Finance
E-Commerce E-commerce to reach remote villages through post offices
Dhaka, March 6: There are 9,500 post offices in the country and there are more than 40,000 manpower in the postal department. There are 14 mail processing centers, own transportation system across the country, and 6,000 post e-centers. The government has taken initiative to set up e-commerce booths in each of these post offices.
If this initiative is successful, it will be possible to reach e-commerce services in remote areas of the country by using post offices as e-commerce delivery points. And such a proposal has been given to the post office by the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB).
Agreeing with a large part of the proposal, stakeholders plan to expand e-commerce across the country.
Earlier, Post Office (Department of Posts) and e-CAB have worked together to expand e-commerce. However, an e-commerce cell has been formed since the inception of e-commerce in the postal department.
The joint venture of the two organizations includes training of about one and a half thousand manpower in 750 post e-centers, providing smartphones with e-post app in 64 district post offices, issuing more than 3 lakh e-commerce products from Dhaka GPO in the last 3 years, 21 e-commerce Performing contract with the organization, performing technical integration of e-post software with EMTS service of postal department. As a result, e-commerce is not at all unfamiliar with the post office. On the contrary, successful entry of e-commerce is happening in the post office day by day.
At present, e-commerce products are being issued from the main post offices of 64 districts. Products are being delivered in remote areas.
It is learned that in December 2016, the post office launched e-commerce delivery service. In 2016, e-commerce delivery service was launched in 21 post offices of Dhaka city on a pilot basis. Later, e-commerce delivery services were gradually extended to post offices in all upazilas of the country.
In 2016, the post office delivered an average of 10 deliveries per day, in 2017 it delivered 20. In 2018, this number was an average of 400 per day. In 2019, this number was increased to 1,200. In 2020, it stood at 1,500. The year 2021 has started with an average of 500 e-commerce per day.
Asked about this, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar told Bangla Tribune, "We have been working for a long time for the expansion of digital commerce and e-commerce. We are also working with e-cabs. We have a good understanding with e-cabs. There is no alternative to the post office when it comes to delivering goods to the villagers through e-commerce. We have more than 9,000 post offices. We also have the same number of entrepreneurs. As a result, it is possible to take e-commerce to remote areas through post offices."
