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ICTs, new services and the transformation of the postal sector: Guidelines

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Faced with competition from private operators on the one hand, and faster alternative means of communications on the other, the traditional mail business of most public postal operators is under pressure. Today, product and service diver- sification is needed. As a result, postal operators are searching for new business opportunities, particularly in the financial and logistics sector. Fortunately, there is growing realization among operators that they have to extensively use and lev- erage ICTs to compete with the established players in these sectors.

A significant fact which has emerged from the case studies described in the preceding chapters is that while the success which was achieved was rooted in the inherent strengths of the postal enterprises, their nationwide retail, distribution and delivery network and also the public confidence reposed in them, the ICT-based projects which were implemented in turn enriched these postal enterprises, making it possible for them to improve the quality of their existing services and introduce new value-added services.

While ICTs can be leveraged in many ways to improve effi- ciency and productivity and boost revenues of postal enter- prises, the case studies in this book contain some very inter- esting examples of how ICTs can be leveraged.

Since financial inclusion is considered a key to economic growth, governments in many developing countries are encouraging postal enterprises to use their vast rural network to provide a range of financial services. It is widely acknowl- edged that savings play an important role in stimulating economic growth. India’s Chief economic Adviser, Dr Kaushik Basu, has recently noted that “strong economic growth came to India on the back of high savings in the economy, averag- ing about 38% and expected to cross 40% in the next couple of years”, adding that, “as already discussed regarding east Asian economies, India’s saving and investment rate will be key to its achieving a high rate of growth”. He identified one of the key reasons for the high savings rate as being the rapid expansion of bank branches in the hinterland, making “financial services available to the rural populace”.1 _{The Post’s}

rural network provides a cost-effective option for mobilizing rural savings and extending microcredit to small farmers and traders.

Many postal enterprises in developing countries which do not yet provide banking services are looking forward to doing so because of the decline in their traditional mail business. This resolve has been strengthened by recent success stories with the French Postal Bank and the Kiwi Bank of New Zealand Post (launched in 2002). Postal enterprises which already provide banking and financial services are keen to bring their services to the level of private banks, where the use of ICTs is predominant.

The Banco Postal study demonstrates how Brazil’s rural econ- omy was stimulated by providing the financial services to the “unbanked”. It has also shown that financial inclusion can emerge as a profitable business by leveraging technology to lower costs while increasing the range of services. The instal- lation of cash dispensers or low-cost ATMs in rural branches and automated processing for small loans have lowered the operating costs.

Many governments in the developing and least developed countries are keen to make the benefits of ICTs available, par- ticularly to disadvantaged communities in rural and remote areas. According to a recent OeCD study, since the late 1990s, when the Internet fully arrived on the scene, devel- opment agencies and governments have incorporated ICTs into their network of development policy tools. The OeCD feels it would now be better to regard ICTs “not just as one tool among many, but as a unique technology with a trans- formative potential for development”.2 _{With its vast and}

extensive network of outlets, the Post is usually seen as a natural partner for efforts to bring the development initiatives of governments and international development agencies to disadvantaged communities in rural and remote areas. The Bhutan Post and BotswanaPost studies have shown how the post office network and the ICTs can be combined to benefit both the Post and excluded remote and rural communities. Many postal enterprises are keen to enter e-commerce and Internet shopping sector, since they already have a strong distribution and delivery network, which is critical to the suc- cess of any e-commerce venture. Since efficient distribution is not possible without a proper address, many developing countries that do not have a proper addressing system want to introduce such a system in order to conduct e-commerce ventures and improve the quality of their services. The case studies of Saudi Post, Korea Post and Poste Italiane show how successful such ventures can be.

Although the efforts of the seven postal enterprises in ques- tion were successful, it is important not to underestimate the challenges and difficulties of ICT projects. Here, guidelines for preparing and implementing projects involving the use of ICTs will prove useful to postal enterprises interested in undertak- ing similar projects.

The insights gained from the experience of others can be very useful for initiating new projects. An attempt has been made in this chapter to analyze the projects described, with a view to identifying the critical factors that either contributed to their success or posed serious challenges to their successful execution and operation. On the basis of this experience, guidelines have been prepared for the successful replication of ICT-based projects elsewhere.

1 _{The Indian express (New Delhi), 5 January 2010.}

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