Emma Okonji
The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has re-emphasized the need for technology innovation among staff in order to enhance customer service delivery in today’s digital world.

Re-emphasising the need for technology innovation in all its processes and services delivery during the 2021 World Post Day celebration, which held at the NIPOST Zonal Headquarters, Ikeja, Lagos at the weekend, NIPOST said technology innovation would enable it improve on its services and also meet customers’ demands and interests, driven by evolving technologies.

General Manager, Courier and Logistics Regulatory Department of NIPOST, Mr. Gideon Dotun Shonde, who delivered the keynote address at the World Post Day and Customer Forum, said like many industries similar to the postal sector, the COVID-19 pandemic acted as an accelerator and has advanced certain trends and needs for creativity, innovative thinking, leading to new product/services for the postal sector.

According to Shonde, “It is this innovativeness of the Posts and their resilience in serving communities, that NIPOST decided to celebrate on the occasion of World Post Day. COVID-19 not only halted much of the international postal sector for significant periods, it also undermined business strategies and plans.

“Against this backdrop, the sector was forced to become creative and develop new ideas and fresh methods to serve customers better. To this effect, new social and economic postal services have sprung up, creative ways of delivering mail has emerged, and e-commerce has prospered in many parts of the world. In many countries and territories, the Posts are also involved in last mile delivery of vaccine, using complex and storage methods, and also offering platforms for booking vaccinations and even providing space for vaccination.”
He said although mail decline has accelerated, there would be some recovery through new products/services innovation, which he said, called for a structural shift in the operations of NIPOST, where all its staff must begin to innovate in line with global technology transformation.

Shonde said intensive innovation in mail processing would be required from all staff, along side continuing automation with increased emphasis on building digital interfaces both with customers and the NIPOST staff.

“The postal sector has been going through waves of change since the onset of the digital economy in the early 1990s and the response to these challenges is clearly established in NIPOST’s increased focus on Delivery innovation; Expansion of consolidated drop points; Increased integration of e-Commerce and mail into a single delivery flow, and Continued innovation in upstream document/data management,” Shonde said.

Zonal Manager at NIPOST, Mrs. Toyin Egbesola, in her opening speech, said in the current digital age, the post has positioned itself as a major player in global e-Commerce, which gave birth to ‘one global network’ approach, thereby making the post an obvious delivery partner for businesses selling online, with the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) business seeking to expand into international market, turning to the Post as an easy and affordable channel for export.

“For big e-Commerce businesses, the Post has also fulfilled its part as the best partner for last-mile delivery service because of the large physical network within countries, down to remote communities. Our e-Commerce haulage/logistics ventures are gradually taking centre stage in business networking, while SMEs constantly take advantage of our competitive rates to deliver goods and services. NIPOST, in it bid to support sustainable development goals by providing rural banking to the unbanked, is currently providing financial services such as Post Cash, and other international fund transfers like Western Union on our counters, ”Egbesola said.