Professional Services in relation to the Strategic Review and Recommendation on United Nation Postal Administration (UNPA) Revenue Generating Capability and Changes to the Operations

The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) is the postal agency of the United Nations. It is the only organization in the world, which is neither a country nor a territory that is permitted to issue postage stamps. UNPA has 3 main offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna, and a liaison office in Beijing. It is the only postal authority that issues stamps in three different currencies, namely, United States dollars, Swiss franc and Euro. Its mandates are to disseminate information on the activities and achievements of the United Nations and its specialized agencies through the medium of postage stamps, as well as to generate revenue for the Organization. UNPA processes around 30,000 orders per year, which translate to a total sale figure of approximately US$ 3 to 4 million annually.

For the past 15 years, sale of the United Nations stamps have been declining and the UNPA kept downsizing its operations to ensure that revenue earned covers its operating costs. UNPA has tried to issue stamps with designs that will attract younger customers as well as the UN Crypto Stamps to expand its pool of stamp collectors, but these have not generated sufficient increase in income. Therefore, the UNPA would like to assess the possibility of engaging a commericial vendor to help evaluate its products, operations and revenue generating capabilities, and recommend changes so that it could revise itself to be profitable again.