Azerpost, the country's only national postal operator, recently held a briefing for media representatives. Although many innovations were discussed at the conference, our observations showed that some points still need to be clarified in public discussions. We present to you our interview with Elgun Rasulov, a member of the Board of Directors of "Azerpost", prepared on the basis of the main points of those discussions.
What has changed in "Azerpost", what is the difference between the previous "Azerpost" and the current "Azerpost"?
"Azerpost", which will start renewal processes from 2021, has investigated the local international mail field with the participation of international companies over the past 3 years, made certain conclusions, and started transformation processes in parallel. Over the past 3 years, "Azerpost" has created a "Retail" branch to offer its products to other businesses in the country, in addition to the classic postal service. Later, it formed the Logistics branch for domestic small and large cargo transportation service. "Azermarka" was merged with "Azerpost" in order to improve the management processes.
In the field of e-commerce, the national postal operator launched the PostCargo service in 2023, followed by the creation of up to 50 PUDO (pick up-drop off) points in the capital and regions for online orders only. Also, it brought to Azerbaijan automated Pochmat devices tested in the experiences of developed countries, excluding human contact, with self-service function, "come-buy" logic and produced in full international standards. At present, the process of installing 20 Post Offices is about to be completed.
Most importantly, I would like to note that within the framework of the transformation processes, "Azerpocht" cooperated closely with international consulting companies, based on existing recommendations, the conservative approach that has been in place until now has been changed, the processes have been operationalized, and the work approach methodology has been reformulated.
Is "Azerpost" planning to build a logistics center?
Yes, the renewed "Azerpost" has also taken a number of steps to build a new mail handling center from 2023. Thus, the world experience in the direction of the new mail transportation center was investigated, experience was exchanged with the leading sorting centers of the world, and a concept document was formed. In addition, it should be noted that starting from 2023, the national postal operator has held consultations with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan in the direction of building a mail sorting center, including improving the quality of work in mail transportation, and laid the foundation for cooperation for the next years. In this cooperation, the project leader is the Japanese company "EY Strategy & Consulting", and the other main participants are the Japanese companies "Post Holding", "Toshiba", and "Mitsui&CO".
I would also like to mention that the fact that Azerpocht's mail transportation center has an old infrastructure is a factor that has a direct negative impact on the speed of mail transportation in the country, because currently all processes are carried out manually. However, today the delivery frequency of "Azerpost" parcels varies between 70-80%. The "Project 93" project, implemented in the direction of increasing the service level, serves to increase the implementation percentage to 90. World experience also shows that the ideal delivery percentage is 93. Our forecast is that once the new automated sorting center is built, we will be able to fully achieve the 93% target.
Mr. Elgun, "Azerpost" has also taken the path of digitalization. What projects have been implemented in this regard? Last year, you reported on the mobile app.
You are right, since 2022, relevant processes have been started in "Azerpost" within the framework of the digital transformation project. We have recently installed post machines, which are automated technical devices that have long been used in developed countries, eliminating direct human labor. Within both projects, integrations with partner companies were provided, API services were also provided.
In addition, the Internet banking service has been launched in real mode. So, currently, legal entities can apply and benefit from this service. The mobile application belonging to "Azerpost" is in test mode and will be presented to the public as soon as possible.
Do you think your customers are satisfied with the updated Azerpost?
This question is one of the first that comes to mind, and thank you for asking it. The customer satisfaction index (NPS) survey was conducted in "Azerpost" for the first time in 2023. For information, let's note that the customer satisfaction index (NPS) is estimated at over 100, and the NPS of "Azerpost" was 31.2. An NPS of 31.2 is considered an acceptable result in general NPS practices. Unfortunately, since there was no customer satisfaction survey at "Azerpost" before, it was not possible to make a direct comparison with "Azerpost" itself. But compared to the results of organizations that work directly with citizens (between 20 and 30), which will be considered partially analogous in the country, today's NPS result of "Azerpost" is considered positive. One of our main goals for 2024 is to increase NPS by 5%.
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