With the rising trend of online shopping during the coronavirus outbreak, a flood of packages is testing the capabilities of Iran Post Company, the government-owned corporation responsible for providing postal services in Iran.
“Postal exchanges have increased by 82% in the eight months to Nov. 20 compared with the corresponding period of last year,” says Fariba Moradi, a senior official with company.
“A total of 141 million packages were delivered during the period. Fifty tons of packages are delivered via railroad on a daily basis. The company has added electric motorcycles and roofed delivery vehicles to its logistical facilities,” she was quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Mehdi Maqsoudi, another official with the state-owned corporation, said the Sorting and Distribution Department of Iran Post Company delivered 170 tons of packages last [fiscal] year [March 2019-20] in its peak days but the volume of packages has now increased sevenfold to 700 tons per day.
“The number of small packages has also increased from 120,000 last year to 350,000 per day now,” he added.
Asked about recent complaints on social media over the frustration of customers with delays, Maqsoudi said, “The post company is experiencing a surge of package volume due to e-commerce growth this month. The closure of most businesses during the two-week lockdown and its coincidence with Black Friday sales resulted in unprecedented demand and some temporary service delays for some packages.”
Deputy Information and Communications Technologies Minister Ramezanali Sobhanifar recently said Iran Post Company sends at least 5 tons of letters and packages overseas daily. Today, e-commerce shipping services account for 30% of total delivery services offered by Iran Post Company.
“In the past, parcels used to be transported to their destinations by vans or trucks, but now they are being shipped by railroad. The company has yet to dedicate an exclusive train for this job; it only charters wagons for the transportation of packages and parcels. We hope to have an exclusive airplane for the delivery of packages with the help of other agencies. Mechanized mail sorting is also on our agenda for the near future. Metal boxes are used for carrying packages to prevent their loss or damage,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
According to IRNA, Iran Post Company has 13,000 personnel on its payroll and over 20,000 indirect workers.
Each postman used to deliver 80 packages a day before the outbreak of the coronavirus. At present, they distribute 180 packages per day.
Work done by each postal worker prevents up to 1,000 unnecessary trips per day.
“Iran Post Company quarantines all packages received from overseas for 48 hours before delivery,” Mohammad Akhlaqi, an official with the company, said.
Post offices that provide service at the counters are being disinfected twice a day to counter the spread of the coronavirus and to ensure people’s health. These offices won’t be closed on holidays and offer services round the clock.
In a public notice posted on its website, the World Health Organization says, “People receiving packages from badly-affected countries like China are not at risk of contracting the new coronavirus. From previous analysis, we know coronaviruses do not survive long on objects, such as letters or packages.”
