How Nipost Survived the Internet Age

The introduction of the internet has dealt a heavy blow to several industries and it will be a long story to talk about all the negative effects. The postal services has been one industry that is most hit as the need to send written letters has more or less evaporated with the availability of e-mails.

The Nigeria Postal Service was one the casualties of this technological advancement and at for some time, it seemed it is going to shutter its services. People were not posting letters and dividend warrants have gone digital. Hence, NIPOST needed to diversify or become moribund. While some industry watchers began to sing Nunc Dimitis for the corporation it became apparent that NIPOST has another use after all. The internet that was threatening to kill it presented it with another opportunity.

As the use of the internet becomes wide spread, online commerce has intensified exponentially. Hence, a lot of merchants have moved from brick and mortar stores to online store all over the world. The use of postal services by merchants has become even more relevant than ever and NIPOST has benefited immensely. An arm of NIPOST, EMS speed post which is one of the most affordable speed post services in the country has a lot of patronage from shippers.

Although, a lot of local merchants tend to use private shipping companies for their services, NIPOST registered post continue to get a share of the market. A lot of Nigerians still use NIPOST to send and receive package all over the country as a result of fairly affordable service. The government-owned postal agency has also become more reputable over the year as far security of packages is concerned. Hence, there has been little cause for alarm.

A lot of revenue is also accruing to NIPOST from international trade. Packages sent through NIPOST from abroad has increased hundredfold over the years as the company makes money from every single package and thousands of packages come in every other day. It is now very easy for Nigerians to make purchase over the internet and the delivery passes through NIPOST. A lot of international merchants use shippers who partner with NIPOST, including Amazon and Aliexpress. NIPOST even asks for handling charges from recipients of parcels when the weight of a package go beyond a certain limit. This is in addition to the revenue from shipping partners.

Recently, to further diversify into the market, NIPOST has introduced a slew of services. These services include Financial services, International Postal Service Track and Trace System, Address Verification System and Mobile Electronic Stamp. NIPOST recently added a fleet of delivery vehicles to its infrastructure.

Hence, the survival of NIPOST proves the reggae Bob Marley right when he said “when one door is closed, many more are opened”.