Poste Italiane is one of the main national players in financial and insurance services, with historical activity in delivery,mail and logistics.
By way of the best valorisation of the three main segments in which it operates (mail and parcels, financial services,insurance and managed savings), the Group has adopted an organisational model based on a logic of industrial integration.The unitary and integrated management of the Company ensures the development of synergies and internalcohesion, guaranteeing an unequivocal and coordinated approach to the market. All three business areas revolvearound Client focus and a relationship of trust in the long term with families, enterprises and public administrations,to which it offers a wide range of products and simple and transparent services.
By way of the best valorisation of the three main segments in which it operates (mail and parcels, financial services,insurance and managed savings), the Group has adopted an organisational model based on a logic of industrial integration.The unitary and integrated management of the Company ensures the development of synergies and internalcohesion, guaranteeing an unequivocal and coordinated approach to the market. All three business areas revolvearound Client focus and a relationship of trust in the long term with families, enterprises and public administrations,to which it offers a wide range of products and simple and transparent services.
The customers
Poste Italiane takes care of its customers by offering a range of products and services that meet the requirements of a large number of them. The Group Mission is to become the nation’s comprehensive growth driver, steering individuals, enterprises and the Public Administration towards the new digital economy through offering quality services that are simple, transparent and reliable. Driven by this ambitious objective, Poste Italiane realises products and services suited to a constantly expanding, diversified user base, comprising retail and business customers.
Thanks to its hundred year history as a player in the Italian market, today the Poste Italiane Group is recognised as a market leader by consumers in an increasingly dynamic context under continuous development. This places the Company in a position of advantage for best exploiting new opportunities offered by the market: the growth in supplementary welfare and the insurance market; the rising demand for managed savings (sustained by low interest rates); constant growth of e-commerce and related logistics services; numeric increase of new Italians and senior citizens and segments of interest for the Group.
Poste Italiane places its Customers as the central objective of its quality policies and the listening function as a fundamental process for orientation towards its entire customer base. The achievement of such objectives is also pursued by means of instruments of communication with consumers and rapid, easy settlement of disputes.
In order to improve its service quality offer, in 2017 the Group installed 1,202 new queuing management systems in as many Post Offices (+69% compared to 2016), out of a total of 2,948 Post Offices (23% of the total). This action is part of the “New service user flow management system” project to which Poste Italiane has allocated over 56 million Euros for the three-year period 2015-2017 and which consists in realising a multichannel system capable of the best management of customer flows. The new technology allows the use of different channels for accessing the Post Office, amongst which the Totem for choosing the services, the BancoPosta, Book and Enterprise card reader, digital channels (Apps and website) for booking appointments and scanning the QR Code for collecting mail and parcels in storage. In this way times are shortened regarding the issue and use of the offered services, thus raising the level of customer satisfaction.
Poste Italiane’s commitment to achieve these objectives continued by means of a progressive reallocation of counters for collected undelivered items (namely letters, parcels or other items that could not be delivered to the recipient) at the Post Offices. The migration project concerning undelivered items from the delivery centres to Post Offices is, in fact, aimed at facilitating the collection of such items by the customer with a view to greater proximity of item’s collection point. In 2017 about 12,400 Post Offices were comprehensively enabled for such service, equalling 96% of the total existing Post Offices, with an increase of more than 20% compared to 2016.
Apart from such initiatives, the various digitalisation projects implemented by the Group have considerably contributed to increase the quality of services that Poste Italiane provides to its clients. In particular, thanks to the digital transformation process, the Company counts on improving its customer user experience regarding its own digital properties by offering a simple and unique experience in every interaction with Poste Italiane. The objective is to increasingly facilitate the Customer’s digital engagement, allowing them to make use of Poste Italiane services in the comfort of their home or on the move thanks to the created Apps. Furthermore, it is not only possible to locate Post Offices on a map but also book tickets at the most convenient Post Office for the same day or the next day, consequently reducing waiting times for the customer.
Lastly, the quality of the Universal Postal Services is linked to delivery time targets for national Mail, all fully reached with success in 2017. This is flanked by an improvement in international Mail times compared to the results for 2016.
Apart from the efforts to reduce waiting times, Poste Italiane continued with its commitment to improving customer relations by means of building 106 new “consultancy rooms”. These areas are fully dedicated to managing the relationship with customers and foresee the presence of specialist advisors on specific products (e.g. loan and insurance products).
In terms of customer experience, the Poste Italiane Group has undertaken improvement activities which follow two main paths: bestowing more centrality to the Customer and improving processes. In respect to the first point, up to 2014 customer listening activities were mainly aimed at measuring satisfaction by means of traditional customer satisfaction surveys. In 2015 the Company gave the go ahead for measuring customer experience by introducing a new listening model which represents a detachment with the past. Two new indicators were introduced into the Company: the Net Promoter Score (NPS) for measuring the performance of BancoPosta, Post Communication and Logistics and Poste Vita and the Customer Effort Score (CES) for monitoring the channels through which the services are provided (Post Offices, call centres and web)1. Furthermore, the Group uses different methods according to the particular type of clientele for the surveys useful for building such indicators and for the management of deriving indicators. To be specific, for private users (consumers) and SMEs the surveys concerning the NPS are carried out twice a year by means of telephone interviews, whereas those related to CES are carried out once a year by means of interviews on the spot with people leaving the Post Offices and twice a year through telephone interviews to measure the satisfaction with the service provided by call centres. Listening to the web channel, on the other hand is substantially continuous. From the indications originating from the surveys on this type of customer, a detailed analysis is carried out and a list of priorities is defined that is useful for the Company in its planning of activities aimed at improvement. For Top Customers (Large Customers) involved through annual web surveys, a targeted project was launched; in fact, given the nature of the target it was necessary to guarantee personalised feedback for customers (“close the loop”) about the problems raised during the interviews. In order to guarantee such responses in good time, a dedicated plan was implemented in order to give priority to improvement interventions and coordinate their implementation together with business functions and the service supply channel. After two years of measuring customer experience by means of NPS and CES indicators, Poste Italiane, in concert with the Remunerations Committee and the Board of Directors, decided to include a perceived quality objective in the Management by Objectives (MBO) system 2017, based on the new listening model described hereabove.
In all the sectors in which the Group operates a quality management system was adopted that complies with international standard ISO 9001. In terms of process improvement, since 2016 Poste Italiane introduced a new methodology called Lean Six Sigma. Apart from seeking to improve the processes (cost reduction, heightened quality of services offered to its customers), this system also aims to spread the culture of continuous improvement by means of a progressive acquisition of competencies by the participants to the work team. The key points of this new methodology are:
Poste Italiane established a corporate trust structure in relation to Group Risk Governance in order to implement a supervision system which is separate from the business/operational functions which is also responsible for verifying the effective compliance of operational and commercial process to the service levels declared in the quality and performance indicators.
Thanks to its hundred year history as a player in the Italian market, today the Poste Italiane Group is recognised as a market leader by consumers in an increasingly dynamic context under continuous development. This places the Company in a position of advantage for best exploiting new opportunities offered by the market: the growth in supplementary welfare and the insurance market; the rising demand for managed savings (sustained by low interest rates); constant growth of e-commerce and related logistics services; numeric increase of new Italians and senior citizens and segments of interest for the Group.
Poste Italiane’s offer for families, new Italians, senior citizens and young people
| Segment | Objective | Offered Products |
|---|---|---|
| Families The widest customer group addressed by Poste Italiane with a multitude of products and services dedicated to the needs of the entire family nucleus |
Improve relations to develop product platforms that are already active and accelerate cross-selling |
BancoPosta App, New Current Account, Target Date Funds, Doppio certo, Digital collection of undelivered mail through SPID, “Punto Poste” Network |
| New Italians A population of foreigners now regularly residing in Italy and seeking products and services able to ease the distance from their country of origin |
Confirm the role of main partner in the segment, improving the physical and digital User Experience |
Money Transfer from Post Offices and electronically, Health Service Card, Offer dedicated to data and voice |
| Senior The over 65 age group population looking for solid products, consolidated over time with low risk |
Consolidate the relationship of trust with the Group through a targeted Value Proposition that also includes assistance and monitoring |
Senior Line Policy, Health Services Card, Project Silver, PosteMobile Casa |
| Young people The youngest age group in the population seeking innovative, smart and digital products |
Develop an offer based on service digitalisation and hybridisation of the User Experience (from the Post Office to digital and vice versa) |
PostePay Appe, Salute 2.0, New offer and WowWow App, PosteMobile |
Poste Italiane places its Customers as the central objective of its quality policies and the listening function as a fundamental process for orientation towards its entire customer base. The achievement of such objectives is also pursued by means of instruments of communication with consumers and rapid, easy settlement of disputes.
In order to improve its service quality offer, in 2017 the Group installed 1,202 new queuing management systems in as many Post Offices (+69% compared to 2016), out of a total of 2,948 Post Offices (23% of the total). This action is part of the “New service user flow management system” project to which Poste Italiane has allocated over 56 million Euros for the three-year period 2015-2017 and which consists in realising a multichannel system capable of the best management of customer flows. The new technology allows the use of different channels for accessing the Post Office, amongst which the Totem for choosing the services, the BancoPosta, Book and Enterprise card reader, digital channels (Apps and website) for booking appointments and scanning the QR Code for collecting mail and parcels in storage. In this way times are shortened regarding the issue and use of the offered services, thus raising the level of customer satisfaction.
Poste Italiane’s commitment to achieve these objectives continued by means of a progressive reallocation of counters for collected undelivered items (namely letters, parcels or other items that could not be delivered to the recipient) at the Post Offices. The migration project concerning undelivered items from the delivery centres to Post Offices is, in fact, aimed at facilitating the collection of such items by the customer with a view to greater proximity of item’s collection point. In 2017 about 12,400 Post Offices were comprehensively enabled for such service, equalling 96% of the total existing Post Offices, with an increase of more than 20% compared to 2016.
Apart from such initiatives, the various digitalisation projects implemented by the Group have considerably contributed to increase the quality of services that Poste Italiane provides to its clients. In particular, thanks to the digital transformation process, the Company counts on improving its customer user experience regarding its own digital properties by offering a simple and unique experience in every interaction with Poste Italiane. The objective is to increasingly facilitate the Customer’s digital engagement, allowing them to make use of Poste Italiane services in the comfort of their home or on the move thanks to the created Apps. Furthermore, it is not only possible to locate Post Offices on a map but also book tickets at the most convenient Post Office for the same day or the next day, consequently reducing waiting times for the customer.
Lastly, the quality of the Universal Postal Services is linked to delivery time targets for national Mail, all fully reached with success in 2017. This is flanked by an improvement in international Mail times compared to the results for 2016.
Apart from the efforts to reduce waiting times, Poste Italiane continued with its commitment to improving customer relations by means of building 106 new “consultancy rooms”. These areas are fully dedicated to managing the relationship with customers and foresee the presence of specialist advisors on specific products (e.g. loan and insurance products).
In terms of customer experience, the Poste Italiane Group has undertaken improvement activities which follow two main paths: bestowing more centrality to the Customer and improving processes. In respect to the first point, up to 2014 customer listening activities were mainly aimed at measuring satisfaction by means of traditional customer satisfaction surveys. In 2015 the Company gave the go ahead for measuring customer experience by introducing a new listening model which represents a detachment with the past. Two new indicators were introduced into the Company: the Net Promoter Score (NPS) for measuring the performance of BancoPosta, Post Communication and Logistics and Poste Vita and the Customer Effort Score (CES) for monitoring the channels through which the services are provided (Post Offices, call centres and web)1. Furthermore, the Group uses different methods according to the particular type of clientele for the surveys useful for building such indicators and for the management of deriving indicators. To be specific, for private users (consumers) and SMEs the surveys concerning the NPS are carried out twice a year by means of telephone interviews, whereas those related to CES are carried out once a year by means of interviews on the spot with people leaving the Post Offices and twice a year through telephone interviews to measure the satisfaction with the service provided by call centres. Listening to the web channel, on the other hand is substantially continuous. From the indications originating from the surveys on this type of customer, a detailed analysis is carried out and a list of priorities is defined that is useful for the Company in its planning of activities aimed at improvement. For Top Customers (Large Customers) involved through annual web surveys, a targeted project was launched; in fact, given the nature of the target it was necessary to guarantee personalised feedback for customers (“close the loop”) about the problems raised during the interviews. In order to guarantee such responses in good time, a dedicated plan was implemented in order to give priority to improvement interventions and coordinate their implementation together with business functions and the service supply channel. After two years of measuring customer experience by means of NPS and CES indicators, Poste Italiane, in concert with the Remunerations Committee and the Board of Directors, decided to include a perceived quality objective in the Management by Objectives (MBO) system 2017, based on the new listening model described hereabove.
In all the sectors in which the Group operates a quality management system was adopted that complies with international standard ISO 9001. In terms of process improvement, since 2016 Poste Italiane introduced a new methodology called Lean Six Sigma. Apart from seeking to improve the processes (cost reduction, heightened quality of services offered to its customers), this system also aims to spread the culture of continuous improvement by means of a progressive acquisition of competencies by the participants to the work team. The key points of this new methodology are:
- VOC - the areas of improvement originate from the Customer’s Voice, they fully reflect the desire to place the Customer at the centre of the initiatives;
- data focus - this methodology is based on analysing a large quantity of data and, by means of using statistical tools, it allows the causes at the root of problems to be identified;
- bottom-up approach - this methodology envisages the involvement of people who “work” directly on the process with a bottom-up approach.
| Area | Project | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Private Market | Successions | Reduce times for working through succession documents by lowering non conformities and the number of documents to be presented. |
| IT systems | Help Desk Hardware | Reduce assistance request ticket resolution time to improve the availability of assets. |
| IT systems | Help Desk Software | Reduce assistance request ticket resolution time to improve the efficiency of the assets. |
| Post Communication & Logistics | Tracking | Increase tracking performance to the street number by ensuring that tracking is correct and times are respected |
| Post Communication & Logistics | Undelivered | Reduce the number of “undelivered” Mail (Mail items not delivered due to recipient absence). |
| Post Communication & Logistics | CFSM | Maximise the effective capacity of “Compact Flats Sorting Machines” (CFSM), shortening setup times, small stops, mishandling and work recirculation. |
| Postel | Mass Printing | Reduce process work rejects starting with incoming flow process activities and up to enveloping activities. |
Reduce process work rejects starting with incoming flow process activities and up to enveloping activities.
THE SERVICE QUALITY GUARANTEE
Poste Italiane established a corporate trust structure in relation to Group Risk Governance in order to implement a supervision system which is separate from the business/operational functions which is also responsible for verifying the effective compliance of operational and commercial process to the service levels declared in the quality and performance indicators.
1 The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a management tool used to assess loyalty in an enterprise-Customer relationship whereas the Customer Effort Score (CES) measures Customer satisfaction by analysing how the company quickly and easily solves problems.
The suppliers
In its capacity as a “Public Enterprise” operating in special sectors, Poste Italiane applies the rules of public procedure pursuant to the new Public Contracts Code (Legislative Decree 50 of 18 April 2016), as amended by Legislative Decree 56/2017 so-called “Corrective decree” for the award of contracts intended for “Postal Services” pursuant to art. 120 of such Code. The entry into force of the new regulations which took place for the Corrective Decree on 20 May 2017, required an update of the procedural and regulatory format of purchases as well as tender documents and contractual standards. In November 2017 the Board of Directors of Poste Italiane approved the new Internal Regulation for Works, Services and Supply Contracts Award Procedures and completed the update of its own internal procedures governing the purchase process both related to Tenders subject to the Public Contracts Code, pursuant to such Code, and with regard to tenders excluded from the scope of application of the Code. These procedures constitute, together with the Code where applicable, the main normative governance and compliance measure for awards of Poste Italiane. The Poste Italiane supply chain is characterised by various product categories and by a geographic division of suppliers on the basis of the offered services, also by virtue of the capillarity characterising corporate operations throughout the national territory. Substantially the Group procures from national suppliers, however it also turns to multinationals operating in Italy for some goods/services, above all of a technological nature. For some of the main product categories characterising the Group’s supply chain there is the Poste Italiane List of Suppliers, drawn up in 2006 in order to equip the Group with a group of economic operators having abilities such as to satisfy the requirements requested by Poste Italiane and adopt selection criteria that are certain and transparent in the procedures for purchasing goods, services and works. Award procedures are carried out by means of the “Poste-Procurement” Purchase Portal, a web platform for procurement activities and for managing the List of suppliers.
In order to equip the Group with a range of economic operators having abilities such as to satisfy the requirements requested by Poste Italiane and adopt certain and transparent criteria of selection in the procedures for acquiring goods, services and works, Poste Italiane, in line with the normative in force (art. 134 of the current Public Contracts Code), drew up its own List of Suppliers. The adoption of the List allowed award procedures to be simplified, contextually ensuring homogeneity between the selected subjects in each product range, as well as transparency towards the market.
In particular, all economic operators possessing the requirements can apply to register and qualification can concern both Italian entities and entities from other European countries, third countries and GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) signees.
The List of suppliers is structured into product categories (for example: environmental cleanliness and hygiene, multiservice, ICT) structured, according to complexity, into subcategories and classes. The categories last for three years starting from the date indicated in the notice of establishment referred to the specific product category published in the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union). The qualification activity can be activated by:
The creation and management of the List is governed by the Regulation for the List of Suppliers which regulates the Qualification System in the Supplier’s List and the Regulation of the Qualification System which governs the system and qualification procedure for each single and specific product category. Access to the List of suppliers for each of the product categories can take place at any time by presenting the application enclosing the required documents with reference to the product category of interest.
All suppliers having applied to qualify for the List of suppliers are required to possess, apart from the general requisites (of morality and professional suitability), special requisites of an economic-financial and technical-organisational nature. Moreover, in relations with suppliers of works, services and supplies, Poste Italiane operates according to standard contractual clauses which may be reviewed according to new provisions as well as specific requirements expressed by the internal customer. The adoption of uniform contractual standards thus becomes a necessary method for accelerating the process, shortening contractualization times as much as possible and, more importantly, improving supervision over given topics.
Lastly, among the policies described within its Internal Regulation for works, services and supply contract award procedures, Poste Italiane, pursuant to Law 190/2012 as amended, entitled “Provisions for the prevention and suppression of corruption and unlawfulness in the public administration” periodically publishes information concerning the award procedures identified by the normative of reference and according to the procedures established therein on its institutional website in a sections that is freely consultable by all individuals.
In the first place, the attention paid by Poste Italiane on to the quality of its supply chain is corroborated by means of the provision of clauses to be included in contracts with its suppliers. In particular, the main clauses concern: contributory and remuneration regularity of the supplier; observance of the normative concerning manual labour (Legislative Decree 276/03 as amended, Public Contracts Code); applicability of the Collective Labour Agreements; the absence of breach of the norms on safety at the workplace (Legislative Decree 81/2008 as amended); the absence of environmental offences (Legislative Decree 3 April 2006 no. 152 as amended). Furthermore, other specific measures regarding health and safety were introduced into works contracts, the appraisal and measurement of which are contained in the Safety and Coordination Plans (PSC) and in the specific Operational Safety Plans (POS). Reaffirming the importance attributed by Poste Italiane to the matter of health and safety at the workplace, the Group has established and provided for the possibility to terminate supply contracts in the event that the violation of one or more aspects of the related safety documentation has been ascertained.
Apart from these measures, Poste Italiane has adopted a Suppliers and Partners Code of Conduct which defines ethical-social guidelines with which enterprises participating in the award procedures must comply and, more in general, the suppliers of all the entities of the Poste Italiane Group. This code, which constitutes an integral part of all the supply contracts and conventions stipulated by the Group, is a document which completes and consolidates the principles contained in the laws and regulations on the matter and promotes commercial relations based on negotiation ethics by means of circulating ethical principles and social responsibility in the context of the Company’s supply chain. Through the Code, the Group intends to promote the adoption of ethical standards of conduct by its suppliers, also incentivising the achievement of Certificates of Quality (ISO 9001:2000), Environmental Certificates (ISO 14001), Social Certificates (SA 8000) and certificates related to Worker’s Health and Safety (OHSAS 18001). Moreover, suppliers belonging to certain categories presenting relevant social or environmental risks are required to possess the following certificates, SA 8000 (Social Responsibility), OHSAS 18001 (Health and Safety at the Workplace) and ISO 14001 (Environment). In particular, the implemented Supplier Qualification System foresees, with regard to environmental sustainability, for product categories “Environmental Cleanliness and Hygiene” and “Multiservice”, that the supplier possesses certification for environmental management - ISO 14001 as an excluding requirement for access to the List.
Also envisaged, in the ICT List, is a reward scoring system for suppliers having implemented one or more initiatives aimed at greater corporate sustainability or Green IT strategy. In conclusion, special attention is paid to worksite waste management, requiring specific “Waste Management Plans” with at least 70% of the latter sent for recycling, as well as rewarding the supply of products manufactured from recycled material having a percentage exceeding the minimum fixed by the Ministerial Decrees of reference (CAM). As regard Social Responsibility and in compliance with the norms on the matter of Health and Safety, required by way of a necessary requisite, is the possession of SA 8000 and OHSAS 18001 certificates in order to be registered in the “Environmental Cleanliness and Hygiene”, “Multiservice” and “Works” Lists from class 4-bis upwards. Lastly, with regard to the matter of sustainable management of the supply chain, Green Public Procurement (an approach according to which Public Administrations integrate environmental criteria in all phases of the procurement process) represent a strategic choice for Poste Italiane, inasmuch as they combine sustainability in terms of reducing environmental impacts and costs rationalisation. In particular, art. 34 of the Public Contracts Code (“Sustainability criteria for energy and the environment”) provided – as regards awards of public contracts of any nature and amount – the obligation to include, in design and tender documents, at least the technical specifications and contractual clauses contained in the “Minimum Environmental Criteria” or “CAM” listed in the documents approved for each category of product or service with specific Ministerial Decree. With the objective of reducing the environmental impact of the works, goods and services used, Poste Italiane transposed the criteria provided for in the Green Public Procurement, even earlier than said “corrective” decree came into force. In particular, in its tenders, Poste Italiane transposed, by specific provisions within the specifications and/or specific tender methodologies, the ministerial indications which, as said, establish the minimum criteria for a Tender to be considered as “Green”.
More focus on the activities for the prevention of unlawful events by means of integrated analysis of internal and external information to Poste Italiane, allows the detection of direct and indirect relationships which highlight possible criticalities. Combating fraudulent events is therefore carried out by means of a process of continuous monitoring of the degree of fraud risk and the factors of risk by means of collecting and analysing reports and indices of potential offences, examining processes and the adoption of adequate measures of governance and control that are increasingly stricter for fraud prevention.
Procurement risk supervision represents a priority for the Poste Italiane Group; to this end various actions for consolidating the measures were activated, such as:
CATERING
In relation to catering Services for employees, Poste Italiane, transposing the “Minimum Environmental Criteria” set out by the Decrees of the Ministry of the Environment, rewards the supply of foodstuffs exceeding the minimum quantities prescribed by the CAMs, acquiring sustainable products (BIO, IGP, DOP, sustainable fishing, etc.) in meals provided in corporate canteens present in certain locations (e.g. Headquarters, Cagliari, Mestre, Firenze etc.). Within this context, local suppliers are potentially involved of foodstuffs intended for the canteen and bar, who guarantee certified products. 12 contracts are currently active throughout the nation, of which 10 are “green”. The estimate of average daily users (in tender provisions) is about 3,190 for the canteen and catering and 2,340 for the bar.
WORKS
The List of suppliers for the Works categories, apart from being structured into specific product categories by nature of works (civil and industrial buildings, water and heating stations, plants, etc.) envisages a system for qualifying economic operators according to the type of tender, by regional area or by Territorial Area (corresponding to regions or aggregations of regions) having the primary or secondary seat in the territory of registration or which have executed tenders of a considerable entity. In relation to works contracts, specifically those having as subject matter interventions of a construction-plant nature, characterised by services of modest economic entity to be executed on buildings/sites located throughout the national territory, this system favours the presence of local manual labour as well as the supply of material preferably at zero km, all in order to contain procurement costs, thus optimising the eco-sustainable aspects of the system (shorter times and distances and consequent reduced emission of CO2). Poste Italiane, for the same purpose, uses the system of dividing interventions into lots for the aforementioned contracts, according to geographic areas circumscribed by Metropolitan Area (e.g. Rome, Catania, Palermo, Naples) and/or into two or more provinces. Another example of a localised supply chain is that adopted for works to be carried out in the two major islands of Sardinia and Sicily where calls from the List are only directed to regional suppliers.
CLOTHING
In more recent contracts, for the supply of clothing and footwear particular attention was paid to the “green” requisites of the equipment to be supplied to the delivery workers. Required, in particular, is:
Tender management and the List of Suppliers
In relation to the award procedures fulfilled by Poste Italiane, the trend recorded in recent years highlights a constant and massive recourse to competitive comparisons guaranteeing competitive advantages for the Company and assuring suppliers impartiality, transparency and equal opportunities for collaboration.In order to equip the Group with a range of economic operators having abilities such as to satisfy the requirements requested by Poste Italiane and adopt certain and transparent criteria of selection in the procedures for acquiring goods, services and works, Poste Italiane, in line with the normative in force (art. 134 of the current Public Contracts Code), drew up its own List of Suppliers. The adoption of the List allowed award procedures to be simplified, contextually ensuring homogeneity between the selected subjects in each product range, as well as transparency towards the market.
In particular, all economic operators possessing the requirements can apply to register and qualification can concern both Italian entities and entities from other European countries, third countries and GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) signees.
The List of suppliers is structured into product categories (for example: environmental cleanliness and hygiene, multiservice, ICT) structured, according to complexity, into subcategories and classes. The categories last for three years starting from the date indicated in the notice of establishment referred to the specific product category published in the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union). The qualification activity can be activated by:
- Spontaneous request for qualification by the Economic Operator;
- Renewal of the qualification after the maximum term of validity of a prior qualification.
The creation and management of the List is governed by the Regulation for the List of Suppliers which regulates the Qualification System in the Supplier’s List and the Regulation of the Qualification System which governs the system and qualification procedure for each single and specific product category. Access to the List of suppliers for each of the product categories can take place at any time by presenting the application enclosing the required documents with reference to the product category of interest.
All suppliers having applied to qualify for the List of suppliers are required to possess, apart from the general requisites (of morality and professional suitability), special requisites of an economic-financial and technical-organisational nature. Moreover, in relations with suppliers of works, services and supplies, Poste Italiane operates according to standard contractual clauses which may be reviewed according to new provisions as well as specific requirements expressed by the internal customer. The adoption of uniform contractual standards thus becomes a necessary method for accelerating the process, shortening contractualization times as much as possible and, more importantly, improving supervision over given topics.
Lastly, among the policies described within its Internal Regulation for works, services and supply contract award procedures, Poste Italiane, pursuant to Law 190/2012 as amended, entitled “Provisions for the prevention and suppression of corruption and unlawfulness in the public administration” periodically publishes information concerning the award procedures identified by the normative of reference and according to the procedures established therein on its institutional website in a sections that is freely consultable by all individuals.
Selection according to social and environmental criteria
For some time Poste Italiane has paid particular attention to the social and environmental aspects related to the management of its supply chain. Indeed, the Company is convinced that the development of transparent and long-lasting relations with its suppliers, attention to quality, safety and respect of the environment in the supply chain, observance of the normative in force – including therein the specific regulation on the matter of labour – represent principles that are not only useful for constantly improving the service offered to its clientele but also for pursing an objective of public interest for the entire Country System.In the first place, the attention paid by Poste Italiane on to the quality of its supply chain is corroborated by means of the provision of clauses to be included in contracts with its suppliers. In particular, the main clauses concern: contributory and remuneration regularity of the supplier; observance of the normative concerning manual labour (Legislative Decree 276/03 as amended, Public Contracts Code); applicability of the Collective Labour Agreements; the absence of breach of the norms on safety at the workplace (Legislative Decree 81/2008 as amended); the absence of environmental offences (Legislative Decree 3 April 2006 no. 152 as amended). Furthermore, other specific measures regarding health and safety were introduced into works contracts, the appraisal and measurement of which are contained in the Safety and Coordination Plans (PSC) and in the specific Operational Safety Plans (POS). Reaffirming the importance attributed by Poste Italiane to the matter of health and safety at the workplace, the Group has established and provided for the possibility to terminate supply contracts in the event that the violation of one or more aspects of the related safety documentation has been ascertained.
Apart from these measures, Poste Italiane has adopted a Suppliers and Partners Code of Conduct which defines ethical-social guidelines with which enterprises participating in the award procedures must comply and, more in general, the suppliers of all the entities of the Poste Italiane Group. This code, which constitutes an integral part of all the supply contracts and conventions stipulated by the Group, is a document which completes and consolidates the principles contained in the laws and regulations on the matter and promotes commercial relations based on negotiation ethics by means of circulating ethical principles and social responsibility in the context of the Company’s supply chain. Through the Code, the Group intends to promote the adoption of ethical standards of conduct by its suppliers, also incentivising the achievement of Certificates of Quality (ISO 9001:2000), Environmental Certificates (ISO 14001), Social Certificates (SA 8000) and certificates related to Worker’s Health and Safety (OHSAS 18001). Moreover, suppliers belonging to certain categories presenting relevant social or environmental risks are required to possess the following certificates, SA 8000 (Social Responsibility), OHSAS 18001 (Health and Safety at the Workplace) and ISO 14001 (Environment). In particular, the implemented Supplier Qualification System foresees, with regard to environmental sustainability, for product categories “Environmental Cleanliness and Hygiene” and “Multiservice”, that the supplier possesses certification for environmental management - ISO 14001 as an excluding requirement for access to the List.
Also envisaged, in the ICT List, is a reward scoring system for suppliers having implemented one or more initiatives aimed at greater corporate sustainability or Green IT strategy. In conclusion, special attention is paid to worksite waste management, requiring specific “Waste Management Plans” with at least 70% of the latter sent for recycling, as well as rewarding the supply of products manufactured from recycled material having a percentage exceeding the minimum fixed by the Ministerial Decrees of reference (CAM). As regard Social Responsibility and in compliance with the norms on the matter of Health and Safety, required by way of a necessary requisite, is the possession of SA 8000 and OHSAS 18001 certificates in order to be registered in the “Environmental Cleanliness and Hygiene”, “Multiservice” and “Works” Lists from class 4-bis upwards. Lastly, with regard to the matter of sustainable management of the supply chain, Green Public Procurement (an approach according to which Public Administrations integrate environmental criteria in all phases of the procurement process) represent a strategic choice for Poste Italiane, inasmuch as they combine sustainability in terms of reducing environmental impacts and costs rationalisation. In particular, art. 34 of the Public Contracts Code (“Sustainability criteria for energy and the environment”) provided – as regards awards of public contracts of any nature and amount – the obligation to include, in design and tender documents, at least the technical specifications and contractual clauses contained in the “Minimum Environmental Criteria” or “CAM” listed in the documents approved for each category of product or service with specific Ministerial Decree. With the objective of reducing the environmental impact of the works, goods and services used, Poste Italiane transposed the criteria provided for in the Green Public Procurement, even earlier than said “corrective” decree came into force. In particular, in its tenders, Poste Italiane transposed, by specific provisions within the specifications and/or specific tender methodologies, the ministerial indications which, as said, establish the minimum criteria for a Tender to be considered as “Green”.
ASSESSING THE RELIABILITY AND INTEGRITY OF SUBJECTS/COUNTERPARTIES
In order to identify all the elements of operational and reputational detail required for assessing the reliability and integrity of subjects/counterparties, the Fraud Management Functions performs verifications, assessments and monitoring of subjects and counterparties (corporate, financial and equity analyses on companies and exponents, analysis of existing relations with Poste Italiane). The appraisal of subjects/counterparties has the objective of:- limiting risks deriving from transactions with third parties;
- guaranteeing an adequate rotation of suppliers;
- minimising losses deriving from unenforceable credit.
More focus on the activities for the prevention of unlawful events by means of integrated analysis of internal and external information to Poste Italiane, allows the detection of direct and indirect relationships which highlight possible criticalities. Combating fraudulent events is therefore carried out by means of a process of continuous monitoring of the degree of fraud risk and the factors of risk by means of collecting and analysing reports and indices of potential offences, examining processes and the adoption of adequate measures of governance and control that are increasingly stricter for fraud prevention.
Procurement risk supervision represents a priority for the Poste Italiane Group; to this end various actions for consolidating the measures were activated, such as:
- transparency and collaboration with the Police Force;
- Open and Transparent Contracts portal;
- Supplier Qualification measure;
- update of normative measures such as the “Internal regulation for works, services and supply contract award procedures” approved by the BoD on 9 November 2017;
- Group Procurement consolidation process.
Support of local suppliers
In confirmation of the importance attributed by Poste Italiane to social and environmental aspects of its supply chain, it is possible to highlight some concrete examples linked to environmental sustainability.CATERING
In relation to catering Services for employees, Poste Italiane, transposing the “Minimum Environmental Criteria” set out by the Decrees of the Ministry of the Environment, rewards the supply of foodstuffs exceeding the minimum quantities prescribed by the CAMs, acquiring sustainable products (BIO, IGP, DOP, sustainable fishing, etc.) in meals provided in corporate canteens present in certain locations (e.g. Headquarters, Cagliari, Mestre, Firenze etc.). Within this context, local suppliers are potentially involved of foodstuffs intended for the canteen and bar, who guarantee certified products. 12 contracts are currently active throughout the nation, of which 10 are “green”. The estimate of average daily users (in tender provisions) is about 3,190 for the canteen and catering and 2,340 for the bar.
WORKS
The List of suppliers for the Works categories, apart from being structured into specific product categories by nature of works (civil and industrial buildings, water and heating stations, plants, etc.) envisages a system for qualifying economic operators according to the type of tender, by regional area or by Territorial Area (corresponding to regions or aggregations of regions) having the primary or secondary seat in the territory of registration or which have executed tenders of a considerable entity. In relation to works contracts, specifically those having as subject matter interventions of a construction-plant nature, characterised by services of modest economic entity to be executed on buildings/sites located throughout the national territory, this system favours the presence of local manual labour as well as the supply of material preferably at zero km, all in order to contain procurement costs, thus optimising the eco-sustainable aspects of the system (shorter times and distances and consequent reduced emission of CO2). Poste Italiane, for the same purpose, uses the system of dividing interventions into lots for the aforementioned contracts, according to geographic areas circumscribed by Metropolitan Area (e.g. Rome, Catania, Palermo, Naples) and/or into two or more provinces. Another example of a localised supply chain is that adopted for works to be carried out in the two major islands of Sardinia and Sicily where calls from the List are only directed to regional suppliers.
CLOTHING
In more recent contracts, for the supply of clothing and footwear particular attention was paid to the “green” requisites of the equipment to be supplied to the delivery workers. Required, in particular, is:
- for footwear (80,000 pieces) as a requirement of the offered product “recyclability of external packaging”;
- for postman/women uniforms (46,000 uniforms) that the fabric used for packaging bears the Oeko-tex or Ecolabel certificate. This certificate guarantees that the packaging process of such fabric does not contain/release substances harmful to human health and certifies products characterised by a reduced environmental impact.
