Cross-Border Parcel Delivery

Werner StenggHead of Unit, DG GROW

22 January 2016

What is the problem?

Delivery problems (2013 Roadmap)

• Lack of transparency (delivery options and conditions; prices; competition/markets

• High prices of cross-border shipments (especially of low volumes sent by SME retailers);

• Lack of inter-operability between the different operators involved in a cross-border shipment (e.g. affordable track-and-trace solutions);

• Lack of convenience for the final consumer (last-mile delivery and returns options that match his/her working life).

2015 Eurobarometer survey

Recent survey of online consumers: For x-border purchases from other MS, the main concerns are:

• delivery costs (27%),

• high return shipping costs (24%) and

• long delivery times (23%)

Compare: getting a faulty product replaced or repaired, 20%; returning a product consumers did not like and getting reimbursed, 20%.

2015 Eurobarometer survey of e-retailers:

For companies that currently do not sell online but would like to do so, 62% say the fact that delivery costs are too high is a problem.

Who is concerned?

Stakeholders

• Delivery operators:

• National postal operators

• Express industry

• Private parcel carriers

• Intermediaries

• Retailers/merchants (big/small)

• Consumers

• Employees of delivery operators

Market solutions or regulation?

Will markets "deliver"?

• Evolution of competition on parcel markets (B2B, B2C, C2C)

• The importance of "volumes"

• The consequences for "vulnerable" users

• Potential "market failures"

• Information deficits

• Market power

The 2013 Roadmap

A co-regulatory adventure

An Action Plan with:

Problem definition (based on Green Paper)

Objectives (e.g. in terms of user needs)

Addressees (e.g. delivery operators, retailers, Member States, Postal Regulators, Commission)

Timeline (18 months)

Monitoring and support (e.g. workshops)

Review clause (e.g. final workshop)

Example:

Action 4: Promote enhanced interoperability of parcel

delivery operations to support efficient cross-border

trade

Delivery operators and e-retailers should:

develop solutions to interconnect information

systems and open interfaces to allow data exchange

between information systems in a multiple operator

environment; in particular, they should develop

cross-border solutions for tracking and tracing,

labelling and related processes calling for enhanced

harmonization;

Examples of outcomes

Lack of interoperability:

o the postal industry's voluntary commitment ("Interconnect

programme")

o further standardisation work at CEN

Lack of convenience/choice for consumers:

o the postal industry's voluntary commitment

o constant improvements by other delivery operators

Information deficits for (small) e-retailers:

o information platform (support through the COSME programme)

Is this enough?

DSM package of 6 May 2015

• The Commission will assess action taken by industry and launch complementary measures to improve price transparency for European deliveries, including for prices of small shipments, and to enhance regulatory oversight of the cross-border parcel markets to ensure well-functioning cross-border delivery. The Commission will assess the need for additional measures after a period of two years from adoption of these measures, taking due account of progress made."

The objectives

• Enhance competition and market efficiency on x-border markets

• Information deficits

• Market power / access

• Improve affordability for vulnerable users in particular (SMEs, periphery)

• Territorial and social cohesion

Philosophy behind flankingmeasure

• Competition alone will not solve the issue of affordability for low-volume operations

• Targeted flanking measure, keepingadministrative burden low

• Focus on addressing market failure (information deficits, market power, territorial cohesion)

• Key beneficiaries are SMEs, individual citizensand sparcely populated / peripheral areas

• No price regulation (keep solution proportionate)

And, to conclude:

• A comprehensive review (of the entire co-regulatory programme) two years after adoption of the measure.

• THANK YOU!