Russian Post more than tripled its net profit and increased revenues by 10% in the first nine months of 2015 thanks to efficiency increases in operations and constantly growing volumes of incoming international shipments.
During the January-September 2015 period, Russian Post’s net profit amounted to RUB 2.7 billion (€39.5 million) which is three times higher than the same period last year. Revenues increased by 10% to RUB 110 billion (€1.56 billion).
In terms of volumes, the postal operator processed 78.5 million international parcels and small packages (import, export, transit shipments) in the first nine months of 2015, which is 1.5 times more than during the same period of last year and almost triples the figure in 2013.
At the same time, the number of customer complaints is continuously decreasing. During the first three quarters of this year, the complaints went down by 65% compared to the same period last year. The positive financial results were boosted by a 12% increase in average monthly output per worker due to continuously growing international shipping volumes, among others.
"At the end of 2014, we proved that Russian Post can be an efficient and profitable company. Our goal in 2015 is not only to maintain the result but also try to improve it, despite the current economic situation,” Russian Post CEO Dmitry Strashnov said.
To motivate staff and further increase operational efficiency, Russian Post announced a salary increase for all employees of post offices with an investment of more than RUB 6 billion to be implemented by 2016. The company started increasing postal wages last year for the first time since 2008 spending RUB 10.5 billion.
"Increasing salaries of employees is one of the strategic priorities of Russian Post. Our goal is to make Russian Post a strong, effective company with a decent level of wages and a good motivational system. This will allow us to keep experienced staff and attract young professionals to ensure a high level of service for our customers,” Strashnov explained.
To further improve its service for customers, Russian Post has now launched a 100% money-back guarantee on EMS express shipments in case of delivery delays.
In 2015, the volumes of EMS express shipments have grown continuously. In October 2015, the volumes of domestic EMS shipments increased by 7% on the same period last year while the delivery quality during the month exceeded 95% without delivery delays.
"By optimising the handling of express mail and the development of delivery routes as well as through continuous monitoring of shipments, we guarantee that mail will be delivered on time,” Sergey Malyshev, Deputy General Director Russian Post, Parcels and Express, said.
As a rule, express carriers return customers 0.1-0.2% of the price or calculate a reduced price in case of delivery delays. “We have decided to include an important condition in the additional standard contract for corporate clients. If the violation of the terms exceeds the time intervals stipulated, then we will pay back the full price thus delivering the shipment for free,” he added.
Russian Post subsidiary ‘EMS Russian Post’ is specialised in express delivery of business correspondence and freight. The delivery is made ‘door-to door’, with the collection of the shipment at home or office and delivery to the destination point where it is handed over to the recipient.
Separately, to improve the registration process of international shipments coming to Russia, Russian Post and the Federal Customs Office (FTS) have piloted an electronic data exchange. As part of the test, Russian Post receives from international posts all the necessary information about goods carried in the parcels in electronic form and transmits the data into the information system of the Federal Customs Office for preliminary analysis.
This way, the information about the package reaches FTS before it actually arrives at the point of international postal exchange. Upon the receipt of the information in electronic form, the information system of FTS decides whether to send the parcel to the addressee without further verification or whether the goods require additional customs inspection.
Until the end of 2015, the electronic data exchange will be tested at the international postal exchange point in Moscow and then be extended to other locations next year.
The transition to the electronic exchange of data with FTS also reduces delivery times of shipments. In the first half of 2015, Russian Post processed more than 48 million international parcels and small packages (including the total volume of import, export, transit shipments), which is 1.5 times more than during the same period in 2014. Currently, the delivery times to Central Russia average 7-10 days and 15-20 days across the country. In 2012, the average delivery times for international shipments exceeded 1.5-2 months.
Alexey Skatin, Deputy General Director Russian Post, Logistics, said: “Every year, the number of orders from online stores which now account for 80% of all international shipping volumes is increasing. The introduction of electronic data exchange will make the process of getting items faster and more convenient for our customers.”
The international data exchange comes at the right time in the busy pre-New Year period to prevent a backlog of international shipments. Russians traditionally exchange presents on New Year’s Eve which is the major festive event during the New Year’s holiday period that runs for the following 10 days.
