With letter volumes plunging, Post PNG is focusing on parcels and leveraging its strong national retail presence. Chief Executive Officer Peter Tepure tells Business Advantage PNG that the company’s new business strategy is built upon playing to its strengths.

Post PNG’s Peter Tepure

National postal services around the world are having to adapt in the face of digital disruption, with the volume of letters sent globally between 2008 and 2016 falling by around 50 per cent, says CEO, Peter Tepure, who was appointed in early 2017.

Although Papua New Guinea’s postal market has some unique characteristics, the challenge facing Post PNG is no different.

‘Post PNG’s geographical coverage is unique in PNG. We have a domestic logistics network of 39 locations, including every province except the two new ones. In nearly all cases these are staffed by our own people, not agents.’

Logistics

Tepure says there is a new approach to logistics.

A new fleet of vehicles was purchased as part of a recent upgrade of the entire network (encompassing air, sea and road) aimed at better meeting the needs of the corporate sector as well as the shift in demand from letters to parcels.

Its traditional domestic courier service, Express Mail Service (EMS), has been rebranded Post Logistics.

Besides customers in the corporate sector—including Ela Motors and CPL Group—major clients include the Bank of PNG, the Department of Education and State Owned Entities (SOEs).

Private residences in PNG do not have street numbers, so Post PNG can’t deliver door-to-door. Instead, it either delivers door-to-door to business addresses (via the name of the business and street) or to PO Boxes.

Potential

The next stage of Post PNG’s business plan involves maximising the potential of its post office network by transforming each one from a mail centre to a one-stop shop for a range of retail transactions. These would include utility bills payable to other state-owned enterprises, as well as e-commerce.

‘Most people in PNG do not have a credit card, so how can they buy something online?’ asks Tepure. ‘We plan to give our customers the chance to go into a post office and make the online purchase on the spot. They can then return to the same branch later to collect the goods.’

This strategy is likely to work especially well in more remote areas of the country that have limited retail options.

While Post PNG already offers a service for domestic remittances, it is also hoping to partner with other international money remittance institutions to drive more foot traffic through its post offices.