The number of letters sent through postal services has dropped. Photo/FILE
A UK consulting firm wants the Postal Corporation of Kenya to undergo a vigorous restructuring process aimed at getting on board a “younger, energetic talent” that can refine the agency to relevance in a competitive market.
IBM Corporate Service Corps says in a report that PCK should also tap into new business opportunities such as offering government and banking agency services to boost its earnings.
The firm said PCK should take advantage of its 700 outlets and partner with other government agencies to offer services such as motor vehicle registration, passport and personal identification numbers (PIN).
The consulting firm was hired to find ways of making PCK competitive in the digital era.
John Fredette of IBM said the corporation is in a position to bring banking services to a place people know and trust – their local Post office.
“As PCK improves existing services and adds new offerings such as financial and government services – it will create improved access, speed and efficiency for Kenyan citizens – which will benefit the government as well,” Mr Fredette said.
The report noted that one of the current challenges Kenyans are facing is accessing government services – with long processes and requirements for in-person transactions at public offices.
PCK is facing stiff competition from Internet with statistics by Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) indicating that the number of letters sent by courier services in 2009 declined by 35.7 per cent from 113,781 letters during the previous quarter to 73,162 this quarter 2010.
During the period under review the number of letters sent using postal services were recorded at 23 million down from 25 million letters posted the previous period.
This represented a decline of 9.7 per cent.
“This trend is indicative of the impact of increased penetration of Internet services on postal services,” read the report from CCK.
Instant messaging, PDFs and e-mails as well as growth in Internet usage has reduced the need for letter writing, denting PCK revenue.
Dwindling revenue
To reverse its dwindling revenue, the report recommends that PCK has to consider establishing an executive level sales management team focused on new offerings, and implementing stricter accountability throughout organisation.
The parastatal has a market share estimated at between 40 and 50 per cent yet it enjoyed monopoly status 13 years ago before the liberalisation of the telecoms and communication market in 1998.
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