Post PNG is the official postal service of Papua New Guinea. We lift the lid on market diversification and the company’s burgeoning logistics division.
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
The postal service is the original lifeblood of communication across the globe.
In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the country’s postal service, Post PNG, has been connecting the island both domestically and internationally for decades. The service operates as a wholly state-owned enterprise (SOE), managed under the Kumul Consolidated Holdings portfolio.
In the world’s third-largest island country, one reputed for its topographical diversity and an unreliable transportation infrastructure that can make remote areas hard to reach, Post PNG has an ambitious remit to cover. Nevertheless, with over 40 individual Post Office branches spanning the nation, 400 employees, and an ever-developing transport fleet consisting of more than 70 vehicles, Post PNG has established a wide-reaching and robust network. Strategically positioned to best serve the country’s needs as the largest domestic network in PNG, the service can cover all districts and remote areas.
Unwaveringly committed to serving the needs of customers and potential clients, Post PNG offers a gamut of services. This ranges from traditional postage to e-commerce and financial services to cater to ever changing market needs. In addition, Post PNG now boasts several strategic business lines to complement its strengths, including Post Logistics and Post Shop (Retail).
GROWING LOGISTICS
Post PNG is currently pursuing a significant expansion strategy, within which its separate logistics unit is a major area of focus.
Under the ‘Post Logistics’ brand name, Post PNG is growing its large domestic network of nationwide sites. This has also included improving fleet functions from previous Express Mail Services (EMS) to adopt more of a focus on large-scale operations.
Through both an upgraded capacity and the formation of strategic domestic and international alliances, Post Logistics has come to distinguish itself with a competitive edge as a freight forwarder of choice. To do this, Post Logistics relies on its global freight forwarding business partners DB Schenker and ANL Logistics. Thereby, the company can collect FCL/LCL cargoes from a client’s warehouse in any international port, assist with the necessary documentation, and then ship the goods on to the next available vessel directly into Port Moresby or Lae Ports.
As a reflection of this growing importance, Post Logistics alone now accounts for over 45 percent of Post PNG’s total revenue. Consequently, the unit is justified as a paramount segment for continued investment and improvement to guarantee the company’s success.
At present, this division facilitates daily air freights to and from the major centres within PNG, in addition to providing customs clearance services using its team of in-house customs brokers and highly trained staff to handle export/import documentation, including for dangerous goods.
In terms of internal freight forwarding, freights can be collected and transported between ports, with delivery all the way up to the customer’s doorstep.
For customs clearance services, Post PNG can accommodate import or export clearance at any declared port within PNG. The company boasts its own registered customs agent, customs compilers and shipping clerks to guarantee that clients’ imports are well-documented and lodged for pre-customs clearances. Through the attention of this professional team, Post PNG ensures that its clients avoid the unnecessary cost and hassle involved in engaging private brokers or agents.
With a well-established and comprehensive delivery and pick-up network, Post PNG also offers cartage services through a reliable and sustained transport model that is able to respond quickly subject to demand. Through this, the company can transport both 20- and 40-foot containers (FCL or LCL), break bulk and LCL cargoes, and heavy machinery.
Finally, the Metro Delivery Service is an essential part of operational efficiency. Due to congested traffic within city limits, cost-cutting measures and continuous emphasis on time management across all industries, Post Logistics is contemplating the “Door to Door Metro Package Delivery” service for its valued and potential customers, in its focus to drive innovation through tailored logistics. The Door-to-Door Metro Package Delivery entails the pickup and delivery of small and lightweight items such as small parcels, documents, and samples within 24-to-48-hour delivery standards.
INVESTMENT AND IMPROVEMENT
In addition to expansion, Post PNG is continually occupied with upgrading and investing in its facilities and modes of operation. This includes the acquisition of a new fleet of vehicles, two new warehouses, and the opening of two new offices in provinces not yet covered.
All this progress is designed with customer convenience in mind. This is also evidenced by the company’s recent foray into e-commerce, and the launch of its new ‘Parcel Locker Express’ model. By installing convenient, secure, and easy-to-use lockers, Post PNG offers its customers the chance to drop off and pick-up at any time, retrieving their deliveries with a unique SMS code.
This is just one example of Post PNG’s agile diversification in order to best cater to the modern market, as it looks beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar model and embraces both globalisation and digitalisation, as witnessed by its development of e-commerce.
Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Post PNG observed an increase in the number of parcels from abroad as a result of cross-border transactions including the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in domestic e-commerce or social commerce.
Also, due to improvements in broadband services supported by the newly introduced submarine cable project in PNG, the digital divide is finally being breached. The high-tech Parcel Express system represents the first of its kind in the Pacific region, aside from Australia and New Zealand.
With ever-expanding strengths and capabilities, Post PNG continues to move with the times in serving PNG’s needs.
