Postal financial services – financial transfers particularly to help the rural folk from urban able/active heads
Electronic and hybrid mail services – use of modern technology to improve delivery speed
Distribution of publications – reliable system to distribute newspapers, magazines, journals etc Agency services—to provide profitable value added services as agents for paying taxes, municipal fees, electricity, Motor licenses, Pensions etc
The Postal Corporation of Kenya falls in the first category and is responsible for fulfilling Universal Service Obligations (USO) and has the widest International and domestic coverage (networks). The International category includes couriers that operate internationally with worldwide and domestic networks. The international In- bound only category on the other hand includes couriers that are one-way operators; only receiving items from overseas and delivering them locally. The Regional operators are those companies operating within the wider East Africa region.
Intra country operators operate in Kenya but deal with only a limited volume of deliveries as compared to Regional companies. The intra city operators’ category includes couriers that only operate within the boundaries of major cities and towns. The last category is the Document exchange operators, which includes companies that specialize in exchange of documents and related articles between member institutions.
If you are going to establish your firm in the industry, you will need to develop your strategy to include relevant technology. You may need to have a better system to manage your parcels, employees, delivery people and subsidiary offices if you plan to have any.
International Companies
Among major industry players in the Kenyan Courier Industry include large corporations with international networks, with their headquarters in the West. These companies have the biggest machineries, many huge tracks, a lot of staff and employ the best technology, which has helped keep them at the top of the industry, controlling the global express mail and delivery business.
Some of the international delivery have the largest delivery networks in the country and even offer home delivery services to their clients in the upcountry. Most of the deliveries these companies make are imports from other countries sent to Kenyans. Some of the companies operate in the country through partnerships and collaborations with local courier companies, which enables them to expand their networks across the country. Others are fully owned companies stationed in the country with offices in various parts of the country.
Some of the international companies operating in Kenya include:
i.EMS
EMS is an international postal service offered by various postal services in different countries all over the world. In Kenya, it’s operated under the Postal Corporations of Kenya to facilitate its courier services across the country.
ii.FedEx
This is an American based international courier delivery firm with its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, US. Its name FedEx is a syllabic abbreviation of the company’s original name Federation Express, for its air department. FedEx has its offices in Nairobi as well as several agents and partners operating all over the country.
iii.DHL
This is a German based company, Deutsche Post DHL providing international express mail services. Deutsche Post is the world's largest logistics company operating around the world. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail.DHL is one of the biggest companies in the country, with its headquarters in Nairobi and has operations all over the country.
iv.UPS
United Parcel Service, Inc., typically referred to as UPS, is an American global package delivery company headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States. It delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the world, including Kenya.
v.TNT
TNT Express N.V. is an international courier delivery services company with headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. The firm has fully owned operations in 63 countries and delivers documents, parcels and pieces of freight to over 200 countries. The name TNT is short for Thomas Nationwide Transport, after Ken Thomas, an Australian businessman who, in 1946, set up his own transport business with just a single truck.
vi.Aramex
Aramex is a global transportation and logistics services company providing a variety of express, logistics, freight forwarding and domestic distribution services. The company was established in 1982 and is headquartered in Amman, Jordan.
Local Courier Companies
The industry also has various local and regional companies that offer both mail and parcel delivery. Some of these companies operate within different cities in the country while others have larger networks and extend their services to other parts of the country, and some go beyond borders to operate within the East African region.
Major cities such as Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu have experienced changing lifestyles that have necessitated the growth and expansion of delivery services and online businesses. People in this cities are becoming more and more engaged in their daily economic activities and do not find enough time to do their own shopping and errands.
Courier and errand services companies come in to fill this void by letting clients place orders and they do the delivery for them. This has made life much easier for city dwellers in the country. This reason could also be attributed to the increase in number of intra city and intercity errands and courier service companies.
Among some of the courier industries include Data Rush Couriers, Petty Errands, Timeless Couriers, Upesi Delivery, among others.
Bus Companies
A great portion of the courier industry in Kenya is occupied by upcountry bus companies. These companies deliver items for their clients in their various offices located along the major routes they operate. Some of the bus companies operate in the wider East Africa region and act as regional couriers.
Among the renowned bus companies offering delivery services in the country and in the wider region include Easy Coach, Kampala Bus, Crown Bus, and Horizon Coach.
Security Firms
The other key player in the Courier industry in Kenya is the Security firms. These security firms have their offices in remote areas of the country where they offer their security services. This has given them an edge in offering courier services to their clients.
Major security firms have specialized in delivery of cash for large corporations to and from the bank.
Some of the security firms offering delivery services within various cities and in the upcountry include G4S security, Riley Security, Bob Morgan (BM) Security, among others.
CHAPTER THREE:
THE LEGAL FRAME WORK OF THE COURIER INDUSTRY IN KENYA
The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) is the body that regulates the deliver industry. For those involved delivery of products in and outside the country, there are various issues that they have to be familiar with such as the laws governing the import or export of goods in and out of the country, as well as the various tax obligations.
The government through the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) restricts import and export of certain items while others are completely prohibited. Other items are imported in the country as free items because they do not attract import duty. A detailed list of free imports, prohibited and restricted items is as shown below.
Free import
• 200 cigarettes or
• 50 cigars or
• 227 grammes of tobacco
• 1 bottle of alcohol
• 1 pint of perfume
• There is currently no limit on the amount of local and foreign currency that travellers can import into the country. Residents of Kenya are free to import up to 500,000 Kenyan Shillings and an unlimited amount of foreign currency.
• The same rules apply for both locals and visitors if exporting currency out of the country although sums equal to USD 500 will need to be declared at the customs department.
; Prohibited
• Illegal drugs
• Guns, explosives and ammunition – unless permission has been obtained
• Knives and dangerous hunting weapons
• Hazardous materials
• Meat and meat products
• Plant and plant products – unless permission has been obtained
• Soil
• Counterfeit money and goods
• Pornographic material
Restricted
• All arms, explosives and ammunition are currently banned from entering the country unless a prior police permit has been obtained.
• A special Plant Import Permit will be required in order to import any plant or plant products into the country.
• Meat and meat products must be declared at customs and will not be permitted entry.
• Any animals being imported into the country can only travel as cargo. Cats and dogs will need a general good health certificate from the country of origin and an additional certificate less than a month old clearing the pets of Rabies. Wild birds being imported from countries currently suffering from bird flu will need a sanitary import permit to be issued by the Director of Veterinary Services.
• Other restricted items include various forms of unprepared ivory, precious metal and stones, historical artefacts, imitation firearms, children’s toys and fruit.
Free export
• No information available
Prohibited
• Illegal drugs
• Guns, explosives and ammunition – unless permission has been obtained
• Knives and dangerous hunting weapons
• Hazardous materials
• Meat and meat products
• Plant and plant products – unless permission has been obtained
• Soil
• Counterfeit money and goods
• Pornographic material
Restricted
• Restricted items include gold and diamonds and skin or game trophies, which are not obtained from the authorized personnel of the Government of Kenya.
All individuals seeking to import or export items need to get permits allowing them to transact in such businesses. All the information regarding the items restricted or prohibited for either exportation or importation can be found from the Kenya Revenue Authority upon request.
CHAPTER FOUR:
ONLINE BUSINESS IN KENYA
In a world that is fast embracing technology, shopping in Africa and in Kenya is undergoing notable changes, with the most basic spending going electronic. The internet provides consumers with a wide range of shopping options. The huge popularity of mobile phones and the use of mobile money transfers in Kenya have also contributed to a large extent on the growth of online shopping. For one who has not yet shopped online, questions like, how distinct are the online and in-store shopping experiences and what benefits does online shopping present to consumers continue to ring in their heads.
All it takes for one to shop online is to open an online account with any online store, giving the required details to create a profile. There are so many online retail shops in Nairobi and other urban centers in Kenya that offer a variety of products. Payments for goods bought online can be made through any online payment methods such as PayPal, or any other payment method accepted by the store of your choice. For those who do not have access to credit cards and can still make payment using mobile money transfer services such as M-PESA and Airtel Money.
Between work, the kids, taking care of the house, squeezing in a workout and attempting to have a social life, there’s little time left over to plan a trip to the store, drive, park and get some shopping done. This is the lifestyle of most city dwellers in Kenya. Most businesses in Kenya have adopted an online strategy that enables them to tap in to the ever growing online market. These online businesses range from big retail outlets like major supermarkets to jewelry stores, bookshops to businesses that strictly operate on the internet. Customers who buy goods online can have their items shipped and delivered at their door steps either for free or at some added costs depending on the business.
CHAPTER FIVE: PARCEL MANAGEMENT AND TRACKING IN KENYA
Technology has greatly transformed business transactions. Internet gave rise to ecommerce and more web bases systems have been developed to make business even much better. With current technology customers can make orders of their items from favorite stores, make payments online or via mobile money transfer services and they will be delivered right at their doorstep.
Most Courier companies in Kenya however have not realized the need to employ technology in their delivery operation. Major industry players such as international firms operating within the country have exploited the use of technology in making their operations more efficient. This has given them an edge over most local companies.
Most delivery companies haven’t yet aligned their strategies with the changes in technology. This has led to huge differences between delivery companies in terms of the market share. The companies that have adopted technology stand out as market leaders while these other companies are left struggling for clients and a place in the industry. Lack of proper technology in place has led to most companies experiencing problems hindering their growth and expansion.
Based on our experience and research the problems and difficulties experienced by organizations in courier business can be categorized into three main parts:
Proof of delivery reporting and notification
Administration Headaches
Escalating Overheads
Delivery reporting and notifications
Most parcel courier companies do not have notification systems in place to notify their clients about the status of their deliveries. There exists a general uncertainty about whether a document is delivered/ collected on time every time arising from. This problem arises about due to:
Poor coordination of deliveries and collections.
Weak audit trails arising from simple recording system (delivery book).
Administrative Headaches
With the current operations in most courier companies across the country, it is very difficult to manage parcel records and monitor employees/delivery people effectively. This is particularly serious where the courier company operates from multiple offices across the country. Some of the administrative difficulties faced by delivery companies include:
Managing the parcel records, in terms of duplication of data entered in to the system.
Difficulty in monitoring the riders/messenger/driver delivery activities and locations because of the myriads of variables involved- traffic jams, parking, identifying delivery points, waiting time for collections, vehicle breakdowns etc.
Maintaining the personnel records for the riders/delivery people and other company employees.
Escalating Overheads
The direct and indirect overheads relating to parcel collections and deliveries are quite phenomenal. Some of them include:
Cost of procuring and maintaining manual/paper records of all transactions
Cost of running courier services in some routes
Salaries for drivers/riders used in parcel collection and deliveries
Time costs for messengers waiting to collect documents or submit documents especially at government offices, embassies (for visas), etc.
CHAPTER FIVE:
D-TRAIL PARCEL TRACKING AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
D-Trail is a parcel tracking and management application designed to help parcel/errands services companies to track and manage the parcel delivery processes efficiently. It is designed to help courier companies optimize their service delivery and better their parcel management processes by utilizing our cloud based solution which provides:
Remote office management
Parcel tracking
Rider location tracking
Proof of Delivery reporting
Route planning and optimization
Parcel management and reporting
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Parcel delivery notifications to clients via SMS/Email
D-Trail System Overview
Summary
The D-Trail parcel tracking and management system provides a platform to manage your parcels and parcel related records as well as track parcel deliveries. Parcel management is done via cloud based software. Parcel tracking is done using Bar Codes, Quick Response (QR) and Random Codes that are placed on the parcel. The system also helps in employee management, client management as well as rider/driver management.
1)Management Function
D-Trail system helps delivery companies to effectively manage their parcel delivery processes through the main web based system, the D-Trail mobile app and bar code readers. The system lets you manage all the parcel details, employees, and clients.
i)Parcel Management: Office admins can enter parcel details into the system. This helps to maintain the integrity of the data and is a great move away from errors caused by manual data entry in ‘delivery books’.
ii)Client Management:Office admins can manage all client details in the system as well as communicating with clients via SMS or emails. Clients can be sent parcel collection reminders once their parcels are due for collection.
iii)Employee Management: The Super admin can create accounts for all system users and assign them roles. Office employees can send each other message in the system either through SMS or the inbuilt system messaging (Dmail).
iv)Rider/Driver Management:You can track rider/driver location in real time. You can also assign parcels for pick to riders straight from the system.
2)Parcel Tracking Function
This function helps parcel delivery companies to track the current location of their parcels in real time. This is done with the help of the D-Trail Mobile App. The system lets you track the exact location of the parcels and the riders. Office employees can view parcel and rider maps to check their current location and assign parcels to the nearest riders for pick up.
The Courier Industry in Kenya: An In-depth Analysis Page 2