E-tailers prefer Speed Post to deliver to remote areas

MUMBAI: E-commerce companies seem to increasingly prefer India Post for delivery, with the government mass mailer witnessing a 110% growth in booking of consignments in Mumbai in 2015-16 compared to the previous financial year. Revenue has jumped from Rs 13.64 crore to Rs 22.53 crore in the same period.

“Sending a parcel through the post guarantees delivery irrespective of the pin code of the buyer. Private couriers cannot give this assurance as it's not feasible for them to operate in remote areas,“ said E V Rao, director, postal services, Mumbai region. “Our men know their beat well. They can easily track down rooms even in slum colonies where a private courier may not be as successful.“ Khaki-clad postmen have an edge over private courier services when it comes to deliveries in far-flung locations or scarcely populated areas, say officials. Amazon Sellers is the top e-tail customer of the Department of Posts (DoP) in Mumbai.


Over the past year and a half, the DoP has started providing every facility that a private courier service does, such as cash (payment) on delivery (COD), text message alerts and tracking of articles online. Particularly for e-commerce companies, DoP provides a facility to extract raw data relating to their consignments on an hourly basis. This can help them create a database to suit their operations and constantly monitor their consignments.

Last year, an e-commerce hub was launched at Parel with a processing capacity of 35,000 parcels per day.

“A conveyor belt has been installed. Parcels are sorted and scanned automatically. Usually, only major private courier companies can afford having such a system. Nearly Rs 2 crore was spent on renovating the Parel building for housing this facility,“ a senior official said.


E-commerce parcels can be sent either by Speed Post or by Business Post. “Speed Post is the best option if the size of the parcel is less than half a kilogram. Amazon, for instance, sends its parcels by Speed Post as they can be delivered by air unlike Business Post,“ said an official.

In a report tabled in Parliament last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had said that the performance of Speed Post scores over private couriers not only in major cities, but also at the tehsil and village levels.

A study by the CAG in nine different states of the country found that Speed Post has 99% reliability whereas private couriers have 90% reliability.

But certain challenges remain. “Customers have complained of parcels sent through the post taking a number of days to reach them. So, wherever a buyer's address can be easily tracked or is situated in a busy area, we may opt for private couriers. Customers can call up the deliveryman to fix up a convenient time of delivery. This arrangement cannot be had with a postman. But Speed Post is the best option to reach mofussil areas,“ said the promoter of an e-commerce company.