On 20th year of Speed Post, postal dept has big plans

The department of posts will launch a slew of schemes to mark the 20th anniversary of its Speed Post service on August 1.

The department has decided to launch a new brand called Home Collection wherein service would be available under three categories "" scheduled collection, on-call collection and postman collection.

It will go in for an ISO certification for its centres in Delhi and Chennai; increase the number of 24-hour Speed Post booking centres throughout India; usher in night booking service by enhancing business hours from 10 am to 10 pm and launch 50 new-look speed post centres across the country. This is apart from more services which it has lined up.

As part of home collection, which will be introduced throughout the country, couriers will be collected by postmen at a scheduled time from a particular point (scheduled collection).

For on-call collection, the user will be able to call the speed post office and arrange for a courier pick-up. To avail of the postman collection service, the beat postman can be given the parcel.

The department (DoP) will issue specific phone numbers for users to keep track of their couriers. In about six months,it plans to come up with call centres to help customers use Speed Post.

"We will be issuing specific phone numbers where the users of Speed Post service will be able to get the status of their courier and also get information about other services," said John Samuel, general manager, business development and marketing.

The ISO certification will be a pilot project at the Speed Post centres in Delhi and Chennai, for which the DoP will upgrade its technology, re-engineer the process and train its staff.

"We have gone for ISO certification with a view to building a brand identity for Speed Post besides ensuring that it provides world-class service to its customers," said Samuel.

Other Speed Post centres may also be certified if the application of ISO certification at the two centres is successful.