Final Report-India Post-IMRB-Express Parcel Post

Market Research Report 2012 Express Parcel Post (EPP) Final Report – Round II

December 2012

Prepared for: Business Development & Marketing Directorate, Department of Posts

By: IMRB International

IMRB/RK/VS/AW/KG/DEC/2012

IMRB International No. 105, Pantheon Road Egmore, Chennai 600 008 Tel: +91 44 4229 0601 Fax: +91 44 4229 0500 www.imrbint.com

India Post IMRB International

Express Parcel Post Market Research Report, 2012 2

CONTENTS 1 Background ................................................................................................................. 7

2 Objectives ................................................................................................................... 8

3 Study Methodology ...................................................................................................... 9

3.1 Supply Side .......................................................................................................... 9

3.2 Demand Side ........................................................................................................ 9

Study Findings ..................................................................................................................12

4 Macroeconomic Scenario .............................................................................................13

4.1 Indian Economy Overview ....................................................................................13

4.2 Transport Sector ..................................................................................................14

4.3 Structure of Logistics/Transport Services Industry ...................................................15

4.4 Express Parcel Post: Definition of the Market ..........................................................17

4.5 Parcel Services: Indian Market ..............................................................................18

4.6 Market, State Wise ...............................................................................................29

4.6.1 Market Size Based On GDP .............................................................................29

4.6.2 Market Size Range .........................................................................................30

5 Competition Scenario ..................................................................................................32

5.1 Players In The Industry ........................................................................................32

5.2 Market Share of Major Players, Value .....................................................................32

5.2.1 State Wise Market Share of India Post .............................................................34

5.3 Market Share of Major Players, Volume ..................................................................35

5.4 Comparison of Products ........................................................................................36

5.5 Profile of Major Players .........................................................................................36

5.5.1 Indian Railways .............................................................................................36

5.5.2 Safexpress ....................................................................................................37

5.5.2.1 Products & Services .......................................................................................37

5.5.3 Gati ..............................................................................................................38


5.5.4 Transport Corporation of India .......................................................................41


5.5.5 Patel Roadways .............................................................................................42




5.5.6 Associated Road Carriers ................................................................................43


5.5.7 Other Players ................................................................................................44

5.6 Relative Strengths & Weaknesses of Major Players .................................................45

6 Customer Scenario .....................................................................................................46

6.1 Demographic Profile, Individuals, Customers & Non Customers ................................46

6.1.1 Education Profile ...........................................................................................46

6.1.2 Occupation Profile .........................................................................................46

6.1.3 Internet Connection .......................................................................................48

6.2 Establishments, Customers & Non customers .........................................................48

6.2.1 Internet Penetration ......................................................................................49

6.3 Usage Practices, Customers ..................................................................................50

6.3.1 Destination Profile .........................................................................................50

6.3.2 Specifications Of Parcels ................................................................................51

6.4 Perceived Advantages & Disadvantages Of EPP ......................................................52

6.4.1 Reasons for Using EPP, Customers ..................................................................52

6.4.2 Perceived Disadvantages of EPP, Customers ....................................................52

6.5 Awareness of Value Added Services of EPP, Customers ...........................................54

6.6 Awareness, Usage & Perception, Among Customers ................................................55

6.7 Non customers of EPP ..........................................................................................57

6.7.1 Awareness, Consideration And Usage Of EPP ...................................................57

6.7.2 Reasons for Choosing A Service Provider .........................................................58

6.7.3 Reasons for Not Using EPP .............................................................................58

7 Conclusion & Recommendations ..................................................................................59

7.1 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................59

7.1.1 Macroeconomic Scenario ................................................................................59

7.1.2 Competition Scenario .....................................................................................60

7.1.3 Customer Scenario ........................................................................................61

7.2 Recommendations ...............................................................................................62

7.2.1 Product ........................................................................................................62

7.2.1.1 Educational Institutions ..................................................................................63



7.2.1.2 E-Commerce .................................................................................................65

7.2.1.3 Packing And Moving Service ...........................................................................68

7.2.2 Place ............................................................................................................69

7.2.3 Promotion .....................................................................................................70

7.2.4 Price ............................................................................................................70

8 Annexure ...................................................................................................................72

8.1 Questionnaire Used For The Study ........................................................................72



LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1: SAMPLE SIZE ACHIEVED ..................................................................................................... 11TABLE 2: REVENUES OF DOMESTIC PARCEL SERVICE PROVIDERS ...................................................... 21TABLE 3: LIST OF TIER II & III PLAYERS ........................................................................................... 22TABLE 4: PARCEL SERVICES MARKET, FY 2012 BASED ON GDP .......................................................... 29TABLE 5: STATE WISE MARKET SIZE ESTIMATE ................................................................................. 31TABLE 6 : STATE WISE MARKET SHARE OF INDIA POST ..................................................................... 34TABLE 7: PRODUCTS OF COMPETITORS THAT ARE COMPARABLE TO EPP ........................................... 36TABLE 8: STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES OF SPEED POST VIS-À-VIS COMPETITION ............................... 45TABLE 9: EDUCATION PROFILE OF EPP CUSTOMERS & NON CUSTOMERS, INDIVIDUAL SEGMENT ....... 46TABLE 10: OCCUPATION PROFILE OF EPP CUSTOMERS & NON CUSTOMERS, INDIVIDUAL SEGMENT ... 47TABLE 11: INTERNET CONNECTION, EPP CUSTOMERS & NON CUSTOMERS, INDIVIDUAL SEGMENT .... 48TABLE 12: NATURE OF ORGANIZATION, EPP CUSTOMERS & NON CUSTOMERS, ESTABLISHMENTS ...... 48TABLE 13: AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET CONNECTION, ESTABLISHMENT SEGMENT ............................ 49TABLE 14: DESTINATION OF PARCELS, EPP CUSTOMERS ................................................................... 50TABLE 15: TYPE OF DESTINATIONS, EPP CUSTOMERS ....................................................................... 51TABLE 16: TYPES OF PARCELS MOST SENT, EPP CUSTOMERS ............................................................ 51TABLE 17: MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR USING EPP, EPP CUSTOMERS .......................................... 52TABLE 18: DISADVANTAGES OF EPP, EPP CUSTOMERS -2011 ............................................................. 52TABLE 19: DISADVANTAGES OF EPP, EPP CUSTOMERS -2012 ............................................................. 53TABLE 20: AWARENESS OF VALUE ADDED SERVICES OF EPP, EPP CUSTOMERS .................................. 54TABLE 21: USAGE OF VALUE ADDED SERVICES, EPP .......................................................................... 55TABLE 22: AWARENESS AND USAGE OF OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS, EPP CUSTOMERS ..................... 55TABLE 23: USE OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS, EPP CUSTOMERS .......................................................... 56TABLE 24: TOP BEST SERVICE PROVIDERS, EPP CUSTOMERS ............................................................ 56TABLE 25: AWARENESS OTHER PARCEL SERVICES, EPP NON CUSTOMERS ......................................... 57TABLE 26: REASONS FOR NOT USING EPP, NON CUSTOMERS ............................................................ 58TABLE 26: PRICING SCENARIO 1 ....................................................................................................... 71TABLE 27: PRICING SCENARIO 2 ....................................................................................................... 71



LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: GDP GROWTH, FY 2005 TO 2012 ...................................................................................... 13FIGURE 2: COMPONENTS OF GDP, 1990-91 ....................................................................................... 14FIGURE 3: COMPONENTS OF GDP 2010-11 ........................................................................................ 14FIGURE 4: COMPONENTS OF GDP, 2011-12 ....................................................................................... 14FIGURE 5: GROWTH IN TRANSPORT SECTOR, FY2005 TO 2012 .......................................................... 15FIGURE 6: STRUCTURE OF LOGISTICS INDUSTRY .............................................................................. 16FIGURE 7: SCHEMATIC - DEMARCATION BETWEEN EXPRESS PARCEL AND OTHER SERVICES .............. 17FIGURE 8: STRUCTURE OF PARCEL SERVICES MARKET IN INDIA ........................................................ 20FIGURE 9: EXPRESS PARCEL OPERATOR, TAMIL NADU ....................................................................... 28FIGURE 10: EXPRESS PARCEL OPERATOR 2, TAMIL NADU .................................................................. 28FIGURE 11: SHARE OF MAJOR PLAYERS IN PARCEL SERVICES BY VALUE, 2010-11 .............................. 32FIGURE 12: SHARE OF MAJOR PLAYERS IN PARCEL SERVICES BY VALUE, 2011-12 .............................. 33FIGURE 13: SHARE OF MAJOR PLAYERS IN PARCEL SERVICES BY VOLUME, 2010-11 ........................... 35FIGURE 14: SHARE OF MAJOR PLAYERS IN PARCEL SERVICES BY VOLUME, 20111-12 ......................... 35FIGURE 15: FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR SAFEXPRESS ................................................................... 37FIGURE 16: FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR GATI .............................................................................. 39FIGURE 17: FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR TCIL ............................................................................... 41FIGURE 18: FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR ARC ................................................................................ 43FIGURE 19: SECTOR PROFILE, EPP CUSTOMERS ................................................................................ 48FIGURE 20: SECTOR PROFILE, EPP NON CUSTOMERS ........................................................................ 49



1 BACKGROUND The Department of Posts, under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology,

aims to provide high quality mail, parcel and related services in India and throughout the world.

In order to remain competitive, India Post wanted to ascertain the market share of its various

services in their respective area of operation.

After knowing the status quo, India Post can determine what targets it would like to set for

increasing market share. Further, India Post also wants to understand usage practices and

attributes of various customer segments so that it can target suitable action as required

ultimately leading to higher market share. To understand the market and set suitable goals this

study is to be carried out once a year over a period of three years.

In the first year, the study would focus on status of the market and India Post’s services. The

study would be repeated the subsequent year to determine growth, change in market scenario

and change in expectations, usage patterns of customers and suggest suitable corrective

measures to further improve services. This exercise would be repeated once more in the third

year.

The products / service categories covered as part of the study are as below:

• Speed Post

• Express Parcel Post

• International Parcel Post

• Postal Life Insurance

• Post Office Savings Bank

• Money Transfer (Domestic as well as international)

• Business Mail

The report is for the second round of the survey and it focuses on Express Parcel

Post Service of India Post.



2 OBJECTIVES 1) Define Express Parcel Post in market context.

a) Identify major players and their current offerings in the market.

2) Estimate the market size of each of these products in terms of:-

a) Volume

b) Revenue

3) To estimate the market share of India Post in Express Parcel Post.

4) To estimate the current market share of each of the top five competitors vis-à-vis India

Post.

5) Identify customer segments for Express Parcel Post along with their usage characteristics

and attributes.



3 STUDY METHODOLOGY 3.1 SUPPLY SIDE The supply side perspective was primarily used to answer Research Objective No. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Unstructured interviews were conducted among the top players in the Express Parcel service

industry in the country.

The supply side players were divided into three segments namely (1) Large national players

(Ex: Indian Railways, Gati, Safexpress, TCI XPS) (2) Medium regional players (Ex: Patel

Roadways) and (3) Small local players (Ex: KPN, Vision International Couriers, VJB Courier, Sri

Kanya Parcel Service, Sri Ravi Parcel Service)

For large national players, we conducted Unstructured Business Interviews (UBI). These

interviews were qualitative in nature and we probed them on their volume and value of express

parcel business. All interviews for the study were done face-to-face. Many companies

contacted were offering express parcel services as well as other services such as

courier, freight movement and warehousing solutions. Also their businesses are

aligned differently as compared to India Post. In depth probing was carried out to

arrive at the estimates of express parcel market. Regional players were also met and

similar data was obtained. In addition, we also asked them about other regional players in the

region and their estimate of the business.

Similar information was obtained interviews that were conducted with small players in the top

15 to 20 large cities.

The business volumes of the small, medium and large players were added to arrive

at the market size and share.

A total of 40 companies were met.

3.2 DEMAND SIDE In individual segment, all the ‘Customers’ of Express Parcel Post service were met at the

respective General Post Office (GPO) of the city or other large post offices. The interviews were

done over a period of a month with our representatives getting responses from those using



Express Parcel Post service. The respondents were chosen randomly by meeting every nth

In individual segment, ‘Non customers’ of Express Parcel Post service were met through a

household survey in different regions of each of the study centre. Only those households were

interviewed who had used some other parcel service in the last 6 months but not used Express

Parcel Post service in that period.

customer who walks in post office to use the service. The ‘n’ varied for each post office

depending on the number of people walking into the post office in a day.

In establishment segment, ‘Customers’ were met through two methods. Respective post offices

of India Post provided database of existing customers which was used to contact and interview

respondents. The second method involved walk-in customers who were establishment

customers. In establishment segment, ‘Non Customers’ were met by doing a random

establishment survey in different regions of each of the study centre. Only those companies

were interviewed who had used some other parcel service in the last 6 months but not used

Express Parcel Post service in that period.

For all establishment customers, administration manager were met. The field-work for the study

was carried out during the period August-October 2012.

The following table shows the achieved sample size among all segments.



Table 1: Sample Size Achieved

Region City Individual Corporate

North

Chandigarh 14 17 Shimla

91 15 Srinagar Amritsar Ludhiana Lucknow

855 29 Kanpur

Agra Dehradun

Delhi (NCR) 98 26

West

Ahmedabad+Gandhinagar 47 07 Bhopal

70 20 Indore

Mumbai 158 59 Pune

Nagpur Jaipur

10 08 Jodhpur

South

Hyderabad 70 28 Visakhapatnam

Vijayawada Bangalore

90 31 Hubli-Dharwar

Thiruvananthapuram 70 21 Kochi

Kozhikode Chennai

90 31 Coimbatore

Madurai Puducherry

East

Patna 12 12 Ranchi 11 13

Guwahati 23 16

North East Bhubaneswar + Cuttack 70 21

Kolkata 95 32 TOTAL 1,104 386

GRAND TOTAL 1,490

Individuals Establishments

Customers 796 287 Non Customers 308 99 Grand Total 1,490



STUDY FINDINGS



4 MACROECONOMIC SCENARIO 4.1 INDIAN ECONOMY OVERVIEW1

India’s GDP at constant prices has grown at a CAGR of 8.3% in the period between FY 2005 to

FY 2012. GDP at current prices has grown at a CAGR of 15.7% in the same period. These

values are slightly lower when compared to that of the period FY 2005-2011, indicating that

pace of economic growth has slowed down marginally in the past year. Inflation has averaged

8.9%.

Figure 1: GDP Growth, FY 2005 to 2012

Of the three segments which contribute to GDP, Industry constitutes 27% of the GDP of India.

This ratio has not changed substantially in the last 20 years since liberalization.

Agriculture contribution has reduced from an average share of 28.4% (1990-2000) to14% in

2011-12. The major change has been the rapid growth in service industry which has outpaced

overall GDP growth. Services now constitute 59% (excluding construction) of the Indian

economy.

1 Source: Central Statistical Organization

29.7 34.0 39.4

45.4 52.3

61.3

73.1 82.3

29.7 32.5 35.7 38.9 41.6 44.9 48.8 52.0

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

GDP (Current Prices)

GDP (Constant Prices)

CAGR: 15.7%

CAGR: 8.3%

All values in Rs. Trillion Source: RBI



Figure 2: Components of GDP, 1990-91

Figure 3: Components of GDP 2010-11

Figure 4: Components of GDP, 2011-12

Similar to 2010-11, Transport, Storage and Communications continued to have the highest

growth rate amongst services sub-sectors. The growth is estimated to be ~14 % in 2011-12

and this sub-sector has a share of ~10.6% in real GDP. The courier industry is a sub division of

the transport sector.

4.2 TRANSPORT SECTOR

The share of Transport sector (Railways, Other means) in GDP is 7.7%. The following chart

shows the growth in Transport, Storage & Communication. Railways & Transport, Other Means

are segments within the overall Transport, Storage & Communication sector.

31%

28%

41% Agriculture

Industry

Services

16%

29% 55%

Agriculture

Industry

Services

14%

27% 59%

Agriculture

Industry

Services



Figure 5: Growth in Transport Sector, FY2005 to 2012

Transport, Storage & Communication Sector at current prices has grown at a CAGR of 14.8

14.2% in the period between FY 2005 to FY 2012. Within this sector, railways have grown at a

CAGR or 12.0 % while transport by other means has grown at a CAGR of 14.8%.

The railway sub-segment is estimated to be Rs. 658.4 billion at current prices in FY 2012 as

against Rs. 584.8 billion if FY 2011, while transport by other means is estimated to be Rs.

4,444.2 billion as against Rs. 3,947 billion in 2011. The transport sector has shown a growth of

13% over the previous year.

4.3 STRUCTURE OF LOGISTICS/TRANSPORT SERVICES INDUSTRY Transport/Logistics service is a large industry and consists of various categories of services. The

following chart summarizes the various services within this vast field.

2,494.8 2,789.6

3,232.4 3,632.8

4,078.6

4,783.7

5,628.7

6,337.1

297.0 306.2 354.8 454.1 470.6 613.3 584.8 658.4

1,692.9 1,939.1

2,246.9 2,497.6

2,876.0 3,189.2

3,947.4 4,444.2

0.0

1,000.0

2,000.0

3,000.0

4,000.0

5,000.0

6,000.0

7,000.0

2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

Transport, Storage & Communication Railways Transport, Other Means

All Values in Rs. Billion CAGR : 14.2%

CAGR : 14.8%

CAGR : 12.0%



Figure 6: Structure of Logistics Industry

Logistics/Transport services can be classified into 12 categories based on the mode of

transportation (Road, Rail, Water, and Air) and range of services (Transportation, Warehousing,

Value Added Services).

Express parcel services are value added services which use surface modes like rail

and road. They are costlier than pure transportation services because of services

like parcel tracking, door-to-door delivery etc. These are time-bound deliveries that

are faster than pure trucking services but slower compared to courier services. They

are more customer-centric and relatively hassle free to use.



Figure 7: Schematic - Demarcation between Express parcel and other services

Express parcel services would be premium service when compared to standalone

transportation service like trucking or simply warehousing.

4.4 EXPRESS PARCEL POST: DEFINITION OF THE MARKET It is defined by India Post as the express delivery of parcels to domestic locations. The upper

limit of the parcel is 35 kg, within India. This service of India Post almost always uses surface

delivery modes only. It competes primarily with door-to-door express parcel service providers

using surface mode include TCI, Gati, Safexpress, Indian Railways etc. It is to be noted that

every player defines the upper limit of parcel that can be accepted by them in their

own way. In such cases, only those services which fall within prescribed weight

limits defined by EPP and which directly compete with EPP in terms of their value

offering have been included for market size calculations.

Express Parcel Post is almost always delivered by surface (Rail/Road). We have not

included any parcel delivery done by air as competition.

Further, some players like Indian Players act as back-end service providers for other players.

For example, India Post uses Indian Railways for transporting EPP consignments. This is

common in the industry as many players use other service providers for transporting goods. For

example: small service providers use other passenger bus service to transport their cargo. In all



such cases, the business is attributed to the entity providing the end-to-end service for the

customer.

We will define the market as any express parcel service for domestic locations using

surface modes (Rail, Road). We will define it as parcels that are within 35 kg. It is

characterised by time bound deliveries. The transit time however is typically much

longer when compared to courier service, which is the major distinction.

However, within city limits and shorter distances, the distinction between courier

services and express parcel post blurs as the time component (dependent on node

of transport) would nearly be the same.

4.5 PARCEL SERVICES: INDIAN MARKET This market for transport of 35 kg and below parcels by surface mode can be further divided

into the three tiers based on the product offering, price and the target segments of the various

players.

1) Segment I: Large service providers with pan India operations with well developed

infrastructure including large fleet of own/vendor vehicles, trained personnel, computerized

offices. For example: Gati, Safexpress, TCI XPS, ARC etc. Typically all of them have

additional business like trucking, supply chain solutions etc.

2) Segment II: Regional travel & transport companies who offer parcel services. For

example: KPN, Jahan Travels, VRL etc. Many of them have other business including

passenger transport. Their fleet may consist of trucks, buses or a combination of both.

There are some players in this category who operate as pure-play parcel service providers.

3) Segment III: Smaller travel and transport companies who offer parcel service. Their

footprint is limited to a few cities where they offer their services. This segment can again be

divided into two types of players; bus operators who also double up as parcel transport

companies and pure-play parcel service providers. Those who do not provide door-to-door

service.



Express Parcel Post and Indian Railways Parcel service are two unique players in this market.

The reasons are:

The charges are very competitive compared to Segment II players.

Both have focus on individual and establishment segment like Tier II and III players.

Typically Tier II and III players are not strong in B2B segment, especially large

organizations.

Both have a nationwide setup unlike Tier II and III players who are typically strong in 1 or 2

regions only.

Both offer value added services which are offered only by Tier I and the leading Tier II

players only.

This is explained in the following schematic.



Figure 8: Structure of Parcel Services Market in India

The following table provides the revenues from products of private players which are similar to

Express Parcel Post services. The players have been divided into Tier I, II and III as described

earlier. The source of the information is primary survey done among suppliers as well as

audited annual reports of these companies.

•High charges per consignment •National network; mainly in metros and large cities. •Heavy investment in infrastructure, warehouses, human resources etc.

•Not present in passenger transport business. •High presence in other business like cargo, supply chain outsourcing etc.

•Focus on value added services like tracking, assured delivery within a number of days etc.

•Focus on corporates and individuals.

Segment I

•Medium charges per consignment •Regional Network; metros and Tier II and III cities. •Moderate investment in infrastructure, warehouses, human resources etc.

•May or may not be present in passenger transport business. •Limited presence in other business like cargo, supply chain outsourcing etc. is limited.

•Not much focus on value added services. •Focus on individuals and small businesses.

Segment II

• Medium to low charges per consignment •Presence in few cities. •Low investment in infrastructure, warehouses, human resources etc. •May or may not be present in passenger transport business. •No presence in other business like cargo, supply chain outsourcing •No focus on value added services. •Focus on individuals and small businesses.

Segment III



Table 2: Revenues of Domestic Parcel Service Providers

Tier Company Name Revenue in Rs. Crore Revenue in Rs. Crore

FY 2011 (L) FY 2011(U) FY 2012 (L) FY 2012 (U)

I

Safexpress 20 30 22 35 Gati 40 70 45 80 TCI XPS 20 30 22 35 Others (Blue Dart, AFL, DTDC etc.) 50 100 55 115

II

Patel Roadways 15 20 17 25 ARC 30 40 35 45 VRL Parcel Service 15 30 17 35 Trackon Couriers 10 15 11 17 ABT 10 20 11 25 Tier II Others (KPN, Parveen, Various State Road Transport Corporations) 90 185 100 215

III

Central Parcel Service 2 5 2 5 Rathi Meena Travels 2 4 2 5 Prakash Parcel Services 1 3 1 3 Anant Parcel Service 1 3 1 3 Fast Parcel Services 1 3 1 3 On Wheels Parcel Service 1 3 1 3 Tamil Nadu Parcel Service 2 5 2 5 Flyking 3 5 3 4 Tier III Others 310 415 330 450

--- India Post 53.5 53.5 72 72 --- Indian Railways 150 250 165 280 --- Total 826.5 1,289.5 915 1,460 L- Lower, U- Upper

In terms of value, Tier I players account for approximately 15.7% to 18.2% share with players

like Safexpress, Gati and TCI XPS. Tier II accounts for 21.0 to 25.0% share; this includes

players like Patel Roadways, ARC, VRL Parcel Service and various state road transport

corporations. Finally, Tier III players account for around 37.5% to 32.9% of the market by

value with presence of many small players. India Post share is estimated to be in the region of

5.0% to 7.2% and that of Indian Railways between 18.0% and 19.1%. The share of India

Post is has increased this year because it has grown at a much higher rate when compared to

the industry.

There a number of small players in this market in the Tier II and III category accounting for a

significant share of the market. It is to be noted that many of the small courier players who



operate within a state also compete with both Speed Post and Express Parcel Post service.

Some of the companies that we came across in the two rounds of survey are given below.

Table 3: List of Tier II & III Players

Company Name State Airex Couriers Andhra Pradesh ANL Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Cablenet Courier Services Andhra Pradesh Central Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Deccan World Courier Service Andhra Pradesh G S Courier Service Andhra Pradesh Goel Parcel Carriers Andhra Pradesh Hanuman Daily Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Inter India Courier Express Andhra Pradesh JSR Express Andhra Pradesh Kowuru Regular Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Messenger Courier Andhra Pradesh New Global Express Andhra Pradesh New Hyderabad Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Pacific Express Couriers Andhra Pradesh Palnadu Daily Parcel Services Andhra Pradesh Pankaj Cargo Movers Andhra Pradesh Premier Express Couriers Andhra Pradesh Ramex Express Courier Service Andhra Pradesh Sakshi Couriers Andhra Pradesh Sanchar Courier Andhra Pradesh Savega City Express Courier Andhra Pradesh Seetha Ramanjaneya Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Skymail Worldwide Express Andhra Pradesh SLNS Worldwide Express Andhra Pradesh SME Express Courier Services Andhra Pradesh Southern Express Andhra Pradesh Sri Ambey Express Courier Services Andhra Pradesh Sri Kanya Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Sri Ravi Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Sri Sunil Daily Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Superfast Couriers Andhra Pradesh Telengana Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh Tracknet Courier Andhra Pradesh Ucall Courier Andhra Pradesh V B S Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh V K City Courier Andhra Pradesh Vijay Express Couriers Andhra Pradesh Vijayadhanalakshmi Daily Parcel Service Andhra Pradesh World First Courier Express Andhra Pradesh KIC Courier Assam SG Commercial Service Assam



JNL Packer & Movers Bihar Monopoly Couriers & Cargo Chhattisgarh Rekhi Transport Chhattisgarh Alfa Courier Service Gujarat First Connection Gujarat Indian Express Courier Gujarat Jay Ambe Parcel Service Gujarat K Gopal Parcel Service Gujarat Kajal Couriers Gujarat Laksh Parcel Service Gujarat Midway Express Courier Gujarat Patel Express Courier Gujarat Pawandoot Express Courier Gujarat Pegasus Courier Gujarat Pradesh Parcel Service Gujarat Shankar Parcel Service Gujarat Shiv Punjabi Parcel Service Gujarat Shree Ambe Maa Parcel Service Gujarat Shree Anjani Courier Service Gujarat Shree Maruti Courier Gujarat Shreeji Express Courier & Cargo Gujarat Star Parcel Service Gujarat Sunlight Courier Services Gujarat Trishul Logistics Gujarat Venus Express Courier Services Gujarat Deep Blue Xpress Haryana ASM Himachal Pradesh City Delivers Himachal Pradesh Ambit Courier Service Jharkhand New Courier Service Jharkhand On Day Courier & Cargo Jharkhand A S Packers & Couriers Karnataka Aishwarya Associates Karnataka Apollo Express Courier Service Karnataka Ashok Airways Courier Karnataka Ben Xpress Karnataka Caper Express Karnataka Classic Courier Karnataka Coastline Express Karnataka Economic Express Courier Company Karnataka Enbee Couriers Karnataka Exodus Courier & Cargo Karnataka GMS Express Karnataka Hallmark Cargo & Couriers Karnataka Indcity Courier Service Karnataka Janapriya Courier Services Karnataka Messenger Logistics Solutions Karnataka Metex Metro Express Couriers Karnataka Om Express Hex Courier Karnataka



Pigeon Courier Services Karnataka Quick Transports and Couriers Karnataka Rain Drops Courier Services Karnataka Rainbow Couriers Karnataka Shah Couriers Private Limited Karnataka Sharma Transports Karnataka Southern Courier Services Karnataka Speed Express International Karnataka Speedking Courier Services Karnataka Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Transport Company Karnataka SS Transport & Cargo Karnataka Surfair Courier Karnataka Time Express Karnataka Transworld Express Couriers Karnataka Trident Express Courier Service Karnataka VJB Courier Karnataka VR Parcel Movers Karnataka Classic Star Parcel Service Kerala Establishment Couriers Kerala Indu Couriers Kerala JSL Courier & Cargo Kerala Kairali Couriers Kerala Malabar Couriers Kerala Speed & Safe couriers Kerala Sprout Parcel Service Kerala SV Express Kerala Welgate Express Courier Kerala Ashish Transport Service Madhya Pradesh Courier King Madhya Pradesh Deluxe Courier Madhya Pradesh DIG Courier Madhya Pradesh Fast Courier Service Madhya Pradesh Hand To Hand Madhya Pradesh Khatri Courier Service Madhya Pradesh Kuneel Couriers Madhya Pradesh Madhur Express Madhya Pradesh Neelam Courier And Cargo Madhya Pradesh New Jaiswal Transport Madhya Pradesh One 'o' Clock Express Madhya Pradesh Prakash Parcel Services Madhya Pradesh Reliance Courier Madhya Pradesh Royal City Courier Service Madhya Pradesh Saint Vasudev Courier Service Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivshakti Transport Couriers Madhya Pradesh Smart Courier Madhya Pradesh Vishal Courier Madhya Pradesh Anant Parcel Service Maharashtra Cityland Express Courier Maharashtra CPC Parcel Service Maharashtra



Crown Connection Maharashtra Express Parcel Service Maharashtra Falcon courier Maharashtra Gobind Parcel Service Maharashtra Goel Roadways Maharashtra Good Day Express Maharashtra Grand Slam Express Maharashtra Green Dart Logistics Maharashtra K. G. N Transport Services Maharashtra Mehraj Logistics Maharashtra Metro Time Express Maharashtra New Parcel Service Maharashtra Om Bharat Transport Maharashtra Organized Courier & Logistic Services Maharashtra Pace Express Maharashtra Palande Maharashtra Perfect Courier And Cargo Maharashtra Poonam Courier Maharashtra Proactive Couriers & Cargo Maharashtra Rworld Couriers Maharashtra Silverline Express Maharashtra TPC Maharashtra Transpeak Courier & Logistics Maharashtra Vichare Maharashtra Western Parcel Service Maharashtra Akashganga Courier New Delhi Anand Courier & Cargo New Delhi Chain Express Courier Services New Delhi Crown Courier New Delhi Day Night New Delhi Fast Parcel Service New Delhi Global Parcel Services New Delhi Godara Express Courier Service New Delhi Jet Courier and Cargo Services New Delhi Kaizen Express Courier Services New Delhi Megha Parcel Service New Delhi Okara Parcel Service New Delhi Om Logistics New Delhi On Dot Courier New Delhi On Wheels Parcel Service New Delhi Overseas New Delhi Quick Railway Parcel Service New Delhi Raj Integrated New Delhi Ramkishan Transport Company New Delhi S N Parcel Service New Delhi SAL Logistics New Delhi SM Courier Services New Delhi Trade Wings Express Courier New Delhi Trust Express Services New Delhi



Western Express Couriers New Delhi A B M Courier Service Orissa POVC Courier Services Orissa Radhika Express Orissa Reliable Courier Service Orissa Sea shore Courier & Cargo Orissa AAA Courier Company Punjab Airmen Courier Service Punjab BSA Citi Couriers Punjab DEB Courier Service Punjab Elite Courier Service Punjab FMCL Worldwide Courier Punjab Jain Courier Service Punjab Ludhiana Express Punjab Safe & Sound Logistics Punjab Sigma Express Courier Service Punjab Sunrays Express Courier Punjab Naveen Courier Rajasthan On Point Express Courier Service Rajasthan Pushpak Courier Service Rajasthan Viratra Travels Rajasthan VK Express Rajasthan ABT Express Courier Tamil Nadu ABT Travels Tamil Nadu ACX Courier Tamil Nadu AJ Worldwide Express Tamil Nadu AKR Express Tamil Nadu Alliance Expert Courier Tamil Nadu AMT Parcel Service Tamil Nadu ARC Parcel Service Tamil Nadu Citizen Courier Services Tamil Nadu Deccan Shipping & Transport Services Tamil Nadu Dex Solutions Tamil Nadu Elbex Couriers Tamil Nadu Esquire Express Tamil Nadu Franch Express Tamil Nadu Ganapathi Parcel Service Tamil Nadu Jahan Travels Tamil Nadu KPS Parcel Service Tamil Nadu KPN Parcel Service Tamil Nadu Legend International Courier & Cargo Tamil Nadu New Touch Express Courier Tamil Nadu Parcel By Night Tamil Nadu Parveen Travels - Express Parcel Tamil Nadu R U T Parcel Service Tamil Nadu Ramu Parcel Service Tamil Nadu Reputed Express Courier Tamil Nadu Royal Golden Roadlines Tamil Nadu S M R Transports & Parcel Service Tamil Nadu



SKT Parcel Service Tamil Nadu Sri Abhirami Parcel Service Tamil Nadu SRM Transport Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Parcel Service Tamil Nadu Target Logistics Tamil Nadu Transwell Express Courier Tamil Nadu Udhayam Parcel Service Tamil Nadu World Star Express Tamil Nadu Arora Courier Service Uttar Pradesh Blue Bird Courier Uttar Pradesh Condor Express Courier Uttar Pradesh Ever Green Express Courier Uttar Pradesh F R C Road Lines Daily Parcel Service Uttar Pradesh Jaina Courier Service Uttar Pradesh Khare Courier Uttar Pradesh Laxmi Courier Uttar Pradesh Night and Night Courier Uttar Pradesh Rajkamal Transport Company Uttar Pradesh Sai Express Services Uttar Pradesh Venus Courier Services Uttar Pradesh Yogesh Courier Uttar Pradesh AB Logistics West Bengal Aerofast Express Courier West Bengal Akashdoot Courier Service West Bengal Courier World West Bengal Dolphin West Bengal Exdel Courier Service West Bengal Gee Air Courier West Bengal Good Luck West Bengal Indo Nepal Courier Service West Bengal Inland Courier West Bengal Jai Mata Di Transport Service West Bengal Kalinga Courier Service West Bengal Metropolitan Courier West Bengal Pacific Courier Service West Bengal Pal Goods Transport Company West Bengal Shivam Courier Service West Bengal Speedman Services West Bengal Sugam Parivahan West Bengal Suvidhi Express Courier West Bengal Velocity Express West Bengal Yogayog Courier West Bengal

In addition to above, almost every inter-city bus operator also offers parcel services.

Competition for EPP service includes all state road transport corporations and

private players offering such services. The following pictures show a couple of

parcel operators in Tamil Nadu.



Figure 9: Express Parcel Operator, Tamil Nadu

Figure 10: Express Parcel Operator 2, Tamil Nadu



4.6 MARKET, STATE WISE

4.6.1 MARKET SIZE BASED ON GDP The size of the parcel market as defined by us is directly dependent on the level of economic

activity. The level of economic activity can be represented by an indicator like GDP. Given this,

the state wise market for parcel services as defined by us can be estimated basis the proportion

of contribution of a given state in the GDP of India. Using this method, the state wise market is

split in the following manner.

Table 4: Parcel Services Market, FY 2012 based on GDP

State/ Union Territory Market Size in Rs. Crores

FY 2011 FY 2012 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 1 1 Andhra Pradesh 88 103 Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 Assam 17 17 Bihar 32 41 Chandigarh 4 3 Chhattisgarh 19 20 Delhi 43 50 Goa 4 6 Gujarat 76 86 Haryana 40 47 Himachal Pradesh 7 9 Jammu & Kashmir 7 8 Jharkhand 20 17 Karnataka 61 70 Kerala 42 49 Madhya Pradesh 39 45 Maharashtra 168 182 Manipur 2 2 Meghalaya 2 3 Mizoram 1 1 Nagaland 1 2 Orissa 28 33 Pondicherry 2 2 Punjab 36 39 Rajasthan 47 56 Sikkim 1 1 Tamil Nadu 86 96 Tripura 3 3 Uttar Pradesh 93 100 Uttarakhand 11 13 West Bengal 75 85 All India 1,058 1,190



Among states, Maharashtra is the largest market followed by Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh

and Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. The top five states form nearly fifty percent of the total market.

4.6.2 MARKET SIZE RANGE Similar to GDP, we also estimated the market size based on urban population and number of

GSM subscribers in each state. We have used these three methods for estimating the state wise

share of the market. Each of these methods gave a market estimate for Express Parcel Services

by state. Taking the lowest and highest of the three estimates, we get a range. This is

summarized below.



Table 5: State Wise Market Size Estimate

State/ Union Territory Market Size (Rs. Crore)

FY 2011 FY 2012 Andhra Pradesh 79 to 88 87 to 103 Assam 12 to 18 14 to 20 Bihar 32 to 44 37 to 45 Gujarat 64 to 76 73 to 86 Haryana 24 to 40 27 to 47 Himachal Pradesh 7 to 9 9 to 11 Jammu & Kashmir 7 to 10 8 to 11 Jharkhand 20 to 30 17 to 25 Karnataka 60 to 66 68 to 74 Kerala 42 to 45 47 to 50 Madhya Pradesh 39 to 56 45 to 63 Chhattisgarh 12 to 19 15 to 20 Maharashtra 143 to 168 161 to 182 Orissa 20 to 30 22 to 35 Punjab 29 to 36 33 to 40 Rajasthan 48 to 54 54 to 63 Tamil Nadu 86 to 101 96 to 111 Uttar Pradesh 93 to 125 100 to 140 Uttarakhand 9 to 11 10 to 13 West Bengal 75 to 82 85 to 92 Delhi 43 to 46 45 to 52 North East (Except Assam) 11 to 12 12 to 13

The range of estimate is high for those states which have a very low or high per capita GDP.

For example, a state with high per capita GDP would mean that a lower population produces

much higher output. This would limit the number of telecom subscribers in the state due to

population limitations. In such cases, it is more reliable to depend on GDP.



5 COMPETITION SCENARIO 5.1 PLAYERS IN THE INDUSTRY Parcel services market as defined by us is highly fragmented with more than 400 companies

operating currently in the market. The public sector is strong in this space with presence of

India Post, Indian Railway and all state transport corporations. Many private players which are

into various other logistics businesses also offer parcel services. For example, Gati, TCI, and

Blue Dart etc; however, the bulk of the market is contributed by players providing mainly

regional and intra-city services. For example, many large inter-city bus operators also operate

door-to-door parcel services. Various local players who offer their services in a limited area also

offer parcel services.

It is to be noted that the upper limit of 35 kgs is unique to India Post EPP. Other players have

their own definition of what constitutes parcel services. For example, Indian Railways and bus

operators would also carry articles like two-wheelers in parcel services. In fact, in the Tier III

segment, there is no clear definition of what constitutes a parcel; they accept whatever

business that comes their way.

5.2 MARKET SHARE OF MAJOR PLAYERS, VALUE

Figure 11: Share of Major Players in Parcel Services by Value, 2010-11

18.1 to 19.4% 4.1 to 6.5%

4.8 to 5.4%

2.3 to 2.5%

2.3 to 2.5%

3.1 to 3.6% 62.7 to 63.3%

Indian Railways

India Post

Gati

ARC

TCI

Safexpress

Others



Figure 12: Share of Major Players in Parcel Services by Value, 2011-12

It is estimated from the supply side that the total express parcel industry as defined by us in

India is valued at around Rs. 1,190 Crores for 2011-12. This market has grown by about 12%

from Rs.1, 058 crores in 2010-11. India Post’s EPP has a share in the range of 5.0 to 7.2% in

this in market. The share of India Post has increased this year because of the high revenue

growth of EPP. The charts above shows market share of major players by value for 2010-11

and 2011-12.

18.2 to 19.5% 5 to 7.2%

5.2 to 5.7%

2.4 to 2.8%

2.3 to 2.5%

3.3 to 3.7% 61.8 to 62.8%

Indian Railways

India Post

Gati

ARC

Safexpress

TCI XPS

Others



5.2.1 STATE WISE MARKET SHARE OF INDIA POST

Based on market size estimate discussed in Section 4.7 and revenues earned by EPP in each

state, following is the estimated market share.

Table 6 : State Wise Market Share of India Post

State/ Union Territory

Market Share (%) FY 2011 (L) FY 2011 (U) FY 2012 (L) FY 2012(U)

Andhra Pradesh 2.3% 2.6% 3.2% 3.8% Assam 0.1% 0.2% 1.7% 2.4% Bihar 14.0% 19.2% 17.3% 21.0%

Chhattisgarh 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% Delhi 29.4% 31.4% 37.7% 38.8%

Gujarat 0.6% 0.7% 0.8% 0.9% Haryana 3.5% 5.8% 3.6% 6.3%

Himachal Pradesh 9.2% 11.8% 8.2% 12.9% Jharkhand 0.9% 1.3% 0.2% 0.4% Karnataka 4.6% 5.0% 4.9% 5.4%

Kerala 1.7% 1.8% 1.8% 1.9% Madhya Pradesh 5.5% 7.9% 6.4% 9.0%

Maharashtra 5.0% 5.8% 5.2% 5.9% Orissa 2.0% 3.1% 1.9% 3.0%

Punjab 3.4% 4.2% 4.6% 5.6% Rajasthan 1.8% 2.0% 1.0% 1.1%

Tamil Nadu 4.4% 5.2% 6.6% 7.7% Uttar Pradesh 2.6% 3.5% 2.2% 3.0%

Uttarakhand 4.7% 5.7% 0.8% 1.0% West Bengal 2.5% 2.7% 3.9% 4.3%

The market share in Delhi is high because of the concentration of government institutions.

Further, the presence of private companies is much higher in satellite cities like Gurgaon, Noida,

and Faridabad etc. which would be accounted for in respective state shares. The estimate is

also subject to higher error due to ease of movement between Delhi and neighbouring states.



5.3 MARKET SHARE OF MAJOR PLAYERS, VOLUME In terms of consignment volumes also, India Post is in the second position. The overall volume

in terms of consignments is in the region of 170 to 190 million consignments (from 150 to 180

million consignments in 2010-11). Following charts shown estimate of market share of major

players by volume for 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Figure 13: Share of Major Players in Parcel Services by Volume, 2010-11

Figure 14: Share of Major Players in Parcel Services by Volume, 20111-12

17.0 to 19.0% 4.5 to 5.5%

3.5 to 5.0%

1.5 to 2.5%

1.5 to 2.5%

3.0 to 3.5% 65.0 to 68.0%

Indian Railways

India Post

Gati

ARC

Safexpress

TCI

Others

17.0 to 19.0% 5.0 to 6.0%

3.7 to 5.2%

1.5 to 2.3%

1.9 to 2.7%

3.3 to 3.7% 63.0 to 66.0%

Indian Railways

India Post

Gati

ARC

Safexpress

TCI

Others



The share of India Post has increased in 2011-12 because the volume growth (24%) has

exceeded volume growth of the industry (9-11%).

5.4 COMPARISON OF PRODUCTS The following table lists the products of major competitors that compete with Express Parcel

Post service offered by India Post. The products in bold are those that are closest to EPP

offered by that particular company. The base for comparison is parcel services shipped by any

surface mode.

Gati and Safexpress have launched new products this year. Gati has recently started

a joint venture company for express distribution, Gati-KWE and has re-arranged its

product portfolio.

Table 7: Products of Competitors that are comparable to EPP

Safexpress Gati TCI XPS Patel Roadways Express (Safe box 10 & 20 Kg) Campus2Home Easy2move

Gati-KWE Laabh Gati-KWE Desk to Desk Gati-KWE Light Express Express Plus

Domestic Package Express (Surface)

Patel Retail Patel Sundry

ARC Blue Dart AFL DTDC First Flight ARC on Schedule

Dart Surfaceline

Wiz Surface (SPX)

DTDC Lite, Surface

First Wheels

5.5 PROFILE OF MAJOR PLAYERS

5.5.1 INDIAN RAILWAYS Indian Railways has a dedicated parcel service. This division earned revenue of Rs. 1,200-1,300

crores in 2011-12.

It is to be noted that Indian Railways is a backbone service provider for many other service

provider. In such cases, the revenues would need to be attributed to the entity providing the

end-to-end service. Only those volumes which are collected by Indian Railways directly can be

attributed to it in market size calculations.



Further, Indian Railways carries cargo above 35 kg as part of its parcel offering. Such volumes

do not compete with India Post EPP offering.

As per the ‘Working Group Report for XII Plan: Railway Sector’, Indian Railways has aggressive

plans to grow the parcel business at over 12% in terms of revenue in the XII Plan period. The

growth is planned to be achieved through a better pricing strategy linked to rise in fuel costs

and inflation, concessional rates in empty flow direction, higher parcel rates in segments which

can afford them; like magazines.

5.5.2 SAFEXPRESS Safexpress was launched in 1997 as a door-to-door service provider with super hubs at Delhi,

Mumbai and Bangalore. It is headquartered in New Delhi. Surface transport infrastructure

includes over 3500 vehicles (ISO 9002).

Figure 15: Financial Information for Safexpress

Total revenues earned by Safexpress in the year 2010-11 were Rs. 589.5 Crores. This is a CAGR

of 15.8% over last 6 years.

5.5.2.1 PRODUCTS & SERVICES The following products & services are offered by Safexpress.

282.7

355.2

422.6 449.3

510.3

589.5

74.2 97.7 109.8 101.9 101.0 94.7

47.8 62.9 70.0 60.0 60.3 63.0 0.0

100.0

200.0

300.0

400.0

500.0

600.0

700.0

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Income Operating Profit PAT

All Values in Rs. Crores



1) Express: This is the core service offering of Safexpress and is for movement of parcels &

cargo. Though it makes use of multimodal transport, main transportation is through surface

.

This service competes with EPP of India Post. Safe Express has launched two

other services which compete w ith EPP

2)

Campus2Home: This is a service launched this year for catering to student needs, for

shipping back student baggage from hostel to home. Safexpress offers this service to

around 15 management schools across India. Provides 20kg boxes on request.

3) Easy2Move: This is a time definite services offered for 20kg shipments in flat rate boxes,

launched this year.

4) S

Other services include:

afe Air: This

service is used to transport time sensitive cargo by Air.

5)

a)

VAS:

b)

DOD (Draft on Delivery)

Safebox: Packing boxes

c)

offered in two sizes for cargo upto 10 and 20 kgs.

All Risk Cover:

In exchange for paying a risk charge the consignor is eligible claim losses

in case of loss of/damage to goods

6)

7)

Stock2Shelf: This is a retail inventory management service launched recently. It involves

stock assessment at retailer end and delivering stock to feeder warehouses within specified

timelines.

ILM (Integrated

Logistics Management): Third party logistics product for optimizing

supply chains of companies

8)

5.5.3 GATI

Consulting: Provides logistics consultancy services. It provides consulting services across

different industry verticals like Apparel & Lifestyle, Healthcare, Hi-Tech, Publishing,

Automotive, Institutional, Engineering & Electrical, FMCG & Consumer Durables.

Gati started as a cargo management company in 1989 and has now grown into an organization

with more than 3500 employees and covers 622 out of 626 districts in India. It has a fleet of



over 4000 vehicles, refrigerated trucks, container vessels and also warehousing facilities across

India. Gati has international presence with offices in China, Singapore, Bhutan, Dubai, Hong

Kong, Thailand, Nepal and Malaysia. In 1998, it became the first logistics company in India to

be awarded ISO 9001 certification.

In February 2012, Gati announced a joint venture company between its EDSC

(Express Distribution & Supply Chain) division and Japanese logistics provider

Kintetsu World Express. This JV, Gati-KWE is now involved with express

distribution.

Figure 16: Financial Information for Gati

Total revenues earned by Gati in the year 2011-12 were Rs. 801.3 crores. This is a CAGR of

11.7 % over last 6 years.

5.5.3.1 PRODUCTS & SERVICES The core business is express distribution & supply chain solutions. Services offered

are categorised into: Premium Services, Express Services, Special Products, Transport

Solutions and Value Added Services. Under domestic express distribution, the following

services offered by Gati compete in the express parcel segment.

457.7 461.0

575.5 630.3

751.4

905.7

801.3

40.3 48.9 55.7 44.7 86.1 93.0

170.1

20.1 23.4 23.8 -15.1 15.1 14.3

72.0

-200.0

0.0

200.0

400.0

600.0

800.0

1,000.0

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12





1) Gati-KWE Laabh: This is a regular shipping service for small & medium enterprises. This

service is offered for shipments up to 20 kg. This is a part of Special services portfolio.

2) Gati Desk to Desk: This is the closest offering to EPP. It is targeted at individuals

and industries (For sample shipments). It is offered for shipments upto 5kg. This is a part of

Special services portfolio.

3) Gati-KWE Light: This service is offered for shipments upto 2.5 kg. This is a part of Special

services portfolio.

4) Gati-KWE Student Express: This service can be utilised to transport student related

cargo at a discounted price. This is a part of Special services portfolio.

5) Express & Express Plus: These are for parcel, freight & special cargo movement by

surface.

Other Express Distribution & Supply Chain services offered by Gati:

6) Premium & Premium Plus: For time critical shipments sent by air with time & day

definite deliveries.

7) Gati-KWE Transport Solutions: For bulk transportation of commercial goods based on

Full Truck Load (FTL) or Less than Truck Load (LTL) including tie-up with Indian Railways

for transporting goods through parcel trains.

8) Special Products:

a) Gati e- Retail - Logistics solutions for online retailers.

b) Gati –KWE Art Express- Caters to art galleries, antique dealers, collectors.

c) Gati Café Deliver – Services include internet browsing, assistance with packaging &

shipping, photocopying, printing & scanning facilities, fax and STD/ISD/PCO facilities.

d) Gati Secure box: Packing service for consignments sent by air. Offered as 10 kg boxes.

9) VAS: Freight on Delivery (FOD), Cash on Delivery(COD), Draft on Delivery (DOD), Octroi

Clearance



Apart from the above mentioned Express Distribution services in India, Gati offers supply chains

solutions. In the international arena also it offers logistics, freight forwarding and supply chains

solutions covering Europe and APAC countries

5.5.4 TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF INDIA TCI was launched in Kolkata in the year 1958 and became a Private Limited company in the

year 1965. In 1974, it went public. It’s an ISO 9001:2008 certified company and is listed at NSE

and BSE. Its network comprises of 1000 company owned offices, work force of over 6000

people and managed warehouse space of 8.5 million square feet. It also has a fleet of 6 cargo

ships.

Figure 17: Financial Information for TCIL

Total revenues earned by TCIL in the year 2011-12 were Rs. 1828.9 Crores. This is a CAGR of

10.9% over last 6 years.

5.5.4.1 PRODUCTS & SERVICES The TCI XPS division of TCI Group operates in the express distribution segment. The revenue

of this division is around 50 crores. The following service is the closest competitor to EPP.

1,089.6 1,202.9

1,304.4 1,454.6

1,759.9 1,828.9

74.3 80.8 99.0 114.0 104.8 107.6

30.6 28.4 28.3 43.0 51.3 51.8 0.0

200.0

400.0

600.0

800.0

1,000.0

1,200.0

1,400.0

1,600.0

1,800.0

2,000.0

2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12





1) Domestic Package Express: It is a part of the Courier Pack Service. Parcels & Samples

(upto 5 kg with maximum invoice value of Rs. 5,000) can be sent.

Other services include:

2) Air Express Service: For transportation of goods by Air. The maximum weight per

consignment for this service is 150 kg and maximum value of shipment is Rs. 5,000 per kg.

3) Surface Express: For transportation of cargo by surface mode. There are no specific

weight limits per consignment for this service. Tariffs are based on a combination of weight

& distance slabs. Minimum chargeable weight for this service is 500 kg.

4) Courier Pack Service: This is a blanket term for international and domestic document &

parcel services. Bulk mailing, mail management services are also offered.

5) VAS:

a) POD/e-POD (Proof of Delivery), COD (Collect on Delivery), FOD (Freight on Delivery),

Octroi Clearance services.

b) Sunday / Holiday service on demand.

c) Priority Service: This is a day definite delivery service with money-back guarantee.

This service is available only in metros (24 hours) and certain non metros (48 hours)

and is not available for suburban locations.

5.5.5 PATEL ROADWAYS Patel Roadways was established in 1959 and now presently has a network that spans 500

stations countrywide manned by a workforce of over 1000 people.

5.5.5.1 PRODUCTS & SERVICES The following services are offered by Patel Roadways.

1) Patel Retail: This is the flagship product of the company & is the closest offering to EPP. It

is a premium door-to-door express cargo service.

2) Patel FTL: This is a point-to-point hard freight service. It is targeted at establishments and

traders.



3) Patel Sundry (LTL): For hard freight sundry distribution.

5.5.6 ASSOCIATED ROAD CARRIERS Associated Road Carriers was established in 1972 and has its registered office at Kolkata. Its

range of services includes parcel services, containerised goods and port clearance. It specializes

in project transportation. It has network spanning 4500 destinations serviced by 575+ outlets in

375 cities. In 2006, ARC was acquired by TNT.

Figure 18: Financial Information for ARC

Total revenues earned by Associated Road Carriers in the year 2010-11 were Rs. 890.6 Crores.

This is a CAGR of 23.1% over last 6 years.

5.5.6.1 PRODUCTS & SERVICES The following services are offered by ARC.

314.5 392.1

491.3

592.0

733.1

890.6

8.1 15.2 23.5 33.7 43.6 65.7

1.9 5.1 9.2 14.0 21.5 35.3 0.0

100.0

200.0

300.0

400.0

500.0

600.0

700.0

800.0

900.0

1,000.0

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11





1) ARC on Schedule: This is the parcel service of ARC and is the closest to EPP. This

service is mid-way between conventional transport and express cargo, thus provides better

services than conventional transport at lower rates when compared to express.

2) Project Transportation: For transportation of project machinery and material to and fro

source to sites.

3) Other Specialised Services:

a) Containerised Services: For movement of White Goods and other material as per

customer requirements.

b) High Value & Fragile Material: For transportation of high valued/delicate/fragile goods.

c) H-H Goods: Packing and moving of household.

d) FTL & PTL: Transportation of full truck and part loads.

Apart from the above, ARC also offers warehouse services.

5.5.7 OTHER PLAYERS Apart from above major players, courier & logistics majors like Blue Dart, DTDC, First Flight,

and AFL also have products/services which compete with EPP.

1) Blue Dart

Dart Surfaceline: Ground distribution service reaching over 27,578 locations in India for

shipments weighing 10 kgs and above.

2) DTDC

DTDC Lite: Express cargo services offered by surface mode.

3) First Flight

First Wheels: For cargo delivery by surface within country.

4) AFL

Wiz Surface (SPX): This is a domestic door to door express pick-up and delivery service for

Non Commercial & Commercial parcel shipments sent by surface mode. AFL has been taken

over by FedEx and its Wiz services have been discontinued from Dec1, 2012.



5.6 RELATIVE STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES OF MAJOR PLAYERS The following table shows the relative strengths and weaknesses of some players across tiers in

the Express Parcel market. A ‘High’ indicates relative area of strength while a ‘Low’ indicates

relative area of weakness.

Table 8: Strengths & Weaknesses of Speed Post vis-à-vis Competition

EPP Gati Safexpress Railways KPN Tier -- I I -- II Regions Covered -North High Medium High High -- -South High High High High High -East High Medium Medium High Low -West High High High High Low Focus Areas -Metros Medium High High High High -Smaller Cities High Medium Medium High High -Rural High Low Low High Low Segments -B2B High High High High Medium -B2C Medium Low Medium Medium Low-Med -C2C Medium Low Low High Medium -C2B Low-Med Low Low Low-Med Low Pricing- Retail Low High High Low Medium Pricing-Business Low-Med Med-High Medium Low Medium Speed Low High High Low Medium Amongst the players under comparison Railways and EPP are the strongest network and in

terms of pricing. EPP is a unique service that is competitively priced in retail segment. The

strength of the other players is in services levels and speed of delivery.



6 CUSTOMER SCENARIO This section is intended to identify customer segments for Express Parcel Post along with their

usage characteristics and attributes.

6.1 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE, INDIVIDUALS, CUSTOMERS & NON CUSTOMERS This section describes the profile of the individuals segment (Customers and non customers).

Customers include those who have used EPP service in the last six months. Non customers

include those who have used a competing service but not Express Parcel Post in the past six

months.

6.1.1 EDUCATION PROFILE The table below shows the education profile of EPP customers and non customers, individual

segment for 2011 and 2012.

Table 9: Education Profile of EPP Customers & Non Customers, Individual Segment

Educational Qualification 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Customers Non Customers Customers Non

Customers Post Graduate – Professional 6% 9% 7% 9%

Post Graduate – General 12% 11% 6% 7% Graduate – Professional 9% 10% 9% 10%

Graduate – General 36% 38% 44% 38% Diploma holder/equivalent but not graduate 9% 10% 10% 11%

X / XII standard 24% 19% 22% 23% School 5 to 9 years 4% 3% 2% 2%

Both customers and non customers are well educated. When compared to last year, the

education profile has not varied greatly. While the proportion of post graduates has decreased

across both segments, proportion of general graduates has increased among customers. EPP

continues to draw a set of well educated customers.

6.1.2 OCCUPATION PROFILE The table below shows the occupation profile of EPP customers and non customers, individual

segment.



Table 10: Occupation Profile of EPP Customers & Non Customers, Individual Segment

Occupation 2011 (%) 2012 (%)


Customers Unskilled Worker 1% 1% 1% 1%

Skilled Worker 9% 6% 5% 4% Petty Trader 1% 2% 1% 1% Shop Owner 9% 6% 8% 19%

Businessman (Zero Employees) 4% 6% 5% 3% Businessman (1 To 9 Employees) 7% 6% 7% 3%

Businessman (> 10 Employees) 0% 1% 1% 0% Self Employed Professional 5% 5% 3% 2%

Clerk / Salesman 15% 11% 12% 12% Supervisors 10% 8% 7% 11%

Officers – Junior Level 6% 7% 11% 4% Officers – Middle Level 6% 6% 8% 4% Officers – Senior Level 5% 6% 4% 4%

Student – School 3% 3% 6% 6% Student – College And Above 14% 20% 12% 12%

Housewife 3% 5% 5% 12% Retired 1% 1% 1% 0%

Unemployed 1% 0% 2% 2% The occupation profile of customers & non customers has not varied greatly when compared to

that of last year. There is a slight increase in the proportion of officer’s level in customers and

an increase in the proportion of shop owners and house-wives in non customers, as compared

to last year.

House-wives would be using parcel services to send gifts/household articles to relatives and

friends. The gifting segment can be targeted by EPP.

Shop-owners would typically be small retail establishment owners. They would be using small

parcel services for sending samples and other low volume shipments for personal/business

purpose.



6.1.3 INTERNET CONNECTION Compared to 2011, the internet penetration levels have remained similar.

Table 11: Internet Connection, EPP Customers & Non Customers, Individual Segment

Internet Connection 2011 (%) 2012 (%)


Customers Yes 40% 38% 44% 40% No 60% 62% 56% 60%

Since EPP is cheaper relative to Speed Post, it attracts a relatively lower income profile

customer.

6.2 ESTABLISHMENTS, CUSTOMERS & NON CUSTOMERS

When compared to 2011, the share of Government sector customers has increased by 10%.

This could either be because of more additions in government sector as compared to private

firms this year or because of more private firms switching over to other service providers. In

case of latter, more effort needs to be put into managing private sector accounts.

Table 12: Nature of Organization, EPP Customers & Non Customers, Establishments

Organization 2011 (%) 2012 (%)


Customers Government/PSU 20% 3% 30% 2%

Private Firm 79% 97% 69% 98% NGO 1% -- 1% --

The chart below shows the profile of customers surveyed in 2011 and 2012.

Figure 19: Sector Profile, EPP Customers

28%

72%

38%

62%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Manufacturing Services

2011

2012



When compared to 2011, the proportion of services sector has reduced a little in 2012.

However the top customer sectors are from services sector and are Education & Publishing

Financial Services and Retail sectors.

The chart below shows the profile of non customers surveyed in 2011 and 2012.

Figure 20: Sector Profile, EPP Non Customers

In the case of non customers there is no significant difference in the profile of customers

surveyed in 2011 & 2012. The top segments for non customers are Textile, Retail and

Pharma.

6.2.1 INTERNET PENETRATION The internet penetration levels have remained similar for customers and dropped for non

customers in the establishment segment. This is against the general trend of improving internet

penetration levels among customers of other premium services of India Post. The reason could

be because increasing number of smaller establishments using parcel services.

Table 13: Availability of Internet Connection, Establishment Segment

Internet 2011-% 2012-% Customers Non Customers Customers Non Customers

Yes 94% 86% 89% 71% No 6% 14% 11% 29%

45%

55%

46% 54%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Manufacturing Services

2011

2012



6.3 USAGE PRACTICES, CUSTOMERS 6.3.1 DESTINATION PROFILE In 2012, the top ten destinations for EPP are Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil

Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Gujarat.

This is the same as previous year with slight increase/ decrease in percentages accounted by

each state.

The five states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh

along with Delhi account for over 55% of individual consignments.

Table 14: Destination of Parcels, EPP Customers

Destination 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Individual Establishment Individual Establishment* Maharashtra 13% 20% 14% 34%

Delhi 10% 11% 8% 32%

Karnataka 11% 7% 9% 18%

Tamil Nadu 8% 9% 11% 17%

West Bengal 5% 4% 6% 15%

Andhra Pradesh 4% 5% 5% 15%

Uttar Pradesh 12% 13% 9% 12%

Kerala 3% 3% 4% 11%

Bihar 4% 2% 3% 11%

Gujarat 7% 4% 4% 10% * Combined figure for top three destinations, establishments send consignments to. 2011 and 2012 figures are not strictly comparable.

In 2012 survey, the questions related to establishment customers were modified to better

reflect their usage patterns. A single transaction/ pick up from an establishment customer may

involve multiple shipments to different destinations. Therefore information relating to top three

destinations that establishment customers send shipments to was collected in the second

round.

The five states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh along

with Delhi are the top destinations for establishments. These are the largest states in the

country in terms of GDP and they are the hubs of manufacturing and commerce in the country.



Most of the companies have their establishment offices in capitals of these states. This explains

the reason for large parcel movements between these states.

Table 15: Type of Destinations, EPP Customers

Type of Destination 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Individual Establishment Individual Establishment* Metro City 41% 32% 30% 52%

State Capitals/Medium Cities 25% 26% 26% 43%

District Headquarters/Towns 33% 38% 38% 37%

Rural/Village 1% 3% 6% 8% * Combined figure for different types of destinations, establishments generally send consignments to.

On the whole, EPP continues to be an urban phenomenon with metros and capitals forming the

major destination categories. However when compared to previous year, the share of metros

has dropped in the individual category while share of rural areas and district headquarters have

gone up a little. This indicates that EPP is increasingly being used to reach interior

locations. This reflects positively on India Post’s delivery network strength.

6.3.2 SPECIFICATIONS OF PARCELS The table below shows weight of parcels sent by individuals and establishment customers.

Table 16: Types of Parcels Most Sent, EPP Customers

Weight of Parcel 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Individual Establishment Individual* Establishment < 2 kg 75% 60% 53% 33%

2 kg to 5 kg 21% 19% 34% 36%

5 kg to 10 kg 3% 10% 8% 15%

10 kg to 35 kg 1% 11% 4% 11% * 2012 data for individuals is for types of parcel last sent as against most sent for 2011.

As observed last year, individuals continue to send < 5 kg shipments mainly. More

than 85% of respondents sent parcels less than 5 kg in their last consignment.

In the case of establishments, the bulk of consignments sent have a fairly equal mix

of less than 2 kg and 2 to 5 kg consignments. The proportion of 5 to 10 kg consignments

has increased slightly.



When it comes to content of parcels sent by individual customers, books, magazine

and gift articles, form major portion. This is followed by document bundles,

garments & textiles and consumer durables.

6.4 PERCEIVED ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF EPP

6.4.1 REASONS FOR USING EPP, CUSTOMERS High Reliability continues to be the No. 1 reason for EPP being the preferred mode

of sending parcels among customers. Associated services like packing and insurance are

rated the lowest. This may be because of the small size of parcels sent.

Table 17: Most Important Reason for Using EPP, EPP Customers

Reason 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Individuals Establishments Individuals Establishments High Reliability 56% 62% 43% 41%

High Speed 13% 6% 15% 13% Low Cost 12% 14% 22% 13%

Great Reach 4% 6% 5% 11% Easy And Hassle-Free 7% 5% 7% 7%

Mandatory -- -- 0% 6% Door To Door Service 6% 3% 2% 1%

Availability Of Tracking 1% 1% <1% 1% Associated Services

(Packing, Insurance etc) 1% 3% 0% 1%

Not aware of other options 0% 0% 1% --

For individuals, low cost has emerged as the next most important reason. High speed is not

strongly attributed to EPP.

For establishments, greater reach and low cost are the major reasons for choosing EPP.

6.4.2 PERCEIVED DISADVANTAGES OF EPP, CUSTOMERS The following table illustrates the factors given by EPP customers as disadvantages of the

service.

Table 18: Disadvantages of EPP, EPP Customers -2011

Disadvantages 2011 (%) Individuals Establishments

No Disadvantage 25% 32% Non - Availability of Post 24% 20%



Office Nearby Low Speed 22% 29%

Procedure Oriented 20% 24% Long Queues 1% 2%

Poor Customer Service 0% 0% Working hours not convenient -- --

Not able to Track 19% 18% High Cost 6% 4%

Low Reliability 2% 7% Lack of information 0% 2%

Packing Facility 0% 1% Collection Facility 0% 1%

Low Discounts N. A. -- Table 19: Disadvantages of EPP, EPP Customers -2012

Disadvantages 2012 (%) Individuals Establishments

No Disadvantage -- -- Non - Availability of Post

Office Nearby 17% 16%

Low Speed 41% 45% Procedure Oriented 26% 24%

Long Queues Poor Customer Service

Working hours not convenient 20% 24% Not able to Track 13% 35%

High Cost 20% 10% Low Reliability 15% 18%

Lack of information 0% 0% Packing Facility 17% 8%

Collection Facility 0% 22% Low Discounts N. A. 8%

Based on the many verbatim responses obtained in 2011, this question was changed to include options like low discounts, working hours not convenient. The options of long queues, counter staff not helpful and procedure oriented were inter related and combined into a single option. Further this question was only asked to respondents who felt EPP services was not upto the mark and therefore reflects disadvantages pointed out by these customers rather than general perceptions across all customers.

The main disadvantage perceived by individuals is low speed and experience at the post

office is full of hassles (Inconvenient working hours, long queues, counter staff not

helpful and procedure oriented). In the case of establishments the above two along with

“not able to track” are perceived as top disadvantages.

Since Speed is not the USP of EPP, customers need to be educated on what can be expected

from EPP to prevent unfair comparison with Speed Post or other premium courier services.

Reliability and low cost, the strengths of EPP need to be promoted actively.

India Post needs to upgrade its customer handling services and tracking facilities.



6.5 AWARENESS OF VALUE ADDED SERVICES OF EPP, CUSTOMERS The following table shows the awareness of value added services provided by EPP. Table 20: Awareness of Value Added Services of EPP, EPP Customers

VAS Awareness 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Individuals Establishments Individuals Establishments Proof of Delivery 41% 43% 46% 61%

VPP (Cash on Delivery) facility 37% 31% 23% 46% Express Parcel Post Account 36% 40% 34% 55%

Insurance 47% 49% 43% 50% Door to door service 36% 43% 30% 36%

Retail Parcels 24% 26% 18% 27% Web Tracking 20% 28% 24% 49%

Book Now Pay Later Scheme 17% 25% 15% 31% I don’t know of these services 16% 17% 17% 8%

Compared to 2011, the awareness levels have improved for all value added services for

establishment customers. In the case of individual customers, except for POD and tracking,

awareness for all other services has dropped. The reason for drop could be because EPP is not

drawing in repeat customers and the needs of individual customers could be one-off as

compared to the regular needs of establishments. More effort needs to be put in to popularize

services like VPP and retail parcels which are designed with individuals in mind.

In the case of establishments, awareness level has improved across all categories which is an

encouraging sign. The BNPL scheme and door to door service can be promoted further amongst

establishment customers.



The table below shows the usage of value added services amongst customers.

Table 21: Usage of Value Added Services, EPP

VAS Awareness 2011-% 2012-%

Individuals Establishments Individuals Establishments Proof of Delivery 19% 22% 22% 31%

Door to door service 16% 14% 10% 13% VPP (Cash on Delivery) facility 12% 12% 6% 16%

Insurance 6% 6% 6% 9% Web Tracking 6% 8% 6% 21%

Book Now Pay Later Scheme -- 13% -- 8% Retail Parcels 4% 5% 5% 8%

Express Parcel Post Account 22% 27% 17% 34%

The usage of value added services have reduced compared to previous year for individuals. For

establishments, this has improved and it is an encouraging sign.

Services like VPP and Retail parcels and door to door service need to be promoted amongst

individuals as they are most relevant to them.

6.6 AWARENESS, USAGE & PERCEPTION, AMONG CUSTOMERS The following table shows the awareness, usage and perception of other service providers

among EPP customers.

Table 22: Awareness and Usage of Other Service Providers, EPP Customers

Players 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Individuals Establishments Individuals Establishments Express Parcel Post 100% 100% 100% 100%

Blue Dart 91% 90% 81% 93% DTDC 86% 85% 82% 88%

Gati 52% 53% 33% 56% Indian Railways, Parcel Service -- -- 44% 53%

Blaze Flash 4% 8% 40% 41% AFL 39% 32% 28% 38%

Safexpress 36% 38% 18% 37% TNT 27% 29% 18% 31%

Track On -- -- 17% 28% VRL Parcel Service -- -- 13% 21% ABT Parcel Service 22% 28% 16% 17%

I. B. Courier 16% 14% 8% 6% Based on previous round of survey, a few additional options like Indian Railways, VRL Parcel Service and Track On were introduced.



Similar to last year, the companies with the highest awareness levels are Blue Dart and

DTDC. This is followed by Indian Railways and Gati. The awareness levels have dropped for

AFL, Safexpress and TNT amongst individual customers. Regional players like Track On, VRL

Parcel service and ABT parcel service have good awareness levels in their regions of operation.

Table 23: Use Other Service Providers, EPP Customers

Compared to last year, the percentage of customers using only EPP for their small

parcel needs has gone up for both individual and establishment segments. This is an

encouraging sign for India Post.

The following table lists the service providers considered best used by EPP customers.

Table 24: Top Best Service Providers, EPP Customers

Considered Best 2011 (%) 2012* (%)

Individuals Establishments Individuals Establishments Express Parcel Post 84% 60% 41% 36%

DTDC 2% 7% 17% 21% Blue Dart 6% 11% 24% 20%

Gati 0% 1% 2% 4% Blaze Flash 2% 4% 2% 2%

Indian Railways -- -- 4% 1% Others 0% 2% 0% 1%

* 2012 percentage reflects the consideration of best providers among customers who use multiple service providers as against all customers in 2011. Among the customers who use multiple service providers, 2/5th of individuals consider EPP to be

best. The figure for establishment customers is slightly lower at 36%.

In case of customers who use only EPP service, 95% individuals and 91%

establishments consider it to be the best. Taking this into account, overall 78% of

individual customers and 60% of establishment customers consider EPP to be the

best. When compared to previous year there is a slight drop in the percentage of individual

customers considering EPP to be best.

Usage 2011-% 2012-% Individuals Establishments Individuals Establishments

Yes 38% 60% 31% 56% No 62% 40% 69% 44%



India has a strong customer base with majority considering it to be best. It should capitalize on

this image and use it to promote its services and rope in new customers. More focus is

required on improving experience of existing establishment customers.

Amongst competing services, Blue Dart and DTDC are considered best.

6.7 NON CUSTOMERS OF EPP 6.7.1 AWARENESS, CONSIDERATION AND USAGE OF EPP

Among establishments, more non customers now consider DTDC to be the best

(31%) as compared to be the 19% of last year. The corresponding share of Blue

Dart has reduced to 17% from 23% of the previous year. This is because DTDC is

aggressively marketing its services and has revamped its product portfolio to offer

more products. Pricing of DTDC is competitive with respect to Blue Dart. It now offers

time definite and day definite deliveries for shipments upto 100 kg. Awareness levels continue

to be high for these brands (>90%). In the case of individual non customers awareness and

usage of Blue Dart is higher compared to DTDC. The awareness of EPP among non customers is

reasonably high and can be increased further.

Table 25: Awareness Other Parcel Services, EPP Non Customers

Service Provider 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Individuals Establishments Individuals Establishments DTDC 86% 93% 81% 91%

Blue Dart 87% 96% 86% 90% Express Parcel Post 61% 70% 77% 66%

Gati 53% 66% 35% 61% Indian Railways -- -- 59% 60%

Blazeflash -- -- 40% 56% Safexpress 30% 46% 20% 47%

AFL 33% 50% 28% 45% Track On -- -- 25% 44%

TNT 19% 49% 20% 31% VRL Parcel Service -- -- 14% 13%

I. B. Courier 16% 13% 11% 10% Murthy Courier Low Low 17% 10%

When we look at value added services, the awareness levels among establishment customers

have dropped for all services except insurance. A similar situation is observed with individuals

as well with awareness levels remaining low.



6.7.2 REASONS FOR CHOOSING A SERVICE PROVIDER Among non customers, the main reasons for considering a provider to be best are

high speed, reliability, door to door service and reach. Low cost is not a major

reason for considering a provider to be best, especially for individual non customers.

This is similar to the situation observed last year. The non customer segment is

willing to pay more for premium services.

6.7.3 REASONS FOR NOT USING EPP

Among the non customers, individuals do not prefer to use EPP because of low speed,

procedure oriented nature, long queues, non availability of post office nearby. Top

reasons cited by establishment customers for not using EPP are low speed and low

discounts. This is followed by inconvenient working hours, non availability of post office

nearby, not aware of door pick up facility and poor customer experience.

While Individuals place more importance on speed, location and customer experience while

establishments place attached more importance to speed, discounts, pick facilities, location and

customer experience.

Table 26: Reasons for Not Using EPP, Non Customers

Reasons 2011 (%) 2012 (%)

Individuals Establishments Individuals Establishments Low Speed 57% 62% 48% 54%

Non - Availability of Post Office Nearby 35% 25% 42% 24%

Not able to Track 24% 31% 14% 15% Procedure Oriented 24% 29%

30% 24% Long Queues 6% 5%

Low Reliability 21% 27% 24% 17% High Cost 13% 20% 16% --

Low discounts -- -- NA 27% Lack of information 1% 4% 0% 0%

Working hours not convenient -- -- 25% 23% Absence of facilities like packing,

pens glue etc. -- -- 6% 3%

Not aware of door pick up -- -- 6% 22% The last three options along with low discounts were added in round 2.

India Post EPP service can work on the above areas to further improve its performance among

non customers.



7 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 CONCLUSION

7.1.1 MACROECONOMIC SCENARIO India’s GDP at constant prices has grown at a CAGR of 8.3% in the period between FY 2005 to

FY 2012. GDP at current prices has grown at a CAGR of 16.2% in the same period. Inflation has

averaged 8.9%. The major change has been the rapid growth in service sector which has

outpaced overall GDP growth.

Among services subsectors, Transport, Storage & Communication Sector at current prices

has grown at a CAGR of 14.2 % in the period between FY 2005 to FY 2012. Within this sector,

railways have grown at a CAGR of 12.0% while transport by other means has grown at a CAGR

of 14.8%. The railway sub-segment is valued at Rs. 658.4 billion at current prices in FY 2012

while transport by other means is valued at Rs. 4,444.2 billion in the same period.

The transport services sector is a large industry and can be categorized into sub divisions based

on mode of transportation (Road, Rail, Water, and Air) and range of services (Transportation,

Warehousing, Value Added Services). Among these, Express and Courier services are

multi-modal value added services using air, road & sometimes rail mode and involve

transportation and warehousing.

Express parcel services are value added services which use surface modes like rail and road.

They are costlier than pure transportation services because of services like parcel tracking,

door-to-door delivery etc. They are more customer-centric and relatively hassle free to use.



Thus express parcel services would be premium service when compared to standalone

transportation service like trucking or simply warehousing.

This market is estimated to be around Rs. 1,190 crores in FY 2011. Among the different states,

Maharashtra tops the list and accounts for nearly 15% of the total market. It is followed by

Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu each of which accounts for 8-8.6% of the

market.

The rapidly growing online retail industry, whose revenues are estimated to reach 8.8 billion

USD, is throwing up more opportunities for courier/parcel companies. The courier companies

are moving towards providing sophisticated software interfaces for integrated shipments status

and for providing service like cash on delivery and card on delivery. Meanwhile parcel services

companies target emerging portals which sell non-urgent, non perishable goods.

7.1.2 COMPETITION SCENARIO Parcel services market as defined by us is highly fragmented with more than 400 companies

operating currently in the market. The public sector is strong in this space with presence of

India Post, Indian Railway and all state transport corporations. Many private players which are

into various other logistics businesses also offer parcel services. For example: Gati, TCI, and

Blue Dart etc. However, the bulk of the market is contributed by players providing mainly

regional and intra-city services. For example, many of the large inter-city bus operators also

operate door-to-door parcel services. Various local players who offer their services in a limited

area also offer parcel services.

It is to be noted that the upper limit of 35 kgs is unique to India Post EPP. Other players have

their own definition of what constitutes parcel services. For example, Indian Railways and bus

operators would also carry articles like two-wheelers in parcel services. In fact, in the Tier III

segment, there is no clear definition of what constitutes a parcel; they accept whatever

business that comes their way.

It is estimated from the supply side that the total express parcel industry as defined by us in

India is valued at around Rs. 1,190 Crores for 2011-12. India Post’s EPP has a share in the

range of 5.0 to 7.2% in this in market.



In terms of consignment volumes also, India Post is in the second position. The overall volume

in terms of consignments is in the region of 170 to 190 million consignments. Amongst the top

players, Indian Railways has the highest volume share of 17 to 19%. It is followed by India

Post with a volume share of 5.0 to 6.0%. Both volume and value shares have increased for

India Post.

7.1.3 CUSTOMER SCENARIO

EPP continues to draw a set of well educated customers. The occupation profile of customers &

non customers has not varied greatly when compared to that of last year. There is a slight

increase in the proportion of officer’s level in customers and an increase in the proportion of

shop owners and house-wives in non customers, as compared to last year.

House-wives would be using parcel services to send gifts/ household articles to relatives and

friends. The gifting segment can be targeted by EPP.

Compared to 2011, the internet penetration levels have improved. As more people get

connected to internet option like price and transit time finder, volumetric weight calculator for

parcels would be important.

Similar to 2011, a considerable number of EPP establishment customers are from the Education

& Publishing (13 %), Financial Services (13%) and Retail (9 %) sectors. Among the non

customers, the major sectors are textile, retail and pharma. Pharma companies would be using

parcel services for shipping samples

In 2012, the top ten destinations for EPP are Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,

West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Gujarat. This is the same as

previous year with slight increase/ decrease in percentages accounted by each state.

More than 80% of the parcels sent by individuals weigh less than 2 kgs. Only 2% are greater

than 10 kgs. While individuals mainly send parcels less than 5 kg, establishment shipments are

a mix of different weights.

High Reliability continues to be the No. 1 reason for EPP being the preferred mode of sending

parcels among customers. Associated services like packing and insurance are rated the lowest.



This may be because of the small size of parcels. For individuals, low cost has emerged as the

next most important reason. High speed is not strongly attributed to EPP.

The main disadvantage perceived by individuals is low speed and experience at the post office

is full of hassles (long queues, counter staff not helpful and procedure oriented). In the case of

establishments the above two along with “not able to track” are perceived as top

disadvantages.

Compared to 2011, the awareness levels have improved for all value added services for

establishment customers. In the case of individual customers, except for POD and tracking,

awareness for all other services has dropped. The reason for drop could be because EPP is not

drawing in repeat customers and the needs of individual customers could be one-off as

compared to the regular needs of establishments. More effort needs to be put in to popularize

services like VPP and retail parcels which are designed with individuals in mind.

78% of individual customers and 60% of establishment customers consider EPP to be the best.

When compared to previous year there is a slight drop in the percentage of individual

customers considering EPP to be best. Amongst competing services, Blue Dart and DTDC are

considered best.

Among non customers, the main reasons for considering a provider to be best are high speed,

reliability, door to door service and reach. Low cost is not a major reason for considering a

provider to be best, especially for individual non customers. This is similar to the situation

observed last year. The non customer segment is willing to pay more for premium services.

7.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

7.2.1 PRODUCT The product has all the required features. We do not recommend any changes to the product

features.

The only small change that can be made is to mention explicitly the number of days it would

take for a consignment to reach from one location to another, in form of a table. This will

enable customers to realize that EPP uses surface transport and is not meant to be used for

urgent shipments.



The product has all the required features. We do not recommend any changes to the product

features. The only small change that can be made is to mention explicitly the number of days it

would take for a consignment to reach from one location to another, in form of a table. This will

enable customers to realize that EPP uses surface transport and is not meant to be used for

urgent shipments.

Apart from the existing product the following new product verticals are suggested.

7.2.1.1 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Product Proposition: To enable students to send back hostel-luggage home.

Background: In undergraduate and post graduate institutions, every year, the set of students

completing the course would look for parcel services to send back books and other belongings

home. The service providers would especially be difficult to locate when the institution is

located in outskirts of tier II/III cities. Further, if the destination is a remote location, the

service would be too expensive. In such cases students would be forced to sell/ dispose their

books.

India Post EPP with its strong network and reliable service can provide a dedicated service to

help such students send back books and other belongings without hassles.

Features:

• Flat rate boxes of 10kg, 15kg, and 20kg.

• Bulk pick-up from hostel & door delivery to homes

• Discounts on bulk shipments from each institution

• Free packing service at hostel vicinity

Implementation:

India Post needs to tie-up with post graduate and large undergraduate institutions across India,

especially in medium cities. The institutions should be chosen in such a way that they have

+150 students with on campus hostels.

Discounts on bulk shipments (e.g. 50+) and minimum number of shipments for hostel pick up

(e.g. 20) need to be informed in advance and should be decided based on college type.

Typically undergraduate institutions will have a much larger student population than stand-



alone post graduate institutions. The institute can have an account with India Post through

which the students can pay.

At the end of academic year, the number of students requiring the parcel service would be

intimated to India Post. At the designated day, pick-up truck with extra department employees

can be sent to the institution to pack and book the shipments. The flat rate box would be

especially attractive for long distance shipments.

In general, there would be no urgency or frills associated with such shipments and EPP would

be ideally suited as a low cost service to cater to this segment.

E.g. of educational institutions which can be targeted is given below:

• Institute of Technology-BHU, Varanasi

• Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore

• National Institute of Technology (IIT), Surathkal

• National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal

• PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore

• National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirapalli

• Motilal Nehru Institute of Technology (MNIT), Allahabad

• National Institute of Technology (NIT), Calicut

• National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela

• College of Engineering - New, Pune

• Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra (Ranchi)

• Thapar Institute Of Engineering & Technology, Patiala

• Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Gwalior

• University Inst of Engineering and Tech, Chandigarh

• National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysore

• Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad

• S.G.S. Institute of Technology & Science, Indore

• Mepco Schlek Engineering College, Sivakasi

• Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNDEC), Ludhiana

• P.E.S College of Engineering, Mandya

• Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai



• Amrita Institute of Technology & Science (AITS), Coimbatore

• Govt. Model Engineering College, Kochi

• Govt. College of Engineering, Amravati

• Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), Pune

• K.L. University, Guntur

• Shri Ramdeo Baba K.N. Engineering College, Nagpur

• Kongu Engineering College, Erode

• Sona College of Technology, Salem

• Rungta College of Engineering & Tech, Bhilai

• SCMS School of Engineering. & Tech, Ernakulam

• K.L.E. Society's College of Engineering, Belgaum

• SDM College of Engineering, Dharward

• Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering., Shimoga

• Karunya Institute of Technology (KIT), Coimbatore

• GMR Institute of Technology, Srikakulam

7.2.1.2 E-COMMERCE

Product Proposition: Cost-effective delivery service for emerging e-commerce portals for

non perishable goods.

Background:

E-COMMERCE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

The e-commerce industry in India is growing at a fast pace. The industry is estimated to be around USD 10 billion2 in 2012. It is divided into two major segments, retail and travel. In 2012, the retail e-commerce revenues are pegged at USD 1.6 billion and expected to increase more than five-fold to USD 8.8 billion in 2016.3 While retail online transactions are growing, the market remains largely cash driven with 40-60% of online retail transactions happening through Cash On Delivery mode4

The growing online retail industry is throwing up more opportunities for courier companies. In traditional retail, goods are shipped to stores using large trucks (Traditional logistics).

. The travel segment is much larger than the retail segment with its sales accounting for USD 8.4 billion in 2011.

2 The Economist 3 - ASSOCHAM- FORRESTER Report on Trends in E-commerce in India 4 - Forbes India Magazine



Customers travel to these shops and buy goods; there is no need for courier or parcel services in the process. However, in online retail, individual customers get their delivery through small lots shipped through courier or parcel services. Therefore, online retail is expanding the base for courier and parcel services.

P layers in the Market

As discussed earlier, e-commerce players can be divided into two categories: travel and retail. The players in the travel segment include travel agents like Cleartrip, Make My Trip, ezeego.in etc. as well as actual service providers like Jet Airways, Indian Airlines, IRCTC and bus operators, hotels etc.

The retail players can be divided into facilitators and direct sellers. Facilitators offer a portal for sellers to list their items and provide broad rules for selling. The order and shipping is handled separately by each seller, e.g. eBay.

The direct sellers sell to customers directly are responsible for order and shipping. These can be pure online stores (Flipkart) and physical shops with an online wing (Landmark Book Store). Further these shops can offer multiple categories or offer services to niche categories (Example: firstcry.com for baby products).

The major online shopping portals offering pan India services are based out of NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore. Apart from these there are a number of regional players who offer services only within respective states or cities e.g. gifts2guntur.com

Major Product Categories

E-Commerce

Travel

Travel Agents

Transport Operators

Rentals/ Hospitality

Retail

Facilitators Direct sellers

Pure Online

Store + Online

E.g. Mobile Store

E.g. Flipkart

E.g. Ebay

E.g. Ezeego

E.g. Bus Operators Airlines Railways- IRCTC

E.g. Yatra



In the retail segment, the major product categories sold are: Apparel, Consumer goods- electronics (mobiles, watches, camera), jewelry, cosmetics, durables, footwear, stationery etc., Food products, Sports outdoor equipment, Home furnishing.

Apparel is the fastest growing sub-category in India and reaches 13.4% of online users5

Opportunities for Parcel Services Companies

. This is followed by the consumer goods category.

This growing market is throwing up opportunities in the delivery sector for logistics companies

with strong network and sophisticated IT integration capabilities. The portals require integration

of shipment status information into their websites as well as well trained staff and use of GPS

enabled devices for services such as cash on delivery and card on delivery.

Features:

• Services to remote locations/tier II and tier III cities.

• Weather-proof packaging

• Cash –On-Delivery service

• Dedicated accounts manager

• Single point of contact for shipment status and complaints handling.

• Shipment tracking status at portal

Implementation:

Speed Post and Express Parcel Post need to be involved in joint business development. When customer requires fast delivery the account needs to be serviced by Speed Post. I f customer is looking for value for money and needs to ship non-urgent non-perishable goods, the account needs to be serviced by Express Parcel Post. Apparel category is ideally suited for EPP.

The postal circles in each state can target e-commerce portals in the medium cities/ emerging

portals in each state offering apparel as the main category or as one of the category of

products. Large national players can be handled out of Delhi/Bombay through a single national

account.

Dedicated accounts executives need to be appointed for every e-commerce account in the

state. This is to be done to overcome the main issue faced by e-commerce portals i.e., the

5 - ASSOCHAM- Comscore Report, September 2012



inability to resolve issues in case of loss/damage. Private players have a single point of contact

for every key account which helps in hassle free complaints handling and resolving. Whereas, in

case of India Post, there multiple departments to follow up with which makes the resolution of

complaints full of hassles and create more concern than the actual loss itself.

Further larger private player offer Application Program Interfaces to integrate shipment tracking

details into the e-commerce portal and consolidated distribution status is also made available to

the clients. This further reduces loss. This feature can be implemented by India Post and

promoted heavily to win accounts.

The existing VPP service can be tweaked and promoted as cash on delivery service and

collection terms need to be negotiated and fixed accordingly with each portal.

Given below are some of the apparel portals that can be targeted. In cases where India Post is

already being used for servicing remote locations, more routes in medium cities need to be

captured.

Large National Players Other Players myntra.com jabong.com zovi.com yebhi.com basicslife.com majorbrands.in

utsavfashion.in, Rajasthan jaipuronline.biz, Rajasthan palamsilks.com, Tamil Nadu rock.in, Karnataka ladybug.in, Haryana

7.2.1.3 PACKING AND MOVING SERVICE

Product Proposition: To enable households to shift localities without hassles using a cost

effective service.

Background: In today’s competitive world working professionals often need to relocate in

search of better job opportunities. This has resulted in the creation of the niche service

“Packers & Movers” within the logistics industry to cater to this segment E.g. Agarwal Packers

and Movers and Safexpress. EPP with its strong network can consider entering this segment,

targeted especially at relocation from outskirts/ towns into bigger cities.

Features:

• Free packing service at point of origin



• Two categories of service: By van (HTL/PTL), by truck (FTL).

• Pricing: 8 rate slabs based on distance and type of service

Distance Van Truck Within city Up to 500 km 501-1000 km 1001-2000 km

> 2000 km

• Unpacking service at destination: to be charged separately.

• Online/ Telephone booking facilities.

• ‘ Bridal Relocation’

• GPS tracking facility secure containers

Implementation:

The GPO/HPO in every town should have booking counter, where people can book vans or

trucks based on their requirements. Alternatively booking orders through telephone/ online

booking facilities are to be made available in larger towns. Based on the requirements a

tentative quote is to be given to customer and later billed according to actual weight and

distance.

“Bridal Relocation”-This service is to be targeted at newly-weds for transporting articles from

the bride’s to the groom’s. This is to be offered as premium variation of the packers and

movers service. Silverware and other house-hold items are to be packed and transported in

secure containers with GPS tracking facilities. Since safety and security is very important in such

cases, the “Trusted Government Brand” image can be used to promote this service.

7.2.2 PLACE The area which requires action is the “experience at post office”. Up-gradation of services is

required in terms of facilities like packing, glue & pens, providing change and increasing counter

time and number.

Since express parcel post is largely used by regular account holders who are businessmen,

establishments, more booking kiosks need to be opened in and around commercial areas in the

each city. This would help rope in more customers from the textile and retail sectors.



Since establishments send parcels in the late evening, these special booking kiosks can be kept

open from 4:00 -9:00 pm in zones of high commercial concentration. The bookings can be

picked up every evening by the delivery truck. Since speed is not associated with this service,

the bookings made after delivery van rounds can be picked up the next day.

Since EPP is already competitively priced, this would ensure that customers do not go to

competition due to convenience of booking or hassle free experience.

7.2.3 PROMOTION The major points to be noted are that top reasons for choosing EPP are reliability along with

low cost and greater reach. These points need to be emphasized in promotions to rope in non

customers. The main disadvantages perceived are low speed and hassles at the post office.

Since speed is not the USP of EPP, no action is required on this front. Awareness campaigns

should highlight the nature of service (by road) focusing on reliability and should specify clearly

the time limit within which consignment will reach.

In the case of individual customers, except for POD and tracking, awareness for all other

services has dropped. More effort needs to be put in to popularize services like VPP and retail

parcels which are designed with individuals in mind.

Since EPP is mainly used by establishments, more promotional offers need to be directed at

small establishments to convert them into regular account holders.

7.2.4 PRICE EPP is highly competitively priced. Though it is positioned in between pure trucking services and

express courier services, it is much closer in pricing to the latter.

The following illustration compares the retail pricing of express parcel post with competition.

E.g. For sending a two kg retail parcel from Chennai – Trichy (<500 km) following would be the

charges,



Table 27: Pricing Scenario 1

Player Charges Express Parcel post 56

Gati* 450 Safexpress* 240

Indian Railways 30 ARS Parcel Service 150 KPN Parcel Service 150

Apart from shipping charges and service players like Safexpress and Gati also levy additional

charges like docket charges and entry taxes for certain locations. Further the minimum

chargeable weight for players like Gati, Safexpress is 20kg. This is also the case with transport

operators like KPN and other regional parcel service operators like ARS parcel services. EPP is

thus positioned closer to Railways in the case of small weight parcels and up to 500km.

When we look at heavier parcels, e.g. 20kgs and longer distances, the pricing of EPP comes

closer to the express operators like Gati. This is because the larger players offer flat rate boxes

at 20 kg which makes the service economical. E.g., Gati Laabh, Safexpress Campus2home.

Prices for sending a 20kg parcel from Chennai to Delhi are given below.

Table 28: Pricing Scenario 2

Player Charges Express Parcel post 415

Gati* 450 Safexpress* 320

ARS Parcel Service 900 * Exclusive of taxes and docket charges.

EPP is very competitively priced in the retail segment for both short and long distances in the

smaller weights category. We do not recommend any changes to the pricing. An increase in

service levels and up-gradation of facilities is required to help rope in more retail customers if a

price increase is contemplated.



8 ANNEXURE 8.1 QUESTIONNAIRE USED FOR THE STUDY TARGET CONTACT

Type of Interview Segment (To be confirmed in Section A) Code Routing Post Office Intercept Household Segment, Customer 1 GO TO QUESTION 3 Household Survey (Sec A, B, C) Household Segment, Non Customer (Primarily) 2 GO TO QUESTION 1 India Post Database Establishment Segment, Customer 3 ADMINISTER C1, C2, C3 Establishment Survey Establishment Segment 4 GO TO QUESTION 2 Random Survey Establishment Segment, Non Customer (Primarily) 5 GO TO QUESTION 2

Good _____ I am _____ from IMRB International, one of the premier market research organizations in India. We

regularly conduct studies which help in understanding customers so that better products and services could be

developed for you. We are currently doing a study to understand usage practices of Express Parcel Post (EPP) service

of India Post. This study is being sponsored by India Post [SHOW LETTER FROM INDIA POST IF REQUIRED]. I

would require about 15 – 20 minutes of your time.

SECTION A: RECRUITMENT & CLASSIFICATION “First of all, we thank you for agreeing to participate in the study and providing us with your valuable time.”

1)

a) To begin with, have you sent any parcels to domestic locations in the last six months?

Yes 1 CONTINUE WITH INTERVIEW No 2 TERMINATE THE INTERVIEW

b) Have you used Express Parcel Post Service (EPP) of India Post at least once during the past 6 months?

Yes 1 CODE 1 IN QUOTA TABLE No 2 CODE 2 IN QUOTA TABLE

2)

a) To begin with, have you sent any parcels to domestic locations in the last six months?

Yes 1 CONTINUE WITH INTERVIEW No 2 TERMINATE THE INTERVIEW

b) Have you used Express Parcel Post Service (EPP) of India Post at least once during the past 6 months?

Yes 1 CODE 3 IN QUOTA TABLE No 2 CODE 4 IN QUOTA TABLE

3) Could you tell me if you are using Express Parcel Post (EPP) for…? [READ OUT OPTIONS]

Personal use 1 CODE 1 IN QUOTA TABLE

Official or business use 2 CODE 3 IN QUOTA TABLE



SECTION B: INDIVIDUALS SUB SECTION B1: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE [READ OUT] “I will start by asking some general details about you.” 4) May I know if you are the sender or acting on the sender’s behalf? [ASK THIS QUESTION ONLY FOR POST

OFFICE INTERCEPT. SINGLE CODING ONLY]

Sender 1 Acting on sender’s behalf 2

[FOR Q 5, DETAILS TO BE COLLECTED ABOUT THE ACTUAL CUSTOMER; WHO COULD BE DIFFERENT FROM RESPONDENT] 5)

a) May I know the age of the sender? [CODE VERBATIM BELOW]

______________ Years

b) May I know the gender of the sender? [CODE YOURSELF. DO NOT ASK IF CODE 1 IN Q 4]

Male 1 Female 2

c) May I know the educational qualifications of the sender? [SINGLE CODE ONLY] d) May I know the educational qualifications of the Chief Wage Earner in the sender’s family? [SINGLE

CODE ONLY]

Q 5.c

Sender Q 5.d CWE

Illiterate 1 1 School up to 4 years 2 2 School 5 to 9 years 3 3

X / XII standard 4 4 Diploma holder or equivalent but not graduate 5 5

Graduate - General 6 6 Graduate - Professional 7 7 Post Graduate - General 8 8

Post Graduate - Professional 9 9

QUOTA TABLE

Individual, Customer 1 ADMINISTER SECTIONS B1, B2, B3 Individual, Non Customer 2 ADMINISTER SECTIONS B1, B2, B4 Establishment, Customer 3 ADMINISTER SECTIONS C1, C2, C3

Establishment, Non Customer 4 ADMINISTER SECTIONS C1, C2, C4



e) May I know the occupation of the sender? CODE BELOW. SINGLE CODE ONLY] f) May I know the occupation of the Chief Wage Earner in the sender’s family? [CODE BELOW. SINGLE

CODE ONLY]

Q 5.e Sender

Q 5.f CWE

Q 5.e Sender

Q 5.f CWE

Unskilled Worker 01 01 Supervisors 10 10 Skilled Worker 02 02 Officers – Junior Level 11 11

Petty Trader 03 03 Officers – Middle Level 12 12 Shop Owner 04 04 Officers – Senior Level 13 13

Businessman (Zero Employees) 05 05 Student – School 14 14 Businessman (1 to 9 Employees) 06 06 Student – College and above 15 15 Businessman (> 10 Employees) 07 07 Housewife 16 16

Self Employed Professional 08 08 Retired 17 17 Clerk / Salesman 09 09 Unemployed 18 ---

g) Is the Chief Wage Earner in the sender’s household…?

A government employee 1

Employed in private firm 2

h) May I know the approximate monthly salary of the sender?

Rs. ___________________

i) Is there an internet connection at the sender’s home?

Yes 1 No 2

SUB SECTION B2: AWARENESS & GENERAL USAGE PRACTICES

[READ OUT] “Now I will ask some questions regarding the various domestic parcel service providers in the market.”

6) a) What is the first name/service that comes to your mind for domestic parcel delivery by surface mode

(Trains, Truck)? [DO NOT PROMPT. SINGLE CODING ONLY]

b) What are the other names/services that you are aware of for domestic parcel delivery by surface mode? [DO NOT PROMPT. MULTIPLE CODING POSSIBLE]

c) I shall now read out some other names/services. Which of these are you aware of? [READ OUT LIST OF OPTIONS NOT MENTIONED BY RESPONDENT IN PARTS (a) AND (b). MULTIPLE CODING POSSIBLE]

d) Which service provider did you use for the last domestic parcel (< 50 kg) you sent? [READ OUT LIST OF OPTIONS. SINGLE CODE ONLY].



Q 6.a First

Mention

Q 6.b Unaided

Q 6.c Aided

Q 6.d Used ,

Last Time ABT Parcel Service 01 01 01 01

AFL 02 02 02 02 Blazeflash 03 03 03 03 Blue Dart 04 04 04 04

DTDC 05 05 05 05 Express Parcel Post (India Post) 06 06 06 06

Flyking 07 07 07 07 Gati 08 08 08 08

I.B. Courier 09 09 09 09 Indian Railways, Parcel Service 10 10 10 10

Murthi Courier 11 11 11 11 On Wheels Parcel Service 12 12 12 12

Safexpress 13 13 13 13 TNT 14 14 14 14

Trackon Couriers 15 15 15 15 VRL Parcel Service 16 16 16 16

Yogesh Couriers 17 17 17 17

Others, Specify ______________________________

7) May I know the destination of the last domestic parcel you sent, by surface?

_____________________________ [WRITE THE PLACE NAME VERBATIM]

8) May I know which State/Union Territory where the destination is located?

Andhra Pradesh 01 Nagaland 19 Arunachal Pradesh 02 Orissa 20

Assam 03 Punjab 21 Bihar 04 Rajasthan 22

Chhattisgarh 05 Sikkim 23 Goa 06 Tamil Nadu 24

Gujarat 07 Tripura 25 Haryana 08 Uttar Pradesh 26

Himachal Pradesh 09 Uttarakhand 27 Jammu and Kashmir 10 West Bengal 28

Jharkhand 11 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 29 Karnataka 12 Chandigarh 30

Kerala 13 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 31 Madhya Pradesh 14 Daman and Diu 32

Maharashtra 15 Delhi 33 Manipur 16 Lakshadweep 34

Meghalaya 17 Puducherry 35 Mizoram 18



9) How would you classify the destination, from the following options? [ASK RESPONDENT IF ITS NOT CLEAR ON HOW TO CLASSIFY DESTINATION] [READ OUT OPTIONS]

Metro City ( Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad ) 1

State Capitals/Medium Cities (E.g. Patna, Coimbatore etc) 2 District Headquarters or Towns 3

Rural Areas, Village 4 10) What was the weight of the last parcel you sent? Was it....? [READ OUT OPTIONS]

< 2 kgs 1

2 kgs to 5 kgs 2 5 kgs to 10 kgs 3

10 kgs to 35 kgs 4 35 kgs to 50 kgs 5

> 50 kgs 6 11) What was the content of the last parcel you sent?

Books, Magazines 01

CDs, DVDs etc. 02 Consumer Durables 03 Document Bundles 04

Garments & Textiles 05 Gift Articles 06

Household Utensils & Similar Items 07 Other Food Items, FMCG Products 08

Powders, Pastes, Pickles 09 Samples 10

Others, Specify ______________________________

SUB SECTION B3: REASONS FOR USAGE, EPP CUSTOMERS 12)

a) You have the option of using other parcel services. Why do you use Express Parcel Post (EPP) service from India Post? [MULTIPLE CODING POSSIBLE]

b) Of these reasons, which is the most important? [SINGLE CODING ONLY]

Q 12.a All Reasons

Q 12.b Most Imp.

High reliability (Consignment will reach safely) 01 01 High speed 02 02

Post office is located nearby 03 03 Easy and hassle free experience at Post Office 04 04

Availability of tracking 05 05 Door to door service 06 06

Greater reach 07 07 Low cost 08 08

It’s a habit. I don’t know other options. 09 09 Associated services (Packing etc.) 10 10

Others, Specify ______________________________



13) a) Since last year, has your usage of Express Parcel Post (EPP)…? [READ OUT OPTIONS]

Increased 1 SKIP NEXT QUESTION

Stayed the same 2 Decreased 3 ASK NEXT QUESTION

b) What is the reason for drop in usage of Express Parcel Post (EPP)?

I am not sending as many parcels 1

I use other service providers. They are better than Express Parcel Post. 2 Prices have gone up, so I’ve cut down my usage. 3

Others, Specify _____________________________________________

14)

a) Do you use other domestic parcel services as well?

Yes 1 ASK NEXT QUESTION No 2 GO TO 15

b) When do you use Express Parcel Post (EPP) and when do you use other service providers? [SINGLE

CODE ONLY]

Express Parcel Post

Other Service

Providers

No Particular Preference

BASED ON TIME A Urgent delivery 1 2 3

BASED ON CRITICALITY OF SHIPMENT B High value shipments 1 2 3 C Confidential shipments 1 2 3

BASED ON DESTINATION D Top Metros, State Capitals 1 2 3 E Districts, Towns 1 2 3 F Rural Areas 1 2 3

c) You said that you have used different domestic parcel service providers. Can you please tell me, which of

these is the best? [SINGLE CODING ONLY]

ABT Parcel Service 01 Indian Railways, Parcel Service 10 AFL 02 Murthi Courier 11

Blazeflash 03 On Wheels Parcel Service 12 Blue Dart 04 Safexpress 13

DTDC 05 TNT 14 Express Parcel Post (India Post) 06 Trackon Couriers 15

Flyking 07 VRL Parcel Service 16 Gati 08 Yogesh Couriers 17

I.B. Courier 09

Others, Specify ______________________________



d) You said that ________ [PREVIOUS QUESTON] is the best for domestic parcel delivery (< 50 kg). Why do you say so?

High reliability (Consignment will reach safely) 1 High speed 2

Post office is located nearby 3 Easy and hassle free experience at Post Office 4

Availability of tracking 5 Door to door service 6

Greater reach 7 Low cost 8

Associated services (Packing etc.) 9

Others, Specify ______________________________

15)

a) Do you think Express Parcel Post (EPP) is the best option for parcel delivery (<50 kg) to domestic locations?

Yes 1 SKIP NEXT QUESTION No 2 ASK NEXT QUESTION

b) Why do you say so?

Not able to track 1

Non-availability of post office nearby 2 Low reliability (not sure if consignment will get delivered safely) 3

Low speed 4 Too many hassles (Procedure oriented, long queues, counter staff not helpful) 5

High cost 6 Working hours not convenient 7

Absence of any facilities in post office like packing, pens, glue etc. 8

Others, Specify ___________________________________________________

16)

a) Are you aware of the following services offered by Express Parcel Post (EPP)? b) Have you used any of the following services offered by Express Parcel Post (EPP)?

Services Q 16.a Awareness

Q 16.b Used

VPP (Cash on Delivery) facility 1 1 Book Now Pay Later Scheme 2 2

Proof of Delivery 3 3 Express Parcel Post Account 4 4

Insurance 5 5 Web Tracking 6 6 Retail Parcels 7 7

Door to door service 8 8 I don’t know of these services 9 9

[THANK & TERMINATE]



SUB SECTION B4: REASONS FOR NON-USAGE, EPP NON-CUSTOMERS You said that you have used different parcel service providers. 17) Could you tell me which of the following service providers do you consider to be the best for sending domestic

parcels (< 50 kg)? [SINGLE CODING ONLY]

18) You said that ________ [PREVIOUS QUESTION] is the best for sending domestic parcels. Why do you say so?

High reliability (Consignment will reach safely) 1

High speed 2 Post office is located nearby 3

Easy and hassle free experience at Post Office 4 Availability of tracking 5

Door to door service 6 Greater reach 7

Low cost 8 Associated services (Packing etc.) 9

Others, Specify __________________________________

19)

a) Can you please tell me why you haven’t used Express Parcel Post (EPP) Service from India Post during last 6 months?

Not able to track 1

Non-availability of post office nearby 2 Low reliability (Not sure if consignment will get delivered safely) 3



Absence of any facilities in post office like packing, pens, glue etc. 8 Not aware 9

Others, Specify ___________________________________________________



DTDC 05 TNT 13 Flyking 06 Trackon Couriers 14

Gati 07 VRL Parcel Service 15 I.B. Courier 08 Yogesh Couriers 16

Others, Specify _________________________________________



b) Would you be willing to use India Post Express Parcel Post (EPP) service in the future?

Yes 1 Maybe 2

No 3 Don’t Know / Can’t Say 4

c) What improvements would you like to see in Express Parcel Post (EPP) service?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

[THANK & TERMINATE]

SECTION C: ESTABLISHMENTS

SUB SECTION C1: PROFILING INFORMATION, ESTABLISHMENTS 20)

a) May I know the approximate number of employees at your firm? [APPROX. FIGURE FOR WHOLE COMPANY]

_____________________ Nos. b) May I know what kind of organization you are representing?

Public Sector Undertaking 1 GO TO Q 21

Private Firm 2 Government Department 3 GO TO Q 22

Others (NGO etc.) 4

21) May I know which sector your organization is in?

Petroleum, Chemicals 01 Media, Entertainment (Including Magazines) 09 Education 02 Pharmaceuticals 10

Electrical and Electronics 03 Power 11 Equipment Manufacturer 04 Retail, Physical Store 12

Financial Services 05 Retail, Online or TV 13 Handicrafts 06 Steel & Metals 14

IT, IT Enabled Services 07 Telecom 15 Logistics, Transportation 08 Textile (including Handloom) 16

Others, Specify ___________________________________________________

22) Does your organization have an internet connection?

Yes 1 No 2



SUB SECTION C2: AWARENESS & GENERAL USAGE PRACTICES [READ OUT] “Now I will ask some questions regarding the various domestic parcel service services providers in the market”.

23) a) What is the first name/service that comes to your mind for domestic parcel delivery by surface mode

(Trains, Truck)? [DO NOT PROMPT. SINGLE CODING ONLY]

b) What are the other names/services that you are aware of for domestic parcel delivery by surface mode? [DO NOT PROMPT. MULTIPLE CODING POSSIBLE]

c) I shall now read out some other names/services. Which of these are you aware of? [READ OUT LIST OF OPTIONS NOT MENTIONED BY RESPONDENT IN PARTS (a) AND (b). MULTIPLE CODING POSSIBLE]

d) Which service provider did you use for the last domestic parcel (< 50 kg) you sent? [READ OUT LIST OF OPTIONS. SINGLE CODE ONLY].

Q 23.a First

Mention

Q 23.b Unaided

Q 23.c Aided

Q 23.d Used , Last

Time ABT Parcel Service 01 01 01 01

AFL 02 02 02 02 Blazeflash 03 03 03 03 Blue Dart 04 04 04 04

DTDC 05 05 05 05 Express Parcel Post (India Post) 06 06 06 06

Flyking 07 07 07 07 Gati 08 08 08 08

I.B. Courier 09 09 09 09 Indian Railways, Parcel Service 10 10 10 10

Murthi Courier 11 11 11 11 On Wheels Parcel Service 12 12 12 12

Safexpress 13 13 13 13 TNT 14 14 14 14

Trackon Couriers 15 15 15 15 VRL Parcel Service 16 16 16 16

Yogesh Couriers 17 17 17 17

Others, Specify ______________________________

24) On an average, how many domestic shipments would you send per month? __________________ [RECORD NUMBER OF SHIPMENTS]



25) a) Which are the top three states you send parcels (< 50 kg) to?

State No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 State No. 1 No. 2 No. 3

Andhra Pradesh 01 01 01 Nagaland 19 19 19 Arunachal Pradesh 02 02 02 Orissa 20 20 20

Assam 03 03 03 Punjab 21 21 21 Bihar 04 04 04 Rajasthan 22 22 22

Chhattisgarh 05 05 05 Sikkim 23 23 23 Goa 06 06 06 Tamil Nadu 24 24 24

Gujarat 07 07 07 Tripura 25 25 25 Haryana 08 08 08 Uttar Pradesh 26 26 26

Himachal Pradesh 09 09 09 Uttarakhand 27 27 27 Jammu and Kashmir 10 10 10 West Bengal 28 28 28

Jharkhand 11 11 11 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 29 29 29 Karnataka 12 12 12 Chandigarh 30 30 30

Kerala 13 13 13 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 31 31 31 Madhya Pradesh 14 14 14 Daman and Diu 32 32 32

Maharashtra 15 15 15 Delhi 33 33 33 Manipur 16 16 16 Lakshadweep 34 34 34

Meghalaya 17 17 17 Puducherry 35 35 35 Mizoram 18 18 18

b) How would you classify the most common destination, from the following options?

Metro City ( Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad ) 1

State Capitals/Medium Cities (E.g. Patna, Coimbatore etc) 2 District Headquarters or Towns 3

Rural Areas, Village 4



26) a) What is the weight of the parcels you usually send? [READ OUT OPTIONS, MULTIPLE CODING

POSSIBLE] b) What is the weight of the parcel you send most often? [SINGLE CODING]

Q 26.a

All Sent Q 26.b Most

< 2 kgs 1 1 2 kgs to 5 kgs 2 2

5 kgs to 10 kgs 3 3 10 kgs to 35 kgs 4 4

35 to 50 kgs 5 5 SUB SECTION C3: REASONS FOR USAGE, EPP CUSTOMERS

[READ OUT]”Now I would like to ask you some questions relating to reasons for usage for Express Parcel Post (EPP) service of India Post.” 27)

a) You have the option of using other parcel services. Why do you use Express Parcel Post (EPP)? [MULTIPLE CODING POSSIBLE]

b) Of these reasons, which is the most important? [SINGLE CODING ONLY]

Q 27.a All Reasons

Q 27.b Most Imp. Reason

High reliability (Consignment will reach safely) 01 01 High speed 02 02

Post office is located nearby 03 03 Easy and hassle free experience at Post Office 04 04

Availability of tracking 05 05 Door to door service 06 06

Greater reach 07 07 Low cost 08 08

Associated services (Packing etc.) 09 09 It is mandatory. 10 10

Others, Specify ______________________________

28)

a) Since last year, has your usage of Express Parcel Post (EPP)…? [READ OUT OPTIONS]

Increased 1 SKIP NEXT QUESTION Stayed the same 2

Decreased 3 ASK NEXT QUESTION b) What is the reason for drop in usage of Express Parcel Post (EPP)?

We are not sending as many documents/parcels 1

We use other service providers. They are better than Express Parcel Post. 2 Prices have gone up, so I’ve cut down my usage. 3

Others, Specify _____________________________________________



29) a) Do you use other domestic parcel services?

Yes 1 ASK NEXT QUESTION No 2 GO TO 30

b) What percentage of shipments do you send via Express Parcel Post (EPP) as against other service

providers?

India Post

Others

Total 100%

c) When do you use Express Parcel Post (EPP) and when do you use other service providers? [SINGLE CODE ONLY] Express

Parcel Post

Other Service

Providers

No Particular Preference

BASED ON TIME A Urgent delivery 1 2 3

BASED ON CRITICALITY OF SHIPMENT B High value shipments 1 2 3 C Confidential shipments 1 2 3

BASED ON DESTINATION D Top Metros, State Capitals 1 2 3 E Districts, Towns 1 2 3 F Rural Areas 1 2 3

d) You have used Express Parcel Post (EPP) as well as other parcel service providers. Can you please tell me,

which of these is the best service provider? [SINGLE CODING ONLY]



DTDC 05 TNT 14 Express Parcel Post (India Post) 06 Trackon Couriers 15

Flyking 07 VRL Parcel Service 16 Gati 08 Yogesh Couriers 17

I.B. Courier 09

Others, Specify ______________________________



e) You said that ________ [PREVIOUS QUESTION] is the best domestic parcel service provider. Why do you say so?





Competitive discounts 09 Associated services (Packing etc.) 10

Others, Specify ______________________________

30)

a) Do you think Express Parcel Post (EPP) is the best option for small parcel delivery to domestic locations?

Yes 1 SKIP NEXT QUESTION No 2 ASK NEXT QUESTION

b) Why do you say so?

Not able to track 01




Absence of any facilities in post office like packing, pens, glue etc. 08 Door pick-up facility not available 09

Other players offer better discounts 10

Others, Specify ______________________________

31)

a) Are you aware of the following services offered by Express Parcel Post (EPP)? b) Have you used any of the following services offered by Express Parcel Post (EPP)?

Services Q 31.a Awareness

Q 31.b Used

VPP (Cash on Delivery) facility 1 1 Book Now Pay Later Scheme 2 2

Proof of Delivery 3 3 Express Parcel Post Account 4 4

Insurance 5 5 Web Tracking 6 6 Retail Parcels 7 7

Door to door service 8 8 I don’t know of these services 9 9

[THANK AND TERMINATE]



SUB SECTION C4: EPP NON CUSTOMERS (ESTABLISHMENT) 32)

a) You have said that you have used different domestic parcel service providers. Can you please tell me, which of these is the best (< 50 kg)? [SINGLE CODING ONLY]



DTDC 05 TNT 13 Flyking 06 Trackon Couriers 14

Gati 07 VRL Parcel Service 15 I.B. Courier 08 Yogesh Couriers 16

Others, Specify ______________________________

b) You said that ________ [PREVIOUS QUESTION] is the best domestic parcel service option. Why do you

say so?





Competitive discounts from other players 09 Associated services (Packing etc.) 10

Others, Specify ______________________________

33) Can you please tell me why you haven’t used Express Parcel Post (EPP) during last 6 months?

Not able to track 01




Absence of any facilities in post office like packing, pens, glue etc. 08 Door pick-up facility not available 09

Other players offer better discounts 10

Others, Specify ______________________________

34) Have you used Express Parcel Post service ever in the past?

Yes 1 No 2



35) Are you aware of the following services offered by Express Parcel Post (EPP)?

VPP (Cash On Delivery) Facility 1 Insurance 5 Book Now Pay Later Scheme 2 Web Tracking 6

Proof Of Delivery 3 Retail Parcels 7 Express Parcel Post Account 4 Door To Door Service 8

36)

a) Would you be willing to use Express Parcel Post (EPP) service of India Post in the future?

Yes 1 Maybe 2

No 3 Don’t Know / Can’t Say 4

b) What improvements would you like to see in Express Parcel Post (EPP) service from India Post?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

[THANK & TERMINATE]

Documents

Final Report-India Post-IMRB-Express Parcel Post