Stamps.com rolls out GlobalPost International Shipping Services amid U.S.-UPU unease

With the United States potentially exiting the Universal Postal Union (UPU), that raises the possibility of higher rates for global shippers. While that situation remains fluid until the more than 190 UPU nation members meet later this month, Stamps.com, a provider of postage online and shipping software, is getting out in front of the situation through the recent introduction of its new GlobalPost international shipping services.

Stamps.com said these services are independent of United States relationships with the UPU will enable businesses to still make international shipments uninterrupted, while transit time, customs clearances, and competitive rates will be in line with what they typically experience. What’s more, the company added that the GlobalPost delivery network is comprised of partnerships with international postal operators and commercial carriers, serving more than 200 countries and territories, as well as other features that are not found in traditional postage services, including:

• Global Address Verification: Improve deliverability with real-time address verification
• No Customs Forms: Send Customs electronically – no forms to print;
• Ship Merchandise in Flats: Save money with international flats/large envelopes;
• Instant Refunds: No more tracking refund requests that can take up to 2 weeks;
• Free Pick-Up Service: Schedule pick-ups when it’s convenient for you (select markets only); and
• Parcel Coverage: $100 Included

GlobalPost shipping services are now offered in two formats, GlobalPost Standard International, which includes delivery confirmation, and GlobalPost Economy International, which includes tracking into the destination country.

“We know customers simply can’t afford disruptions to their shipping services,” said Ken McBride, Chairman and CEO of Stamps.com, in a statement. “That’s why we’re proud to be able to offer these GlobalPost services to our many international shipping customers who have been concerned about the potential USPS disruption caused by the breakdown of the UPU/U.S. relationship. As always, we’re trying to keep our customers a few steps ahead, especially when it comes to the ever-changing landscape of e-commerce shipping.”

In an interview, Shea Felix, Sr. Director for Stamp.com’s GlobalPost, said that the impetus for GlobalPost began around a year ago, when the U.S. announced its intent leave the UPU if an agreement could not be reached on changing the structure of terminal dues and how international postage service providers pay each other.

“We took that pretty seriously, and we know that a majority of shippers today on our platforms use the USPS for international,” he said. “We are one of the largest providers of shipping for USPS international and did not want to leave our customers without anything.”

That led to Stamps.com working on GlobalPost over the last year, which Felix alluded to as a “backup plan” of sorts.

“What we have seen is that there is a chance the U.S. could leave the UPU, so we focused on developing this solution,” he said. “We wanted to take advantage of the fact that we have a lot of small shippers today…and a big thing for them is access to services. The way our product works today is that it still uses the USPS for picking up packages or packages being dropped off at the Post Office. Because we use USPS domestic, it is all tied to the back end of our logistics products. Every single shipment that goes through will still use the USPS, and what we do is take the back end for international services, which provides the full end-to-end shipment complete with tracking and service standards and very competitive rates, but it does not change the shipper’s experience on the front end.”

On the back end, Felix noted that the only item of concern is the buyer experience, as there is a very specific experience with the USPS, in how it clears packages and customs, as these packages are shipped worldwide between global postal organizations on behalf of the USPS.

“Our solution also uses the same postal network for delivery,” he said. “We have created a front-end experience that makes it very convenient for our shippers, and the other is a kind of back end delivery experience that is very familiar with people using the USPS today. The product is ready and have it as a backup. We are not sure where the USPS is going to go or if our product will be used in part or in whole. That will be determined with the UPU vote and the USPS response to it.”

Felix said that there are customers already using the GlobalPost international shipping services. But when looking at the USPS product and brand and things customers use today, he said Stamps.com is waiting to see what happens but if customers want to use the product now they can.

“We are advising customers to get a GlobalPost account set up so it is there just in case [the U.S. formally exits the UPU] something happens, we can adjust,” he said. “GlobalPost can function as a combination of USPS products or other things, too. It really depends on what happens. If the U.S leaves the UPU but creates a product for Canada, we might want to use USPS in Canada and other countries. We can mix and match with our product, as we want the best services for our customers.”

From a competitive perspective, Felix said what separates Stamps.com from other players in this space is that there are not many companies that have combined the front end that Stamps.com does on the first mile using USPS in conjunction with something like a wholesale international logistics product.

“On one end, we may compete a little bit with large consolidators but not as much because they don’t focus on the front end as much, with the USPS on the first mile,” he said. “It will be interesting to see if postage software providers and some of our normal competitors handle this, but I am not aware of many solutions like this in the marketplace in the way we have designed it.”