Department of Posts to tie up with retail chains, e-commerce platforms for parcel delivery

After its successful partnership with Amazon, the Department of Posts is now looking to collaborate with major retail chains and more e-commerce platforms to facilitate parcel delivery across the country.

On an average, nearly 81,000 parcels are booked every month in the department’s Chennai City Region (CCR) in speed and business parcel category.

In a bid to enhance parcel transmission, the department is planning to introduce same day delivery and one-time password delivery method on a pilot basis in one or two months.

G. Natarajan, Postmaster General, CCR, said the department had already partnered with small-scale retailers and entrepreneurs to deliver parcels, even to international destinations.

“We are looking to expand postal services to major retail chains, and leverage the vast network of 1.64 lakh post offices spread across the country for better logistics support,” he said.

The department recently collaborated with Annachy, the e-commerce platform of Saravana Stores, to provide parcel service across India, particularly rural and remote pockets. Such partnerships would help bridge the digital divide and enable inclusive e-commerce growth, officials said.

Nearly 10,872 parcels booked through the e-commerce platform have been delivered across Tamil Nadu and various other States. Initially, the plan is to tie up with retailers and e-commerce platforms in Chennai. The facility would later be expanded to other places.

Tailored solutions

The postal department provided various customer-centric solutions tailored for e-commerce businesses, including credit facility, pick-up services and consignment tracking using application programming interface. “We update the consignment tracking facility four times a day on the portal,” Mr. Natarajan said.

A grievance redress mechanism has been set up to resolve delivery-related issues.