TECHDIGEST- The Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) operational readiness for e-commerce has been made public by the Federal Government, which will help the postal industry in Africa run more smoothly.

On Tuesday in Abuja, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) announced its operational readiness for the e-commerce (ORE-3)- Startup Project workshop for the Africa area. The announcement was made by Prof. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications & Digital Economy.

Pantami, who was represented by Mr. Mainasara Abubakar of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST), said the training was required because the conventional postal business is changing so quickly.

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“The advent of the digital economy and the navigation of consumers’ demand among multiple communication channels are key factors changing the way Postal business is conducted. These, therefore, make innovation a critically important option for business survival and prosperity,” he said.

According to him, digitization has given the postal service sector, a crucial component of infrastructure, a broader dimension. He contends that the post may make a considerable contribution to social and economic advancement, the creation of jobs, and the alleviation of poverty provided that postal reforms implemented by governments are founded on sound financial analysis.

The training was arranged, according to Rt Hon Adepoju Sunday, CEO of NIPOST and Postmaster General of the Federation, to ensure that the African postal administration can compete with other postal organisations around the world. Sunday also expressed appreciation for the help in hosting the training that NIPOST received from the UPU and Pan African Postal Union (PAPU).

According to him: “This workshop evaluates the operational readiness for e-commerce 3 and remuneration by African postal administrations. And to establish the need to take decisions and make policies that will accelerate positive reforms towards ital readiness for e-commerce.” He also said digitalization is changing supply chains and how customers buy online.

“These innovations are fostering considerable changes in posts’ strategic objectives by requiring them to reevaluate their predictability, transparency, security, and efficiency to meet new customer requirements,” he said.

The representative of the DG of UPU, Mr Amadou Amadou said the workshop was borne out of the successful implementation of past regional operational efficiency and e-commerce projects 1 and 2. He said the UPU will implement the operational efficiency and e-commerce project 3 during 2022 – 2025.

“The project aims to assist postal formations in modernizing their operational processes and using available IT standardized tools and last-mile delivery systems to implement functional solutions that meet regulatory and operational requirements.

“In this context, the UPU International Bureau has developed capacity building and technical assistance projects to coordinate and improve the digital capacity and capability of the post. The integrated approach of these projects aims to help postal administrations modernize digital tools and implement digital solutions, which meet e-commerce requirements,” he said.

According to him, successful implementation of the project will contribute to further growth of the e-commerce market by improving their last-mile delivery reliability and providing consumers with increased visibility. “This is achievable through message exchanges and more customer-oriented solutions. The focus of the project will be on improving efficiency and e-commerce development hence the title of the project “Operational Efficiency and E-commerce Development”,” he said.

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TECHDIGEST – Modern developments in the global postal industry show that technology plays a pivotal role in postal services. It acts as an enabler and a driver for better services for consumers. The future impact of emerging technologies and innovations portends more viable growth and positive benefits for postal services and consumers.

Digitalisation disrupted the postal sector by causing a growing decline in the volumes of physical mails and parcels. This is manifest in the continuous downward slide of revenue for postal services since the advent of digital technology.

But in the last three decades, the postal sector has begun evolving to remain functional and relevant, as the traditional economy transits into the digital economy, in which technology is the main driver. The sector recognises the imperative of digital technology as fundamental to all aspects of postal products offer and delivery.

It is responding to these challenges by steadily adopting innovative automation (the automated sorting of and centralisation of parcel and parcel operations) for enhanced productivity, diversification into the provision of data documents and digital services (boosting revenue-generating services), and creation of digital interfaces for seamless connection between customers and the delivery workers.

Automated sorting and centralisation of letter and parcel operations, automated scanning, and sequencing of letter deliveries to street level are important developments in the postal sector.

Driven by the disruptive impact of digital technology, competition, and customer demand, postal services are using advanced and emerging technologies to improve operational efficiency and to offer new products and services.

Those factors have triggered new waves of digital transformation in the postal industry, as many postal services are using innovative technologies like mobile internet and Global Positioning System (GPS), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chips, sensors, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).

It is in recognition of the significant role of technological innovations in contemporary postal services that the Universal Postal Union (UPU) came out with the theme “Innovate to Recover” in celebration of this year’s World Post Day.

Nigeria joined other member countries of the global postal body to mark the 2021 World Post Day with an announcement by the Post Master General of the Federation, Ismail Adebayo Adewusi that the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) is committed to leveraging technology in its service delivery as a service 2021 World Post Day operating in the digital economy.

Adewusi noted that NIPOST has an important role to play in the successful implementation of Nigeria’s digital economy, hence the need for the organisation to embrace technology, diversify its services and reposition itself for quality customer services, to boost revenue generation.

He said: “The global post has this year focused on ways and means of harnessing a better World with improving living standards for humanity after recovering from the clutches of the pandemic. It is a fact that the post is a fundamental instrument to the equality of all citizens. The Post Offices creates free entry and businesses to all ages, classes, races, and religions.

“It has become expeditious for us to operate at the same level wavelength with other internationally recognised service delivery companies.”

“With many postal administrations diversifying and expanding their operations to move sales of their products and services beyond borders, postal services are inventing new means and methods to satisfy the customers.”

From all indications, NIPOST is poised to reinvent itself by fully adopting digital technologies to drive its operations to achieve an optimal level of productivity and efficiency, through the provision of digital customer-centric products and services.

NIPOST has to take advantage of its offices/property spread across the country to provide e-government, e-commerce, and e-financial services to unserved/underserved and excluded populations such as women, the poor, the less educated, and those in the informal economy.

E-commerce stands at the forefront as the driver of innovation in the postal services because competition in the e-commerce market provides positive incentives for all market players, parcel carriers and retailers, and tends to spur the development of new delivery solutions.

To offer sustainable digital postal services, NIPOST needs to rely on its extensive physical network/assets by complementing post offices with digital services to expand its competitive edge and capacity to reach a large proportion of the population.

There is a need for the postal service to forge partnerships with private companies to be agile, share risks, and reduce financial burdens. Apart from offering hope for the postal sector, this agile approach is being used by postal corporations to balance their social impact and financial sustainability.

Government should provide NIPOST with sufficient financial resources to fund full digitalisation projects and deployment of services that meet international standards.

The government needs to recognise NIPOST as a critical part of regional and national digital strategies, especially because the NIPOST network across the country is a tool for advancing digital inclusion.

Considering assurances by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, that the unbundling programme of NIPOST is at the final stage, Nigerians are looking forward to seeing a postal service driven by technology and innovation to deliver quality service that is crucial to communities.

Inyene Ibanga is Managing Editor TechDigest and writes from Wuye District, Abuja.

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