La Poste and Sodexo extend contract with French Ministry of Defense providing postal services for French armed forces overseas

Paris, February 22, 2017 - Following a public tender, the French Ministry of Defense has once again selected Sodexo and La Poste to provide international postal services for French military services (SPID) for the next four years. Since 2012, both companies have partnered to provide these services, including collection, sorting and delivery of letters and parcels to overseas-based French forces. The unbeatably fast and responsive service during the initial four-year contract was a key factor in the Ministry of Defense's decision to renew the agreement.

SPID is responsible for packing, sorting, transporting and delivering mail to and from French armed forces deployed or stationed abroad, including military bases and French Navy warships in port.

Since 2012, the partnership has tapped into the strengths of both companies; in La Poste's case this means collection, sorting and distributing letters and parcels; in Sodexo's case, this means setting up, operating and managing local post offices located in remote locations that cover ongoing military bases, short-term military assignments and peacekeeping missions. In 2016, SPID delivered 338 tons of mail on behalf of 5,600 military personnel in 11 countries.                                

Backed by four years' experience and a continuous improvement mindset, the La Poste-Sodexo team is in the process of further enhancing its service and customer satisfaction. To better monitor end-user satisfaction, Sodexo will introduce terminals in military post offices abroad to measure what end-users think of service quality. In addition, before starting work, postmen and women will undergo a training course on the importance of their mission. La Poste will equip them with digital readers to scan letters and parcels so that senders and recipients can track deliveries. 

Stéphanie Dupuy Lyon, La Poste Public Sector Director, said: "La Poste is proud to continue this important partnership with the Ministry of Defense. We strive for reliability while maintaining a continuous improvement culture when serving the French armed forces in a variety of military bases and French Navy warships. La Poste plays a core role in bringing French troops closer to their loved ones."  

Yves-André Lagadic, Sodexo Regional Director Africa, said: "Sodexo has a longstanding tradition of providing services to the armed forces. We feel honored to continue our partnership with La Poste for four more years, especially since it fits perfectly with our task to improve quality of life in remote locations and make everyday life better for our clients' employees. We have an especially important role to play with the French forces to maintain communication between military people on foreign assignment and their loved ones. This service is valued highly, even in today's internet age."

About Sodexo

Founded in 1966 in Marseille by Pierre Bellon, Sodexo is global market leader in Quality of Life-enhancing services, which are crucial in individual and organizational performance. Operating in 80 countries, Sodexo serves 75 million consumers each day through its unique combination of On-site Services, Benefits and Rewards Services and Personal and Home Services. Through its more than 100 services, Sodexo provides clients an integrated offering developed over 50 years of experience: from food services, reception, safety, maintenance and cleaning, to facilities and equipment management; from Meal Pass, Gift Pass and Mobility Pass benefits for employees to in-home assistance, child-care centers and concierge services. Sodexo's success and performance are founded on its independence, its sustainable business and financial model and its ability to continuously develop and engage its 425,000 employees throughout the world. Sodexo belongs to the CAC 40 and DJSI stock market Indices.

Sodexo Key figures (as of August 31, 2016)
20.2 billion euro in consolidated revenues
425,000 employees
19th largest employer worldwide
80 countries
75 million consumers served daily
16.6 billion euro market capitalization (as of January 11, 2017)

About Groupe La Poste

A wholly state-owned Société Anonyme (French public limited company), Groupe La Poste operates via five core divisions: Letters-Parcels Services, La Banque Postale, La Poste Network, GeoPost and Digital Services. The Group operates out of 40 countries in four continents. La Poste's 17,000 postal agencies make it France's leading local retail chain serving 1.6 million customers every day. Every year, La Poste delivers 22.9 billion items worldwide six days a week including letters, printed advertising media and parcels. The Group reported 2015 revenues of €23.045 billion (of which 20.8% are from outside France) and had a headcount of almost 260,000 people. Closer and more connected, La Poste is stepping up its digital transformation by offering a range of services hinging on its role as a universal operator for all types of correspondence. In its strategic plan "La Poste 2020: taking on the future", Groupe La Poste has set a challenging target to ramp up growth in its five core divisions and expand into new regions. Accessible to everyone, everywhere, every day, La Poste has customer relations underpinned by people-focus and trust with a view to becoming a premier provider of retail services on a human scale.

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