. Teams can use weather data to develop solutions that optimize delivery routes and improve reliability.
• Transportation data: Transportation data can provide insights into traffic patterns, travel times, and congestion. Teams can use this data to develop solutions that improve the efficiency of delivery operations and reduce costs. See Open Flight route data, IATA Open API Data Hub, IMO Global Integrated Shipping Information System, and these links to Open Rail Data.

Besides data sources, other resources should include:

• Technical tools and platforms: Participants could use various technical tools and platforms to analyze and visualize data, develop algorithms, and create solutions. Examples of such tools include Python, R, Tableau, Power BI, Looker, Qlik, and various machine-learning libraries and frameworks.

There are several free, trial and open source options available here.

IMPACT

• Improved resilience: Postal companies that implement the solutions developed in this challenge would be more resilient in the face of digital disruption. They would be better equipped to adapt to changing customer expectations and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction: By optimizing delivery times and routes, postal companies could provide faster, more reliable service to customers, which would increase satisfaction levels.
• Increased efficiency: Solutions that reduce costs and improve efficiency would allow postal companies to operate more effectively, providing better value for customers and increasing profitability.
• Better use of data: By leveraging open data sources, postal companies could gain insights into customer behavior, delivery patterns, and other factors that could help them make more informed decisions and improve their operations.

Overall, solving this challenge could have a significant positive impact on the postal sector, benefiting both postal companies and their customers.

High Level Slide Deck

Example of Problem Statement Slide Deck

Link to final Pitch Deck: 📎 Ensuring Resilience in the Postal Economy.pdf

DATA ANALYSIS 📎 Time Distances.csv

Time Distances between Airports calculated as the median time between actual last leg arrival time and actual first leg departure time from UPU Postal Data (EDI Messages).

Challenge Owner: Tracy Hackshaw

Demo Link http://synccode.eu-central-1.elasticbeanstalk.com

Challenge

📎 Making Packages Talk - UPU Hackathon - short.pdf

In e-Commerce the flow of a package is nearly always Business-to-Business-to-Consumer. The Consumer orders something on-line. The e-Merchant (Seller) then sends the ordered items in a package (or packages) to the Consumer (Buyer). This package may then be carried by multiple different transporters (postal and/or non-postal). Ultimately, the package may then be delivered to the location of the Consumers choice (often the home).

Problem:

Currently, each transporter needs to receive a data-set in advance of the package being handed over to him/her. In general, each transporter will have its own requirements related to structure of the data set (and contents). All too often, each transporter also insists on their own format for the label affixed to the package (leading to relabelling along the journey of the package). *Moreover, each transporter may insist on using its own (proprietary) identifier for the package. * This creates a lot of confusion when communicating about the progress of delivery of the goods ordered transported in the package/s.

For:

The sending e-Merchant as well as the Consumer (hopefully receiving the package and the goods s/he ordered) both desire to be able to consistently track where the Goods Sold/Bought are. Because of the issues mentioned above, it is difficult for the e-Merchant to provide the Consumer with that tracking information (because the transporters involved have troubles providing the necessary feedback about the package). Furthermore, the **proprietary information exchanges as well as the relabelling adds (unnecessary) cost and time ** to the end-to-end process of transporting the package from Seller to Buyer. This affects the transporters mostly, but also the Seller and Buyer, because the transporters will include those additional costs into their charges one way or another. The Scan4Transport standard provides a globally standardised way to include structured data into a 2D barcode.That enables any party reading the 2D barcode structured according to the standard to correctly interpret the data encoded in the 2D barcode regardless of the party that created the 2D barcode (according to the standard).

Goal:

1. As a minimum, it would be good to show that the 2D barcodes can act as “fall-back” for lack of prior information exchanges. So reading a barcode and correctly interpreting the contents (and showing this in a screen (mobile phone or browser) to a user.
2. The user, should then be able to access the latest/additional information from a remote application (via the Web) based on the above mentioned standards. This may be a basic display on a Web-browser or retrieval via an API and showing that within a self-built App on the Mobile Device.
3. The third “layer” would be that the operator may log an Event with a remote application (e.g., confirmation of delivery, hand-over to next transporter). This may be done via a Web-browser, an API directly to the remote Application and/or posting the Event to an EPCIS application (as described in the UN/CEFACT standard Integrated Track and Trace for Multi-Modal Transportation as a good way to easily exchange Event-Information among disparate systems).

It would be fantastic if more than one hacking team would work on this challenge and each one would focus on (parts of) the above scenario to show that a package carrying the same label with the same 2D barcode may easily be processed by different software. That would prove interoperability of these standards. The Hackathon may also provide valuable learnings related to shortcomings in the standards (e.g., ambiguity in how to interpret them when converting them into software implementations.

Challenge Owner:

Jaco Voorspuij

Challenge

"We know e-commerce / cross border is growing. But based on the recent statistics, UPU is not gaining any market share, but rather losing in this space. a) What can UPU Or post offices do to present an attractive and competitive option for e-commerce marketplaces to gain market share with e-commerce platforms? b) How can UPU make it easy for others to integrate by providing an Interoperable standards-based setup for various players in e-commerce or even 3PL plsyrtd - value chain to collaborate? c) Will adding more transparency in fees, VAT collection and disbursement, pricing, logistics, and convenient Payment help? d) How can post-office offer verified Digital identity and Verified addresses to add value? e) Any other ways to boost revenue of Designated operators or UPU?"

Problem: Mail volume is reducing since emails have become prominent. Ecommerce is growing but UPU /Postal network is not getting enough volumes to deliver.

For: The biggest impact is for UPU and Designated Operators.

Goal: Find unique ways how UPU & Postal operators increase their share of e-commerce delivery and find ways of alternative revenue

Challenge Owner:
Santosh Gopal

📎 Post offices as prefered choice of Ecomerce Delivery.pdf

Brainstorming

For more background on our design process, scroll down to the README.

Last-mile distribution poses a number of challenges in terms of operation and cost-efficiency. One solution is to distribute parcels in digital lockers conveniently placed on the road. To avoid the proliferation of these boxes, as seen in Europe, the solution is to share them between different delivery companies, using a variable allotment system, similar to the way airline seats are sold by different travel agencies. This improves box fill rates.

For: Parcel delivery companies, including the country's postal operator.

Goal:

• An interface for the recipient, enabling them to see that their parcels (delivered by several parcel operators) are available, with access codes for retrieving them.
• An interface for the parcel operator, showing which boxes are available, wcih are being used, and the invoicing per use (fixed + variable costs)
• An interface for the manager, enabling them to see the rate of use of the locker, the breakdown by operator, and the amount of monthly invoicing to be established.

Challenge owner: Dominique Colin

Version originale en français

Consignes colis digitalisées partagées

Concevoir un système de partage et de facturation des emplacements des consignes colis entre plusieurs opérateurs colis

La distribution du dernier km représente de nombreux défis à relever pour l'effectuer à coûts réduits. Une solution consiste à distribuer les colis dans des consignes digitales judicieusement placées sur la chaussée. Pour éviter la prolifération de ces boîtes, comme on l'observe en Europe, la solution est de les partager entre les différentes sociétés de livraison, grâce un système d'allotement variable, à l'image de la vente de sièges dans les avions vendues par différentes agences de voyage. Le taux de remplissage des boîtes s'en trouve amélioré.

Pour: Les sociétés de distribution de colis, dont l'opérateur postal du pays

But:

• Une interface pour le destinataire lui permettant de voir que ses colis (livrés par plusieurs opérateurs colis) sont disponibles avec codes d'accès pour le récupérer
• Une interface pour l'opérateur colis lui indiquant les box disponibles, celles utilisées et sa facturation à l'utilisation (frais fixe + variable)
• Une interface pour le gestionnaire lui permettant de connaître le taux d'utilisation de la consigne, la répartition par opérateur et le montant de la facturation mensuelle à établir

The Challenge of Last-Mile Delivery in e-Commerce

Contents of Slide presentation (PDF) by Dominique Colin - La Poste (France)

More and more customers are asking the delivery to their home for a convenient reason. In addition, cross-border eCommerce has to deal with import customs clearance issues.

But last-mile delivery generates various problems: heavy traffic in cities, leading to congestion and pollution, uncertainty as to whether the recipient will be present, necessitating redelivery or delivery on standby, payment of tax and duties for clearance, and therefore the high cost of home delivery.

Parcel lockers are a possible solution, but there are too many competing lockers on the market.

On the streets, in station lobbies and shopping malls, lockers are multiplying in the colors of each operator, from worldwide integrators to local independent carriers, as well as those of the stores and e-tailers themselves.

The solution for the government and the regulation authority is to organize this activity and optimize streets use around a single operator capable of managing all parcel lockers for carriers and online sellers. The shared locker solution for sustainable, optimized use of public space, and contributing to the postal operator's central position in e-commerce.

Stage #1: Design the Value Proposition

Required skills:

• Problem identification and analysis
• Market research
• Value Proposition design
• Rapid prototyping
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Flexibility and adaptability

This is a marketing and business development challenge focused on digital solutions, that posts may use to discuss with the supervising ministry and regulation authority.

Define the ideal benefits and features of shared lockers for carriers and consignees.

Create a profitable business model (BUILD and RUN) for shared lockers, including fixed and variable costs and revenues for the various stakeholders.

Consider the volume of parcels delivered and returned using shared lockers.

Stage #2: Design the App to manage shared lockers

Design an application enabling carriers to obtain available spaces in shared lockers and use them for pickup and delivery*, as well as for payment of customs clearance tax and duties (use of ITMATT data).

Design an application enabling the postal operator to manage/supervise different lockers, optimize spaces and invoice carriers.

Design an application enabling buyers (recipients) to pay duties and taxes in lockers, to pick up and drop off their parcels in the lockers whatever the carrier is. (* Pickup issue can be studied later.)

Required skills:

• Problem solving
• Rapid prototyping (time management)
• Programming capabilities (various languages)
• Mobile and/or Web development
• User interface (UI) and User experience (UX)
• Debugging and troubleshooting
• Teamwork and collaboration

This is a program design and implementation challenge. The software bricks could be the starting point for an operational solution to present and convince stakeholders in our countries.

Thank you. Please feel free to ask any questions. 😄