Speed Post A study

Background Service started in 1986 Provides EMS service within the country and to 97 international destinations Time bound delivery and competitive tariff structure Exclusive routing pattern for quicker handling Includes incentives for bulk mailers and corporate customers Provides online tracking of consignments Service started in 1986 Provides EMS service within the country and to 97 international destinations Time bound delivery and competitive tariff structure Exclusive routing pattern for quicker handling Includes incentives for bulk mailers and corporate customers Provides online tracking of consignments

The Speed post network Comprise the following NSPCs, State SPCs, Extension counters, nodal delivery centres NSPCs are placed on national network and exchange direct bags State SPCs operate within the circle to exchange articles and move articles for other circles to nearest NSPCs Extension counters include POs, MBCs, Sorting offices that function as linked office to a SPC – SPAs booked here are consigned to SPC for further handling Nodal delivery centres, identified at vantage locations, speedup delivery mechanism by reaching the last point quickly

Tariff structure Tariff based on weight and distance Service tax and education cess to be added to the base tariff and rounded to nearest rupee Distance calculation – Least of the following – Distance by air or rail Weight range – Upto 50 gms – 51 to 200 gms – 201 to 500 gms – Beyond 500 gms tariff is for every unit of 500 gms – Maximum weight 35 kgs Tariff based on weight and distance Service tax and education cess to be added to the base tariff and rounded to nearest rupee Distance calculation – Least of the following – Distance by air or rail Weight range – Upto 50 gms – 51 to 200 gms – 201 to 500 gms – Beyond 500 gms tariff is for every unit of 500 gms – Maximum weight 35 kgs

Tariff structure cont’d Distance – Local (localities served by all town delivery POs within the city) – Upto 200 kms – 201 – 1000 kms – 1001 – 2000 kms – Above 2000 kms Distance – Local (localities served by all town delivery POs within the city) – Upto 200 kms – 201 – 1000 kms – 1001 – 2000 kms – Above 2000 kms

Exercise 1

Front office operations Booking speed post and express parcel articles from walk in customers through Point of sale Servicing customers – enquiries, tracking, addressing grievancesFacilities required : - A counter module with a workstation installed with Point of sale client connected to server over LAN A weighing scale (letter scale) connected to workstation A scanner (barcode reader) connected to workstation 80 col dot matrix printer to print receipts A parcel scale capable of weighing upto 35 kg Preferably, a remote barcode scanner to scan heavy items

Back office operations – Collection and Despatch Speednet software is used to support the data entry process Collecting articles booked in Point of sale of own office through virtual scanning Uploading data of articles booked in linked offices and collecting articles as they come in Collecting articles from bulk and BNPL customers in one of the following methods – Through individual data entry – Collection without data pending data entry later – Collection with data in excel files Speednet software is used to support the data entry process Collecting articles booked in Point of sale of own office through virtual scanning Uploading data of articles booked in linked offices and collecting articles as they come in Collecting articles from bulk and BNPL customers in one of the following methods – Through individual data entry – Collection without data pending data entry later – Collection with data in excel files

Article movement through the network – at the booking point Article data Legends: Data movement from office to Central server(in speednet) Data movement from central server to office(in speednet) Physical movement of articles and bags Bag data Booking SPC Walk in customers Bulk mailers Extension counters Article inflow Bagged to TMO TMO To Destination Speednet Central Server Article and bag data Bag data SP bags

Bags from carriers Article movement through the network – At delivery point Delivery SPC Delivery data Bags despatched data Bags received data Bagged to SPC Destination TMO Issued to beats Speednet Central Server Bag and article data Sent to other offices with speednet Sent to linked offices without speednet and delivery info updated

Users of data Customers track movement through our site or does SMS tracking Management tracks stage-by-stage movement for mail planning or investigation Management also follows the MIS Program office compares actuals with KPIs to measure performance Customers track movement through our site or does SMS tracking Management tracks stage-by-stage movement for mail planning or investigation Management also follows the MIS Program office compares actuals with KPIs to measure performance

Back office operations – Receipt and delivery Receipt of bags from various sources Opening of bags and receipt of contained articles either through virtual or actual scanning Issue of articles to beats and despatch to other offices Entry of returns and updation of remarks from other offices Receipt of bags from various sources Opening of bags and receipt of contained articles either through virtual or actual scanning Issue of articles to beats and despatch to other offices Entry of returns and updation of remarks from other offices

Exercise 2

Role of manager Understand the demography – Study the profile of walk in customers and their share of turnover over a few months to ascertain the peaks and lows – Build database of potential bulk customers and draw a percentage serviced by us – Meet the existing bulk customers constantly to service their requirements – an effort to retain brand loyalty – Meet the potential bulk customers serviced by other players and through aggressive marketing, ensure loyalty switchover Understand the demography – Study the profile of walk in customers and their share of turnover over a few months to ascertain the peaks and lows – Build database of potential bulk customers and draw a percentage serviced by us – Meet the existing bulk customers constantly to service their requirements – an effort to retain brand loyalty – Meet the potential bulk customers serviced by other players and through aggressive marketing, ensure loyalty switchover

Role of manager Set the house in order – Plan the workflow to Minimize article handling Ensure heavy articles are stacked and closed near the despatch unit and not moved unnecessarily within the office Ensure articles are never left unattended and never strewn on the floors Ensure equitable distribution of articles and bags among all operators Ensure effective supervision over the various branches Set the house in order – Plan the workflow to Minimize article handling Ensure heavy articles are stacked and closed near the despatch unit and not moved unnecessarily within the office Ensure articles are never left unattended and never strewn on the floors Ensure equitable distribution of articles and bags among all operators Ensure effective supervision over the various branches

Role of manager Implement speednet fully – Ensure that all options are used – Ensure that latest version is used in all systems – Ensure that the operators and supervisors know the utility of each of the options in speednet clearly – Ensure that sufficient scanners and remote scanners are available and in working condition Implement speednet fully – Ensure that all options are used – Ensure that latest version is used in all systems – Ensure that the operators and supervisors know the utility of each of the options in speednet clearly – Ensure that sufficient scanners and remote scanners are available and in working condition

Role of manager Scan the performance - delivery – Check the receipt of bags for over two months to list the cases of late receipt and analyze its effect – Ensure whether satisfactory delivery arrangements exist for staggered receipts – Ensure that articles and bags are protected against environmental threats – Look for regular cases of delayed arrivals and see if this can be solved by arranging alternate routes or carriers – Check whether all these bags were with barcodes – Check whether all these bags were handled in speednet; If not take up the issue with concerned SPC and division – On a specific day, check whether for all the bags received, bag and article message were received in speednet; If not discuss with the operators and list the delinquent offices Scan the performance - delivery – Check the receipt of bags for over two months to list the cases of late receipt and analyze its effect – Ensure whether satisfactory delivery arrangements exist for staggered receipts – Ensure that articles and bags are protected against environmental threats – Look for regular cases of delayed arrivals and see if this can be solved by arranging alternate routes or carriers – Check whether all these bags were with barcodes – Check whether all these bags were handled in speednet; If not take up the issue with concerned SPC and division – On a specific day, check whether for all the bags received, bag and article message were received in speednet; If not discuss with the operators and list the delinquent offices

Role of manager Scan the performance - delivery – Ensure by monitoring on the date of visit that the address data for articles issued to beats are automatically fetched from message file and not being manually entered – Analyze the articles delivered for the past 2 months to ensure compliance with delivery standards – Compare the number delivered as ascertained locally with the figure available in MIS for the same period to see if data updation is taking place regularly – List out the delivery percentage over this period for each postman, map this on a graph and study the continuity in performance – Test check for one article of each linked office, whether disposal data is entered and the same can be tracked in speednet site – Check the percentage of articles in deposit and analyze reasons if it is too high – Check whether the abstract is generated through speednet and tallies regularly Scan the performance - delivery – Ensure by monitoring on the date of visit that the address data for articles issued to beats are automatically fetched from message file and not being manually entered – Analyze the articles delivered for the past 2 months to ensure compliance with delivery standards – Compare the number delivered as ascertained locally with the figure available in MIS for the same period to see if data updation is taking place regularly – List out the delivery percentage over this period for each postman, map this on a graph and study the continuity in performance – Test check for one article of each linked office, whether disposal data is entered and the same can be tracked in speednet site – Check the percentage of articles in deposit and analyze reasons if it is too high – Check whether the abstract is generated through speednet and tallies regularly

Role of manager Scan the performance – despatch – Check whether data updation takes place for all articles booked at SPC as well as linked offices – Check whether all linked offices/extension counters are booking articles in POS – Check whether all articles collected are handled in the same set and loaded in carriers in time – Ensure that sufficient time is available for scanning articles into bags for articles received from other offices and BNPL customers – Check whether mail list and TB list are configured for auto generation to save time – For the previous day to date of visit, select one article in each bag closed and track movement in speednet site to check if collection and despatch data are updated – Check if the sorting principles are correctly followed and there are no cases of misrouting – Check if duplicate barcodes are in circulation either at the office or in linked offices – both article and bag barcodes Scan the performance – despatch – Check whether data updation takes place for all articles booked at SPC as well as linked offices – Check whether all linked offices/extension counters are booking articles in POS – Check whether all articles collected are handled in the same set and loaded in carriers in time – Ensure that sufficient time is available for scanning articles into bags for articles received from other offices and BNPL customers – Check whether mail list and TB list are configured for auto generation to save time – For the previous day to date of visit, select one article in each bag closed and track movement in speednet site to check if collection and despatch data are updated – Check if the sorting principles are correctly followed and there are no cases of misrouting – Check if duplicate barcodes are in circulation either at the office or in linked offices – both article and bag barcodes

Role of manager Scan performance – despatch – For BNPL customers Ascertain the percentage of customers tendering data in excel file If this number is less, persuade the customers, specially those giving huge number of articles to generate address data in excel – for a few days, provide the help of a system administrator for this purpose For articles accepted without data, check if address data is being entered after despatch Check if billing for all customers is done through speednet Check whether the pickup facility is working at a satisfactory level and timely service is provided Scan performance – despatch – For BNPL customers Ascertain the percentage of customers tendering data in excel file If this number is less, persuade the customers, specially those giving huge number of articles to generate address data in excel – for a few days, provide the help of a system administrator for this purpose For articles accepted without data, check if address data is being entered after despatch Check if billing for all customers is done through speednet Check whether the pickup facility is working at a satisfactory level and timely service is provided

Performance level The following criteria may be adopted to compare performance level – Measure the delivery efficiency with data collected – same day delivery percentage should not be less than 95%; Ensure that all postmen have achieved this – Bag and article message for the bags received – 100% – All the articles collected should be despatched the same day except local articles The following criteria may be adopted to compare performance level – Measure the delivery efficiency with data collected – same day delivery percentage should not be less than 95%; Ensure that all postmen have achieved this – Bag and article message for the bags received – 100% – All the articles collected should be despatched the same day except local articles

Improvement initiatives Computerize all booking points and ensure data updation Improve the IT infrastructure – ensure that sufficient hardware and peripherals are available to match the scale of operations Improve the layout and if possible automate the process to ease transaction flow through the system Ensure that ergonomic furniture are provided and maintained in very good working condition Reorganize delivery pattern to ensure that last point is reached within 3 hours of receipt of article in SPCC Re-arrange the collection and despatch process to ensure that sufficient time is available for scanning and closing Re-arrange the duty hours so that sufficient staff is available to handle peak time load Reschedule bag movement to reduce idle wait at boarding/handling points Minimize idle travel of MMS vans Ensure that cargo handling procedures are properly taken care of at the airport so that rejections are not there Computerize all booking points and ensure data updation Improve the IT infrastructure – ensure that sufficient hardware and peripherals are available to match the scale of operations Improve the layout and if possible automate the process to ease transaction flow through the system Ensure that ergonomic furniture are provided and maintained in very good working condition Reorganize delivery pattern to ensure that last point is reached within 3 hours of receipt of article in SPCC Re-arrange the collection and despatch process to ensure that sufficient time is available for scanning and closing Re-arrange the duty hours so that sufficient staff is available to handle peak time load Reschedule bag movement to reduce idle wait at boarding/handling points Minimize idle travel of MMS vans Ensure that cargo handling procedures are properly taken care of at the airport so that rejections are not there

Prevention of revenue leakage Carry out spot checks of booked and delivered articles Check configuration of tariff and distance in Point of sale and speednet Check if collections in Point of sale are properly accounted for Check BNPL billing to ensure the following – Bills are regularly raised and payments followed up – Payment entries against the bills reflect actual credits and cheques received are actually accounted for in PO accounts – Periodic action is taken to recover outstanding balances long overdue If prepayment is through frank impressions, check the relevant franking machine register Carry out spot checks of booked and delivered articles Check configuration of tariff and distance in Point of sale and speednet Check if collections in Point of sale are properly accounted for Check BNPL billing to ensure the following – Bills are regularly raised and payments followed up – Payment entries against the bills reflect actual credits and cheques received are actually accounted for in PO accounts – Periodic action is taken to recover outstanding balances long overdue If prepayment is through frank impressions, check the relevant franking machine register

Customer service Ensure that the front office staff are capable of addressing customer queries related to the service Ensure that the staff are able to handle querying tools (tracking delivery, stage by stage movement) in our site to trace disposal Check the number of complaints pending (both outward and inward) in the web CCC module and ensure that following – Booking of outward complaint is done the same day – In case of inward complaints, reply is not delayed for more that one day – Outward complaints are settled within a week – Initiate immediate action for complaints pending over a week and personally follow up settlement Check if any cases of abstraction has come for notice – follow up vigorously to nail the delinquent office; Habitual cases should be followed up more seriously to enhance customer faith Ensure that the front office staff are capable of addressing customer queries related to the service Ensure that the staff are able to handle querying tools (tracking delivery, stage by stage movement) in our site to trace disposal Check the number of complaints pending (both outward and inward) in the web CCC module and ensure that following – Booking of outward complaint is done the same day – In case of inward complaints, reply is not delayed for more that one day – Outward complaints are settled within a week – Initiate immediate action for complaints pending over a week and personally follow up settlement Check if any cases of abstraction has come for notice – follow up vigorously to nail the delinquent office; Habitual cases should be followed up more seriously to enhance customer faith

Speednet Implement speednet fully Check if the following time saving options are put to use – Range scanning of bar codes for BNPL articles and auto scanning into bags – We will discuss how these can be implemented in the labs on Speednet Implement speednet fully Check if the following time saving options are put to use – Range scanning of bar codes for BNPL articles and auto scanning into bags – We will discuss how these can be implemented in the labs on Speednet

Security and backup Check whether the user and password level security is implemented fully and users are aware Check if the communication system is fully protected against virus threats and internet facility available is not misused Ensure that database backups are regularly taken and copies are stored both on and off site to enhance protection Ensure that fall back plans are in place to continue operations when major disasters strike Check whether the user and password level security is implemented fully and users are aware Check if the communication system is fully protected against virus threats and internet facility available is not misused Ensure that database backups are regularly taken and copies are stored both on and off site to enhance protection Ensure that fall back plans are in place to continue operations when major disasters strike

Exercise 3