India Post to revive its fortunes by tapping e-comm; Plans to tie-up with flipkart

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

The era of Internet would have upset the fortunes of India Post but
the postal department in Tamil Nadu circle is trying to use the
technology to its favour by making inroads in the e-commerce as well
as financial segment.

Chief Postmaster General of Tamil Nadu circle T Murthy while talking
to Express about the Postal Week celebrations from October 9-16, said
that the postal department which is in red is vying to have a major
presence in the e-commerce segment. “We already have a tie-up with
Amazon.com besides online supermarket in Chennai and currently are
negotiating for a tie-up with flipkart.com,” Murthy said.

Currently, we are delivering around 50,000 parcels from the
supermarket chain alone besides 5,000 from Amazon.com, said Murthy.

He says India Post plans to have a tie-up with flipkart.com is in
advanced stage. “We have heard through reports that they are opening
godowns here in Chenna,” he said.

Through the tie-up with e-commerce firms, we will deliver their
products to every nook and corner of the state as we have a vast
network which none in India has, he says. “Usually, the transaction is
cash on delivery and supply the customer of the online firm with the
product,” he says.

Interestingly, India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is
growing at an estimated 8–10 per cent. Electronics and Apparel are the
biggest categories in terms of sales.

The postal department is also planning to have a net connectivity in
all its post-offices located in nook and corner of Tamil Nadu. “This
likely by the end of the financial year,” said Murthy.

He says currently the Tamil Nadu circle is facing a loss of 30 per
cent as its market is eaten away due to internet revolution.
Interestingly, the postal department is planning to capitalize on its
vast infrastructure by investing Rs 5,000 crore in core banking
services and other financial services, he said.