eBusiness Weekly
Enacy Mapakame
Zimbabwe’s postal and courier services sector has not been spared by Covid-19 as 2020 third quarter figures still trail behind the pre-pandemic period.
Apart from the impacts of the pandemic on global movement of goods, the sector has been hit by inflationary pressures resulting in rising operating costs.
According to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) Sector Performance Report for the third quarter to September 30, 2020, postal and courier services volumes plunged to 298 000 compared to 1 million recorded during the same quarter in the prior year.
However, the sector recorded a 28,1 percent growth in volumes in the quarter under review, an improvement from the steep decline recorded in the second of 2020.
Revenues for the sector grew 115 percent quarter-on-quarter on the back of improved service volumes.
“As with other subsectors, the postal and courier operators have not been spared by inflationary pressures characterised by rising operating costs. The growth in capital expenditure mainly emanated from FedEx who invested in delivery vehicles,” said Potraz in the third quarter report.
“Despite the growth recorded in the quarter under review, postal and courier volumes are still way below the quarterly average of over 1 million pre Covid-19.
“Although international courier volumes improved in the third quarter of 2020, postal and courier operators still face challenges in channelling items to and from several destinations because of Covid-19 policies in different countries,” said Potraz.
In the past two decades, postal services in particular have undergone radical changes — from a regulatory, operational and technological perspective — throughout the world.
According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) technological changes have confronted operators with new forms of competition from other communication services such as e-mails and social media platforms, but also presented new opportunities, for instance the use of technology in the just-in-time shipment of goods by express delivery companies.
This is a rapidly growing area which is playing a key role in supply chain management and logistics.
Expects had, however, anticipated growth in the coming quarters as economies had started showing recovery signs before the second wave hit.
All things being equal, the growing e-commerce sector, along with growing cross-border trade, are among the key factors that should drive growth of the market.
Additionally, the increasing consumer preference for shopping online through various e-commerce portals is also providing a boost to the market growth.
A report by the world’s largest research store — Research and Markets — on global courier, express and market 2020 to 2025, indicates that e-commerce stores partner with courier service providers to deliver their products across domestic and international locations while technologies aid the service providers in increasing their overall operational efficiency and meeting the requirements of the customers effectively.
