Businesses will be able to rent PO Box addresses more cheaply under an overhaul of the national commercial postal service.
Emirates Post Group Holding (EPGH) announced today it would reform its mailing system from January 1 in an attempt to capture more demand for deliveries from small businesses.
"The financial crisis has increased companies focus on cutting costs so they don't want to recruit more staff to organise their post. Our changes will change this," said Ibrahim bin Karam, chief commercial officer of EPGH, the state-owned postal service and logistics company.
The reform will integrate services offered by EPGH subsidiary companies Emirates Post, the country's postal corporation, and Empost, the national courier service. It will mean businesses can pay for a range of different postal services that combine the cost of renting a PO Box and courier delivery.
Under the changes, businesses with the highest volumes of mail will pay Dh12,000 a year to rent a PO Box address and receive their mail six times a week. Previously they would have to pay an extra Dh750 for the address.
Smaller firms with lower mail volumes will pay Dh750 a year for a PO Box rental and other additional mail services.
The move is part of an overall integration of services between the two companies that will involve Empost services springing up in all 120 Emirates Post branches across the country by the end of March next year.
tarnold@thenational.ae
