Abstract
Background: Postal services have been impacted by e-digitisation and e-commerce.
The revenue derived by the South Africa Post Office (SAPO) from letter-post has declined
contributing to its financial difficulties. This has led to a decline in the mail delivery service
and performance. With its country-wide network, SAPO can offer an affordable and
indispensable service.
Objectives: The objective is to evaluate the mail delivery performance of SAPO, using both an
international and local perspective, with an emphasis on aspects such as logistics, supply
chain management (SCM), last mile delivery, etc.
Method: Primary data, by the Universal Postal Union (UPU), on postal performance were
used with locally collected primary tracking data of postal delivery from origin to destination
of registered postal items. A quantitative data analysis and evaluation was performed using
these data to get a sense of the postal development and mail delivery performance of SAPO.
Results: The postal development performance of SAPO as measured by the UPU was
compared with actual quantitative tracking data. There seems to be a significant disconnect
between the results published by the UPU and what those in South Africa are experiencing.
Conclusion: This quantitative analysis shows that SAPO’s postal service is no longer a reliable,
predictable and professional service. It will necessitate an enormous effort to turn it around.