World Post Day is celebrated annually on 9 October, and it is a good time to reflect on the relevance of a postal service in a fast-changing world. The theme of this year’s World Post Day is “Innovate to recover”.
The SA Post Office faces challenges but it has also achieved a number of milestones during 2021 in the first six months after Ms Nomkhita Mona joined the entity as Group CEO.
In March this year, the SA Post Office and Wish.com entered into a formal agreement where the Post Office was appointed the distributor of all items ordered by South Africans through the Wish.com platform. Wish.com parcel volumes have grown consistently since then.
Wish.com is now considering appointing the SA Post Office as distribution hub for the Southern African region, a role that comes naturally to the South African postal entity. OR Tambo Airport is the point of entry for all air freight into the region and South Africa’s sea ports are the points of entry for most surface freight from overseas.
In April 2021, Mona launched a strategy of going back to basics and a mantra of being obsessed with the customer. The number of international items on hand at the international sorting centre was reduced from 2,1 million in April 2021 to zero.
This was achieved by introducing an extra shift, installing additional computers to clear items and by managers who volunteered to work over weekends to process mail.
The drive to deliver all items on hand continues, and the SA Post Office is encouraging its customers to collect items from their local post office when they receive a collection notice in the mail or an SMS.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown boosted eCommerce as people stayed away from stores. It also brought economic hardship for millions of South Africans, and when the Social Relief of Distress grant (SRD grant) was introduced, Post Offices in South Africa were able to pay out the grant to millions of beneficiaries per month.
In a partnership with the Postbank, the SA Post Office has extended the collection channel for SRD grants to Pick n Pay and Boxer supermarkets.
This reduces queues at post offices and makes it easier to comply with social distancing requirements.
The partnership will soon be extended to more retail chains, including spaza shops so that beneficiaries can transact in their own communities and also boosting the local economy.
More than 3 million motor vehicle licences were renewed at branches of the SA Post Office in the past financial year.
At the end of October 2021, the service will become even more convenient when the SA Post Office introduces an application that vehicle owners can use to renew licences wherever they are, 24/7.
The renewal and payment will be done using the app, and the motorist can then choose to collect the disk from any convenient post office, or have it delivered to an address of their choice. The motor vehicle licence renewal service is currently available in all provinces except the Western Cape, where it will be introduced soon.
Part of the innovation that the SA Post Office is embarking upon, is to introduce a cashless solution to all its branches, for ease of transaction. This will reduce the attractiveness of Post Offices to criminals as there has been a substantial increase in armed robberies and burglaries over the past two years.
The SA Post Office also accepts cards as payment method for all transactions at its branches to reduce cash levels and make payments convenient to its customers.
The SA Post Office together with the Universal Postal Union introduced an improved tracking system. International items are now tracked using the same tracking number from posting right to delivery in South Africa.
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent restriction on economic activities had an effect on the revenue of the SA Post Office. As a result it could only partly service its rental obligations, leading to the temporary closure of some branches.
In May this year, however 27 branches were re-opened and negotiations continue with landlords to reopen more branches wherever possible. In cities where there is an oversupply of post office branches, the SA Post Office is merging some outlets with nearby branches.
In 2021, the SA Post Office remains relevant by leveraging its network of outlets to bring government services to the people in all corners of South Africa, extending eCommerce to all, and by delivering study material and chronic medication to South Africans countrywide.
Extending its services onto electronic platforms helps to ensure that it remains an indispensable part of the South African infrastructure.
Source: Government of South Africa