The Last Mile in the New Digitalized Era and the Postal Sector as a Natural Monopoly

Dandoulaki Panagiota ()
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Dandoulaki Panagiota: Panhellenic Federation of Postal Associations

A chapter in Postal Strategies in a Digital and Green Transition, 2026, pp 139-150 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The postal sector contributes significantly to the EU economy, measured by the number of employees, the revenue of postal operators and the contribution of the sector to a country’s GDP. This crucial role is also highlighted by the latest EU Postal Directive 2008/6/EC (the so-called 3rd Postal Directive), which states that the postal market is an indispensable means of communication and data exchange, crucial for trade and social cohesion. In recent years, the last mile of delivery has been at the heart of logistics operations due to the rise of online shopping and the rapid development of digital platforms, such as Amazon. Traditional postal services are facing increasing financial pressure, especially in terms of fulfilling universal service obligations for letter delivery. Through a theoretical review of the field and a conceptual perspective, we attempt to address the last mile, while shedding light on today’s postal reality and involving terms such as ‘monopoly’, ‘platform economy’, and ‘digitalization’.

Keywords: Last mile; Digitalization; Platform economy; Postal sector; Natural monopoly (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:topchp:978-3-032-00502-1_10

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-00502-1_10

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