The establishment of the Bulkpost Venture, an arm of the Nigerian Postal Service charged with the responsibility of handling large volume of consignments has reduced the profit margin of private courier companies by 70 percent, Nigeria Communications Week can now reveal.
Bulkpost Ventures which handles consignments such as annual general meeting (AGM) notices, dividend warrants, share/bonus certificates, bank statements, examination slips, religious correspondences, journals, catalogues, among others coming from registrars and company secretaries may have caused serious leakage on private courier operators’ profit as the formation.
Private courier operators are now limited to door-to-door delivery while the Bulkpost covers both door-to-door and street addresses. As courier operators groan under lack of volumes in the present arrangement occasioned by the directive of the Stock Exchange that share proceeds should be paid online to beneficiaries, promoters are exploring other green areas to remain in business.
Bulkpost enjoys a large branch network and economies of scale which no private courier company can match and this offers the organization the competitive advantage during price negotiation compared to that offered by private courier companies. Bulkpost charges N40 for the first 202 grammes of items, 10 percent less than the postage fee for letter post.
Nigeria CommunicationWeek investigations reveal that some courier operators have resolved to partner with Bulkpost in delivering mails to restricted areas at a discount. It was gathered that a consignment that Bulkpost ordinarily charge N40 they charge courier operators N35.
The main objective for establishing the Bulkpost is to ensure that bulk mails are given dedicated and prompt service, accountable as well as enjoy some level of security, from the point of clearing to the point of delivery, thereby making bulk mailing, clearing and processing convenient and cost effective for bulk mailers.
