Posta revamps to keep up with rivals, tech changes

Cut-throat competition in the parcel delivery business is slowly pushing the Postal Corporation of Kenya to spruce up its image as it fights for space in a market dominated by technology firms.

Post offices are shedding their old image— long queues of customers waiting to collect money orders, letters or complain about lost parcels — giving way to modern offices equipped with cyber computers, photography studios and have snacks for waiting customers.

The post offices are also used for payment of water and electricity bills, distribution of salaries to security officers and facilitating cash transfers to the disabled.

“Other than moving things across the country, we want to meet the convenience of customers, all at one place,” said John Gisoni, a branch manager at Postal Kenya’s Tom Mboya office.

“It is at this place that we pay money for the disabled too.”

Apart from technology firms that provide Internet and mobile phones, bus companies like Easy Coach, Transline, Guardian and big firms like Nation Courier have entered into cargo and parcel delivery services, betting on pricing to woo customers in a market that PCK enjoyed monopoly.

“Customers have been offered quality services to beat the competition. But most importantly, with these rivalries, distribution is very fast, taking almost one day within the locality,” said George Omondi, a staff at Easy Coach.

Mr Omondi said new contracts still come in each day, some with huge profits than others. During his two-year stay, the highest he has recorded on mailing was Sh150,000, he said.

The cost of transferring a letter ranges from Sh200 to Sh270 across the country. The price range is attributed to the quality of packaging, with innovative one’s attracting higher fees.

A 50-kilogramme parcel from Nairobi to Kisumu will range from Sh1,100 to Sh1,650 with delivery taking a day.

Victor Adwar, a customer at the Huduma Centre says it takes him six hours to receive his paper parcels from Bunyala. He then sends set examination papers back on the same day. His business is entirely dependent on quality and speed at the post offices.

“I have to always keep running, so an efficient delivery system is basic, I cannot travel every day and plan all work. It can be very expensive and tiresome,” he said.

For loyal postal customers, however, the old image of PCK still resonates in the market.

Mr Owen Singei, 46, has retained his postal address for sending seasonal holiday cards to his family in Kisumu.

“Writing letters, sending cards and parcels to loved ones is like capturing moments in a piece of paper, creating visuals that leave smiles on their faces and connecting them to my world, then keeping them for reference,” Mr Singei said.

He says unlike in the past when the sole purpose of a post office was for mailing he is pleased with the upgrade.

“It adds life to the adage that old is gold and memories associated with it,” he says.

Many organisations still have a postal address, besides telephone and email contacts.

A “messenger” is still relevant in collecting and distributing parcels and letters. The persistent investments by new players in the parcel delivery service such as Nation Courier only shows that print messages is part of the future.

The Huduma Centre along Kenyatta Avenue receives an average of 1,200 letters and parcels per day. It rises to 2,500 on seasonal holidays and right before candidates sit in for national exams.

The centre is normally busy, packed with people in need of service. A staff at the centre says that long queues stretch mostly in October and December.

Mr Gisoni says that post offices have improved to serve the public in a bigger way, looking beyond interpersonal communication to employment opportunities and in turn contributing significantly to the GDP.