The UPU is an inter-governmental organization and was the first-ever forum created to facilitate cooperation between governments, actors, and stakeholders within the global postal sector. Today, the UPU is known for being one of the oldest international organizations in the world, which continues to develop international postal service harmony for over 190 countries.

The UPU was established as before its founding, countries had to go through long, difficult negotiations to agree on how mail should be handled and delivered in their respective countries. Often, due to a lack of agreements, mail had to go through an intermediatory country, making the delivery of mail very complicated. As the world becomes increasingly interlinked, these processes became even more complex and there was a need for an independent regulatory body that could make the process smoother. Also, there was a need for multi-country agreements to open up postal services universally.

Therefore, the UPU was established in 1874 and today has its headquarters located in, Berne, the capital of Switzerland. However, it is a truly global organization, which works to maintain a universal postal network, as well as continue to establish common rules for international mail exchange between its members, whilst improving the quality of service for postal customers.

The UPU consists of some 192 members, each of which represents one country, with the organization being the mediatory forum for cooperation between postal sector players. Its role acts to solidify a universal network of up-to-date postal services which harness the rapidly evolving technology and digital advancements in the sector.

The organization acts in an advisory role, liaising between members and provides technical assistance where it is required. The UPU establishes the rules for international mail exchange and makes recommendations (such as the successful EMS postal development) which it believes will be a catalyst for growth in package/mail delivery and financial services.

The UPU does not handle mail themselves, instead, they are an international organization that helps develop the postal industry. Sometimes the UPU is mistaken for a postal service or courier, such as USPS or UPS. Although it works with these parcel delivery companies, as well as other national postal services, international organizations, and governments, it does not handle any mail itself.

The UPU's work is to keep up to date with what is a rapidly developing communications market and postal services industry. With digital now dominating communication, postal operators are having to continue to adapt to continue to service stakeholders. This means constantly developing new products and services to meet rising expectations in an ever more competitive sector.

An example of how the UPU is helping support global initiatives is through its founding partnership of the eTrade for All initiative with UNCTAD. The UPU also continues to support the introduction and application of e-commerce strategy between the relevant stakeholders, but also while ensuring postal services are a key delivery partner.

One of the most well-known eCommerce and postal partnership developments is through the Express Mail Service (EMS) which is an international postal service. It is now offered by many national postal services, such as the China Postand Japan Post, among others.

All EMS and normal parcels delivered, whether by national postal services or private couriers, can be tracked through the Ship24 universal tracking tool on their website. Simply copy and paste your parcel tracking number into the website for multi-courier, superior tracking capability.