ISLAMABAD: The government is making Pakistan Post a profit-oriented organisation through reformed agenda and public-private partnership.
They are endeavouring to run the organisation on modern grounds providing fastest services at minimum rates at far flung areas of country and abroad, said an official of Pak Post. At the first step, the post office of G-8 Markaz has been set up as a model post office and soon other post offices would be modernized on the same style, he told APP.
The organisation is focusing on three major points of action which are launch of mobile money transfer, launch of logistic company and rebranding of Pakistan Post, he apprised.
With rise of private courier companies and their synergy with the burgeoning e-commerce industry, it has become an increasingly tough market for postal services.
In addition, smartphones, apps, emails and mobile financial services have also grabbed attention of customers at a large scale. The first point was Mobile Money Solution, he said adding, for which a significant investment has been proposed for existing 3,200 post offices and roughly 9,000 agents.
It includes hardware, software, training of postal human resource staff, advertisement of the new product and connectivity charges. Within 2 years and hopefully a 20% market share, Pakistan Post is looking to earn up to Rs 5 billion in revenue through the mobile money service, he stated.
The private partner would also help the Pakistan Post to rebrand money remittance solution by providing hardware, software, training and advertisement. The local e-commerce market is currently worth around 80-100 million dollars per year and within next few years, it is expecting the number in the billions, the official said.
In contrast, the courier market is worth Rs 30 billion as per Pakistan Post’s estimates. As e-commerce blossoms, so will the courier market and its piece of the pie the company is targeting.
For this purpose, Pakistan Post is aiming to launch a fully owned logistics company in partnership with private sector partners for investment on revenue sharing basis.
An investment of Rs 800 million will be made in areas including GPS enabled trucking fleet, warehouse, distribution channels, Information Technology (IT) and brand recognition. With regard to rebranding Pakistan Post, a much needed do over of Pakistan Post is also part of reform agenda, he said.
It includes development of brand as a centre of technology and convenience as a subsequent upgradation of facilities and appearances will follow along with preparation and adoption of medium and long term postal policies.
With the new reform agenda, Pakistan Post is aiming to double its revenue to Rs 900 million per annum in two financial years. A growth rate of 15 per cent is being targeted in succeeding three years, the official further apprised.
The comprehensive and wide ranging reform plan revealed that the traditional services like postal services have been caught out with emerging e-commerce industry and new players in the market.
