Post

Digital disruption has changed post forever

Postal markets are changing dramatically as a result of market liberalisation, increasing e-commerce and changing consumer demand for more delivery options. Incumbent operators and new entrants are re-inventing business models in response.

What our clients say

We are able to explain our complex necessities to Frontier and you don’t do just a consultancy work, you are proactive and creative to give us solutions we haven’t thought about before, you make us reflect on certain points of view that we had not seen before.

Alberto Alonso Poza

CFO, Correos

Providing first-class support

We advise operators, regulators and policy makers across Europe. Our clients need not just industry expertise, but a deep understanding of market dynamics in a largely regulated industry.

Our expertise includes:

Customer behaviour and demand for postal and parcel services
Financing universal service obligations
Pricing and price regulation
Competition policy and analysis
Benchmarking and cost efficiency
Cost and profit analysis
Regulatory due diligence
Quality of services
Market analysis

Universal Service

Market liberalisation and the decline in letter volumes place great strain on how universal postal service obligations can be paid for.

We assist operators and regulators on all aspects of providing a universal service.

Our services include:

calculating the cost of the universal service obligation and changes to it;
evaluating the intangible benefits of universal service;
defining approaches to make an unfair financial burden determination;
evaluating the impact of the universal service obligation on competition and the implications for market entry policy;
quantifying the distributional impact of universal service policy changes on customers;
defining features of universal compensation funds; and
determining state aid.

Making regulation work

Even though markets have been liberalised regulation is still important. The regulatory and competition policy frameworks must be consistent to avoid distorting incentives.

We advise postal operators and regulators on shaping regulatory policy. We help companies identify and commit to sustainable business strategies and help regulators determine the potential for operators to make efficiency savings. Our strong sector experience helps us interpret regulatory frameworks and advise companies on the strategies they should adopt.

Our advice covers:

Devising and designing regulatory policy and frameworks
Modelling the impact of policy decisions
Price reviews and benchmarking
Financial analysis and cost modelling
Market structure and competitive dynamics

Winning at competition

Competition assessments form the basis of many regulatory decisions. They are also increasingly important in a liberalised environment with new entrants challenging existing providers.

Working with our dedicated Competition practice our postal team advise market players and governments on competition issues at EC and national level. We are expert in producing reports, giving evidence, and also in pre-empting competition issues before they become problems.

We advise on:

Market definition and market power
Mergers and acquisitions
Anti-competitive practices
State aid

See more of our competition work here.

First Class regulation

Showing a regulator how insurgents and incumbents might react to a change in wholesale policy

We used a model never used in postal services before to frame how markets and customers would behave. The regulator used this evidence to support its policy decision as it tries to lower retail prices for consumers.

Read the case study