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Failure to supply postal and courier services

Postal services can be divided into two segments: 

  • Mail: the authorities designate an operator to provide the universal postal service. In Belgium, this is Bpost. This operator has the largest market share in this segment.  
  • Parcels: for this type of mail, there are (in addition to Bpost) various delivery services, ranging from global companies specialising in express deliveries to bike couriers specialising in sustainable local deliveries.  

A failure may occur if there are problems in the logistics chain, which can lead to delays in the delivery of mail and parcels. 

Causes

Consequences

What can you do?  

Is there a major failure? Follow the information channels of Bpost or your delivery service for the latest information.  

Impact and probability 

The figures relating to probability and impact describe a [significant | large-scale | extreme] failure of the postal services. The BNRA theoretically describes such a scenario as follows: 

  • A failure results in 1 million parcels being delayed in a week.  
  • The failure is limited to a city or region.  

How should you interpret these results? 

Within the BNRA, experts assessed three scenarios for each risk: considerable, major or extreme. On each page, you will find the results of the scenario with the highest score based on the combination of likelihood and impact. This does not mean that this scenario will occur or is the most likely. Read more here about how to correctly interpret the results. 

Probability

Very strong

Human impact

Very weak

Societal impact

No impact

Environmental impact

No impact

Financial impact

No impact

What do the authorities do? 

The Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) is responsible for overseeing postal services in Belgium. The main postal operators have obligations in terms of risk control, and they have to implement adequate security measures. In the event of an incident, the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) and BIPT can monitor the implementation of these security measures, and even impose them if necessary.