Emirates Post is the official postal and e-commerce logistics provider for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As a leading operator, it connects communities and businesses of the UAE to the rest of the world. Emirates Post recently launched a few e-commerce-based services aiming to enhance customer experience, flexible pick-up, and drop-off options, and faster delivery. Steve Stanton, Chief Business Officer – Parcels & Express at Emirates Post speaks to The Integrator about the new e-commerce services the company has launched to help e-commerce businesses in the UAE.

What ambitions of Emirates Post will be fulfilled with the launch of its e-commerce-oriented services?

Emirates Post is an established enterprise in the UAE, which handles both domestic and international parcels. With the launch of e-commerce services, we are striving to make the UAE one of the largest e-commerce hubs in the world.

We already have the most extensive last-mile network in the UAE and are truly a pan-UAE service provider with around 1300 people in the carrier-handling team at the moment. So, the e-commerce business would be an extension of the service point.

We are also launching the new elements predominantly around sustainability including electrification and sustainable packaging. For regular and corporate customers, we are launching a new portal that facilitates easy interaction and a simple dashboard to trace all necessary information. E.g., shipment tracking.

For transit, we launched an app that is predominantly driven towards the end consumer and it gives the consumer control over the volume or control over their shipping. They can decide when they want delivery, and how they want delivery.

Explain the vendor partnerships that you are looking for in an e-commerce

From a partner perspective, we cater to the whole different types of vendors. We have been handling the last-mile delivery services of Amazon, Landmark, and other companies in the Middle East and North Africa. At this juncture of the visible and rapid growth of the e-commerce business, we approach the market from an entrepreneurial perspective. Besides creating a suitable ecosystem, we foster business for SMEs and small enterprises to establish their business. We offer to help businesses with marketing and financial partnerships through our network, and shipment handling.

What are the competitive advantages that businesses can expect from Emirates Post than that of other e-commerce service providers?

Emirates Post focuses on quality, service, commitment, and consistency. Everything that we invest in terms of frontline, backline team, and supporting technologies would ideally help us achieve great performance and we expect it to be the differentiator. Regarding the service commitment, we are aiming to provide customers with same-day or next-day delivery services. We have to go to the right network to handle it.

Apart from that, the parcel lockers will be available at post offices and selected petrol stations, while the service points will be at petrol stations and partner locations, adding further time and place simplicity and convenience to the customer experience.

In line with our commitment to give quality logistics and supply chain services, we are also adding temperature-controlled vehicles for its cold chain solutions. This will be particularly important for perishable goods such as food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.