A NEW BUSINESS MODEL

» The postal department is keen to sell data it collects on consumer habits to marketers

» In parts of Tamil Nadu, postmen sell magazine subscriptions

» Kodak plans to use postmen to distribute film rolls, collect them, and deliver prints

» Postmen distribute application forms for local universities and passport application forms

» Postmen distribute ICICI, IDBI, RBI bonds

» TAFE uses postmen to gather information on potential customers and generate leads

» Reliance Infocomm uses postmen for address verifications in the Jaipur circle

Ring, ring.
Who's there?
Postman.
Postman who rings only twice?

No, postman who distributes film rolls, savings bonds, admission forms, sells milk and magazine subscriptions...

Sorry, bad joke, actually no joke at all, but this is a scene that could soon be played out across the country-it is already being played out in parts-if the business development board of India's Department of Posts (DOP) has its way. Postmen, some 3,59,685 of them, are at the core of this strategy: DOP proposes to use them to distribute products for companies, generate sales leads for them, even collect information on customers that they can use. What's in it for the department? Around Rs 800 crore in revenues in Year 1 of the effort.

Postmen are perfectly placed to gather information on customers: DOP, in association with Tele-communications Consultants India Ltd., recently completed a pilot project in Bangalore and Hyderabad, where they collected relevant information on households. "A similar initiative for the entire country will go live by March 31, this year," says R. Ganeshan, Member (Development), Postal Services Board. Execs at DOP claim the database will have "zero-error data" along generic fields such as address, telephone number and e-mail id and customisable ones such as ownership of two-wheelers and consumer electronic appliances, even consumer habits. Companies can buy the database, or parts of it from DOP. That's the kind of thing marketers dream about.

Chennai-based Tractors and Farm Equipment's experience bears that out. Dealers of the company's tractors in some parts of the country already use postmen to gather information on potential customers. T.R. Kesavan, Vice President (Sales & Marketing), TAFE, says the company is now evaluating the benefits of a nationwide alliance with DOP. Why, even 2003's growth story Reliance Infocomm uses postmen to validate customer information in the city of Jaipur and may well make DOP its certification agency across the country. DOP's reach, says a Reliance spokesperson, is just what the doctor ordered for a mass-market CDMA service.

It isn't just information, or the sale of it, that will bring in the Rs 800 crore. DOP sees its postmen selling everything from milk to magazine subscriptions. This is already happening in parts of Tamil Nadu where the department has marketing relationships with Hatsun Agro, a company in the milk and ice cream business, and with publications such as Ananda Vikatan and Dinamani. Then, there's the Kodak deal. Postmen, claims Manju Pandey, Additional General Manager (Business Development), DOP, will deliver fresh rolls, collect used ones, and deliver prints.

Reach is the Unique Selling Proposition DOP hopes to leverage. With 1,54,551 branches, one every 21 square kilometre, the department boasts enviable coverage. Better still, 1,38,756 of its branches are in rural areas and it reaches every village in the country, 6,34,321 to be precise. No Indian company, not Hindustan Lever Limited, not ITC, not even the largest bidi company going has a distribution network of this magnitude. There's also the small fact about the standing of a postman in rural communities: he knows most people by name, is respected, reads out and writes letters for people, and can, as marketers well know, play a significant role in the purchase process. "Postmen can act as ideal distributors of non-frequent items, given the sheer scale and size of their operations," says Rajiv Narang, Founder Director of the Bangalore-based Erehwon Consulting. "Unlike an FMCG salesman, a postman is a welcome visitor," he adds.

DOP is leveraging this reach in curious ways: in 2002, in Andhra Pradesh, it distributed some 2,000 packets of haleem, a traditional Muslim dish cooked with meat and pulses, during the month of Ramadan to customers in Hyderabad and Secunderabad. "We plan to make this an annual thing," says T.S. Govindarajan, Chief Postmaster General, Andhra Pradesh Circle. Encouraged, the department extended the project to distributing the prasadam (offering) of the Shri Rama temple in Bhadrachalam on the occasion of Ramnavami, a Hindu festival. The revenue? Rs 43.8 lakh. Today, the department is working to finalise alliances with three more temples in Andhra Pradesh. I.M.G. Khan, Chief General Manager (Business Development), DOP, claims the prasadam of Puri's renowned Jagannath temple will be distributed around the world by the department. And 2003's Christmas season saw the postal department in Kerala take orders and distribute Christmas cakes (and flowers) across Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode.

The possibilities are endless. Post-offices in rural areas could become channels that route microfinance to farmers and self-help groups. Postmen could become frontline researchers for consumer product companies. Why, they could even act as a certifying agency for government departments, even private sector companies. As Tom Peters says, How cool. How weird. How unsettling. How revolutionary.

How to Take a BPO Global
Here's how Daksh eServices is doing it.

Manila calling: Daksh is gradually building itself a global footprint

By the end of March this year, Daksh Eservices will launch its first greenfield BPO centre outside India, in Manila, the Philippines. Here's the interesting bit, though: The centre will not be a mere extension of the operations in India; instead it will by and large be an independent entity. Explains Sanjeev Aggarwal, CEO, Daksh eServices: "Daksh Philippines is basically a Filipino company that is owned in India."

To get the $5-million (Rs 23-crore) outfit going-Manila was chosen for its comparable people skills and wage costs-a project management team was put in place. Led by Pavan Vaish, Executive Vice President (Strategic Initiatives), the cross-functional team comprised members from departments such as legal, it, commercial and finance. The search for a local CEO led to Jose Maria B. Gajitos, who was the country manager of IBM Philippines. The senior team, the only set of managers in place thus far, came down to India in December 2003, and spent time with their counterparts, getting oriented in the Daksh way of doing business. In future, training will be an ongoing process; as and when new processes get added, the team will be trained online, and the various functional heads will interact with their India counterparts for guidance and troubleshooting.

Daksh Philippines already has a customer (Aggarwal wouldn't reveal who), but as new customers are added, their systems and processes will need to be migrated to Manila. Experts from India will train the senior people for each new customer. The senior team, in turn, will train customer service agents and other members. For hiring, induction and training, Daksh is using the same filters it uses in India. However, Daksh India will have no say in the selection of local employees. Says Aggarwal: "We believe in glocalisation; take the good things of India and combine it with the local best practices of different countries." If Daksh's Manila plan works, you can expect other Indian BPOs to follow suit.

-Alokesh Bhattacharyya