EMS - A profitable business

Reasonably Bangladesh Post Office has to face the challenge of speed of scientific technology of the 21st century. According to the demand of the era the world is built up with a tremendous development in technological and socioeconomic sphere where development has exclusively been grown up with a trend of faster motive in comparison with other in speed. So it can unanimously be said that the 21 st century is the age of speed. Here people desires not only speed but also security in every aspect of their daily events. So the value of speed and security is very important to every individual, since the technology has enhanced speed of human life, as such people has reasonably been drifted to scientific technology with a motive to be faster than other. The most important invention of the twenty-first century is Information Technology that makes the globe very small to an individual. The modem science has made it so developed as that can transmit the latest news' from one end to other end of the globe within a moment Information technology felicitates the people with so many facilities that make people dynamic; they desire speed in every aspect of their daily events. We can see everywhere the people of every stage whether or not rich has an electronic device for personal communication like mobile phones and some of them always use electronic Internet media. This is obviously super normal behaviour for the 21st Century. But it is no scope to deny that the technology is making people machines, man is losing human nature. Nowadays it is grievously observed that man is severely drifted to artificial trend where sense of love, sense of feelings, sense of manner is completely absent Today almost we have forgoten the name of post card and envelope. The present generation is totally unknown about those communicative media, they have read it in their text only. The technology is whatever developed; it is no exaggeration to say that the post office is the symbol of civilization.The children of the present generation do not know what is leter. They do not know that once up on a time people around the globe enjoyed to write and to receive leters and also they do not know that the leters were that time only the communicative media and people had immaculately to depend upon leters. They only know the leter as a bookish object and this is something episodic to them. They do not know what is love leter, what is sad leter, what is leter of respects and compliments. Whether or not they think of it, they always enjoy their life through electronic communicative media. They have no time to spoil the time in writing leters as they can easily contact their friends in a moment The electronic information media with the spirit of the day drives the postal information communicative media out of market The reason lies with speed, people wants speed in their every event and always tries to avoid sloth communication. The management of postal department has understood the trend and taken accurate measures to reshuffle the postal all arrangement in order to enhance the speed in every sector and introduced so many new products to render standard service. Among those products the crucial one is EMS. The management thinks that EMS is satisfying the customers with its prompt and speedy service. Meanwhile EMS is almost able to fulfill the demand of the customers.Notwithstanding technological development it could not make any alternative route other than post office to sent at least two items in original form like documents and merchandises or goods. To convey these two items EMS is keeping important role all over the world. Almost in every case EMS can carry and reach the goods to the destination in the target time if the route of transmission uninterruptedly smooth. The service in some aspects has got commendable appreciation.Now the globe is revolving on machines and machine like manpower where time is money and security is wealth and service commitment must go with an assurance of speed and security. People nowadays does not look for cheaper facilities, they seek speed and then security, as they want to reach their articles in tact to correct destination within the shortest time. With the view to meet the public motive for ensuring speed and security in mail sector UPU introduces Express Mail Service in 1983 and all the member countries simultaneously start functioning of the product As a result a speediest global postal network is created and almost success to meet demand of the customer.Bangladesh Post Office has gone under agreement with 45 countries for operation of E.M.S. This postal new product is immaculately able to earn public popularity within short time. But the post could no longer hold that popularity due to some unavoidable reasons. The reasons can be easily chalked out but cannot be easily removed, as there lies financial involvement for making appropriate route with modern equipment To make appropriate route there needs IT equipment, Transport, and communicative network. The full-fledged network adorned with modern equipment only can keep the speed of mails in harmony with partner countries and can make the project of EMS successful. Otherwise speed of mails will be somewhere sloth and somewhere fast, i.e. there cannot maintain the speed of mails harmoniously fast as per expected time and mails will not reach the destination in a target time. We know, the underdeveloped countries among the network can never Jnaintain the target speed with the developed countries. Besides hilly, offshore island areas sometimes intervene the speed of mails. In these areas if helicopter is used the problem is easily solved. The UPU, the guardian of the global post, therefore, it can take necessary measures to eradicate the defects disturbing in the network. To keep EMS ever popular to the people both the countries sender and recipient must be sincere with time, speed and security of the article. The agreement between sender and recipient countries to charge dues on imbalance of articles at the rate fixed on mutual negotiation in 1999 and since then the rate is running on.Bangladesh Post Office was running this sector on profit since its introduction in 1983 to 2002. If we go over the collection register we can see country and year wise collection of imbalance charge in SDR is in favor of Bangladesh. Even though this profit was not remarkable but recoupable for actual cost incurred on transmission and delivery of incoming foreign articles. On the other hand the collection of postage charges on outgoing EMS articles are losing concerned, as the charges are not adjustable with the cost incurred i.e. we collect charges less than the cost incurred on transmission of the article. However, the post office could not hold that profiting trend due to mismanagement and then due to shortage of modem technological arrangement Efficient and honest manpower can administer such a management with appropriate arrangement It is very often found that delivery of EMS article is disrupted due to pilferage and tempering along with unnecessary delay that which dissatisfy and disappoint the customers and also undermine the traditional reputation of post office as well. Dishonest peoples only create this embarrassing situation and that causes failure to ensure speed and security of EMS articles. As a result post office has lost the confidence of customers particularly in the field of EMS for which the traffic of EMS mail is declined nonetheless offering the cheapest charge. Taking chance of weakness of public post office the private enterprises have appeared to do business and are successful to atract the customers with their service. Notwithstanding high charges the customers are gathered to their counter to get service, on the other hand despite cheapest charges they do not go to public post office. Hence it is clear that customers want service Le. speed and security of their articles, they do not bother for charges whether cheap or expensive. Bangladesh Post Office has nowadays not avail either service or profit Le. a losing concern and is running as a burden of government as the government has to foster it with subsidy. Consequently the government has to account a big amount of money about 1.5. crore taka as subsidy every year for which the government has economically tired to bear the burden of loss. So reasonably we have choose appropriate way to recoup the loss so that it has no more borne the burden.The postal management is successful to that extend to what it is able to satisfy the customers with standard service. The efficient management knows that it is reasonable to enhance the rate of charges to render a standard service.The private postal sectors are already doing the same. The mail traffic in their business despite the high rate of charges is not declining in the scale of trade but always doing maximum business. So the reasonable high rate ofcharges is no factor but the crucial factor is to ensure the highest speed and security of mail. The private and public postal sectors are doing their respective businesses in the same environment where the former is contesting to face the challenge of free-market trade and the later is lagging behind the tradition in a turtle speed likely through out the globe. If this trend is to continue further, thence it is no exorbitant to say that those days are not far when none will come to the public post even for service in free of costBangladesh post office collects revenues in the shape of postage by which it cannot even recoup the actual cost, incurred to process mail. Hance it is clear that the rate fixed for collection of postal charges is not reasonable to carry on the service. The postage rate on domestic mail may be fixed up to an endurable level analyzing the cost incurred on transport, stationery, manpower, conveyance etc.The postage rate of international mail can be fixed up at the cost comprising air surcharge, land charge of the recipient country, terminal dues and actual cost incurred in processing the mail. The post must bear the burden of loss if policy of collection of charges and monitor of mail circulation are not appropriate. The scenario of EMS mail exchange that we can see bellow in the chart is not hopeful. But it is caution to be alert to rectify and to reconstruct the defects so that the product is run on with profit.

Shah M. Amjad Ali