by officePROhub.com on 10/10/2011 - 09:24 pm
Tag: Parcel Delivery
- From: The Australian
- October 11, 2011
AUSTRALIA Post is upgrading its parcel delivery service to cope with a surge of internet purchases, opening 24-hour parcel collection and flat-rate delivery for domestic shipping.
The postal carrier will trial extended hours for parcel pick-up at 100 post offices across the country from next year, while electronic parcel lockers also would be trialled to allow customers to collect deliveries at any time of the day or night.
"E-commerce is now the new core of our business," Australia Post chief executive Ahmed Fahour said.
Parcel deliveries by Australia Post increased by 10.9 per cent during the past year, including a 57 per cent increase in parcels sent from overseas, as online shoppers took advantage of the stronger Australian dollar to buy cheaply from offshore websites.
However, many shoppers were not at home to receive parcels and were unable to visit post offices during normal hours to pick them up, Mr Fahour said.While the new service would result in more parcels being picked up rather than delivered to households, Mr Fahour said the changes would not result in any job cuts. "This is about growing jobs and adding services," he said.
Australia Post is also introducing parcel tracking for international deliveries and self-serve machines at post offices for sending domestic parcels and paying bills.
Mr Fahour said the changes would not address the inefficiencies that the Productivity Commission has said make it uneconomic to collect GST and import duty on purchases made from websites overseas, which at present are tax-free for sales below $1000.
"The international gateways are a smaller part of our business . . . our business is focused on Australian retailers going online to support Australian consumers," he said.
In its submission to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into the future of the retail sector, Australia Post said it was losing money on the delivery of packages from overseas, as agreements with foreign postal services did not provide sufficient payment to cover their costs.
Mr Fahour said Australia Post would negotiate for higher payments from foreign postal services, but in the meantime was providing simpler shipping options to boost sales for domestic online retailers, on whose parcels it did make a profit.
"The more Australians buy from Australian retailers, the better off we are as a country and the better off we are at Australia Post," he said
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