Thailand Post is expanding its postal services to cater for more specific e-commerce demand to create more value for its business amid intense competition in the courier segment.
The company outlined its 2022 business outlook under the title "Beyond Logistics" during a news conference on Wednesday.
It aims to improve its existing courier services and support official digital mail to be used by state agencies and corporates. It also aims to increase its electric vehicle (EV) fleet to reach 250 by the end of this year amid a surge in oil prices.
Thailand Post chief executive Dhanant Subhadrabandhu pointed out that express delivery and logistics is a red-ocean business now, driven by high operational costs, the pandemic and price competition.
"An attractive service tariff alone is not enough, especially in the long term -- value of the customer's money and experience in service quality is the core strategy to serve multiple sectors of e-commerce at present," said Mr Dhanant.
Discount promotion and after-sale service, including payment channel support, will directly facilitate growth of e-commerce merchants and directly help push growth of Thailand Post's revenue in the long term, he said.
Thailand Post is among the top three players in the postal service market with 40% of the market share in terms of revenue and 57% in terms of parcel units.
The express delivery market is estimated to grow 11.23% on average per year from 2022 to 2024, said Mr Dhanant.
The overall logistics business last year registered a growth of 19% year-on-year to 100 billion baht.
According to Mr Dhanant, the e-commerce ecosystem involves various kinds of demand from sellers and buyers in line with a variety of products and services sold through online platforms.
Thailand Post will boost service capacity through all kinds of support, including packing, storage as well as a diverse range of transport formats, he said.
The company on Wednesday launched the EMS Every Day campaign, an upgrade of express delivery services with 24-hour service, easy service access and user-friendly features. Promotions will also be offered for e-commerce operators and online traders wishing to send items urgently at exclusive prices.
Thailand Post can effectively compete with private operators through existing resources, particularly postmen who know their locations well and are friendly with members of their local communities.
The company, which has been operating for 139 years, has 1,300 post offices across the country.
Thailand Post can cater to demand using various transport formats, such as pick-up services and the delivery of bulky items or those of an unusual shape.
It also has the thailandpostmart.com website, where community products can be posted and sold, and which supports the delivery of medical supplies and trees or seedlings, provides delivery solutions, such as warehousing and fulfilment, as well as catering for temperature-controlled delivery under the Fuze Post brand.
Thailand Post now supports a point-of-sales system for locals who want to sell their products via thailandpostmart.com.
The firm's 2021 revenue was estimated at 22 billion baht, Mr Dhanant said.