The Israel Postal Company is beginning its first cooperation with Swiss Post, which aims to identify technological solutions to the common challenges facing postal companies worldwide in the field of online commerce and logistics. The company is currently inviting start-ups and Israeli enterprises to offer advanced technological solutions that will meet the needs of both postal companies. This move is led by Maya Calderon, VP of Innovation & Business Development, Israel Postal Company, as part of the strategy to promote technological solutions, local business development and embracement of international networks.

Also recently, Israel Post started PoC projects with start-ups in the area of on demand sharing economy, smart mobility, digital trust and track& trace.

Israeli entrepreneurs, developers and start-ups will be invited to propose technological solutions that support the seamless integration of online and offline commerce along the value-chain (e.g. return of packages, service management, queues and peaks, unmanned stores, etc.), logistics, supply line (e.g. fulfilment solutions for small and medium-sized companies, robotics, customs, AI classification, last mile delivery, automatic/unmanned processes, improvement and utilization of volume in international trade), digital trust services, and digitization and complete automation of customer experience throughout the service.

After the initial screening and selection by Israel Post to examine candidates' compliance with the requirements of the two companies, the suitable start-ups will be invited to present their ventures to the managements of both Posts at the beginning of September. The chosen companies will be invited to carry out pilot projects with Israel Post and they will be able to participate in the program of the new Israel Post innovation center which is currently being built in Tel Aviv. The project chosen by the Swiss Post will be invited to a workshop in Switzerland, where it will examine its suitability for carrying out a funded pilot project with the Swiss Post.

Danny Goldstein, CEO, Israel Post: “All the postal companies around the world face similar challenges in the field of online commerce, and the need to provide a comprehensive logistic system to provide a wide range of solutions and advanced services to the home, significantly shortening delivery times and creating an advanced customer experience. In 2018 alone, we delivered 65 million packages in Israel and the numbers are increasing. Our role is to find solutions that will enable customers to enjoy a fast, inexpensive and efficient service. The cooperation between Israel Post and Swiss Post is a great opportunity for Israeli start-ups to get to know postal companies closely and work together with us and with the Swiss Post, which is considered to be one of the most advanced logistics companies in the world."

Maya Calderon, VP of Business Development and Innovation, Israel Postal Company:  "Both Swiss and Israeli posts are invested in seeding today the innovations of tomorrow. The primary driver for this program is the emerging mesh-up of virtual services with the tangible, physical human environment. We all consume online services, yet many of these services require extensive physical infrastructure and deployment, with postal services uniquely positioned at the intersection of these two areas, with direct contact with households and businesses, government offices combined with financial and banking capabilities, and of course wide delivery capabilities in Israel and around the world. Cooperation with Swiss Post is part of Israel Post’s development process and goal to collaborate with different companies in Israel and around the world so that a cooperative business environment is created for dealing with all types of commerce – retail and online – and combining many other services such as smart transport, banking etc.

Claudia Pletscher, Head of Development & Innovation Swiss Post: "Identifying, testing and introducing technological innovation has been part of Swiss Post's genes from its beginnings. Thanks to collaborations with start-ups and industry leaders we can take advantage of the latest technologies and business models at a very early stage and hold our position at the top in our business areas. We look for those strategic partnerships not only in Switzerland, but also in the most important innovation centers in the world. In this respect, Israel is an interesting innovation ecosystem, which we are very happy to work with".

Swiss Post is one of the most advanced and innovative logistics companies in the world with 58,000 employees and is the third largest employer in Switzerland. Apart from the traditional postal sector, the company deals with financial products, bus services, electronic identification system, electronic voting solutions, business process outsourcing solutions and more. Swiss Post is the owner of logistics companies in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, England, Singapore and the United States, and owns part of the shipping company Asendia, with Groupe La Poste France. In 2018, the company distributed 1,898 billion letters and 138 million packages, revenue was CHF 7,691 billion and it reached a net profit of CHF 405 million.

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