Mumbai, March 16:
As tier-II and III cities in India
open up more to electronic retailing, India Post wants to exploit this
opportunity by providing e-commerce players last mile connectivity to
their customers.
India Post (also known as Department
of Posts) wants to restructure/re-build its parcel network, operations
and delivery set up to meet the needs of e-commerce players to cater to
their need for transportation and delivery of parcels/packets.
The
Department, which comes under the administrative control of the
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, has 1,39,086 post
offices in its network. These post offices provide the last mile
delivery link for parcels by reaching out to customers at their
doorsteps.
With the help of a consultant, the
Department, according to its project document, will examine its existing
network in terms of its utility/relevance vis-à-vis the new business
opportunities (e-commerce) and emerging clientele and how to make it
more effective.
This move comes as e-commerce driven
transportation and delivery of parcels and packets is emerging as the
new growth engine for the courier, express and parcel market the world
over and India.
The network building/optimisation
exercise for parcels will enable India Post to improve quality of
service, helping it to tap the opportunities offered by e-commerce.
According
to its Book of Information, India Post’s parcel product, including
speed post and express parcel post, traffic saw a 43 per cent jump in
2011-12 to 40 crore against 28 crore in the previous year.
According
to industry body Assocham, India’s e-commerce market increased from
about $2.5 billion in 2009 to $16 billion in 2013 and is expected to
touch $56 billion by 2023.
(This article was published on March 16, 2014)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com
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