Canada Post rolls out a five-point plan to ensure sustainability and efficiency
Earlier this month, Canada Post announced a series of five initiatives that the agency will implement over the next six years to help improve sustainability. Canada Post's leadership hopes the new plan will ensure the country's mail delivery continues without interruption for the foreseeable future.
Initiative one: Community mailboxes
Perhaps the most intriguing change, the agency's first initiative will be to eliminate door-to-door mail delivery for the one-third of urban Canadians who still get the service. Instead, Canada Post intends to convert the existing routes into community mailboxes, like those in rural areas where much of the population is already benefiting from them.
The service will work simply. Where mail would usually be left in a personal mailbox, it will now be left in the designated compartment of a person or family. The collection of individual mail slots - all of which remain constantly locked - will be found at the ends of streets. Customers will have to walk a bit farther for their mail, but it will help optimize the delivery process, hopefully leading to better efficiency and accuracy.
Initiative two: New pricing
In a move to further ensure sustainability, Canada Post is going to be raising the price of stamps, effective March 31, 2014. Buying a booklet of stamps, the most common means of acquiring postage, according to Canada Post, will now amount to CA$0.85 per stamp, while purchasing them individually will run customers CA$1. The agency defended this decision saying that only two percent of the population purchases single stamps, and the average household typically procures fewer than two stamps a month.
Initiative three: Franchising
Dedicated to strengthening its own retail network, the postal agency has announced its plans to open new outlets throughout the country. Canada Post hopes to attract new customers with better parking, longer hours and greater overall convenience.
Initiative four: Streamlining
The agency intends to make drastic changes to internal operations. Mostly focused on technology, Canada Post will be introducing a number of new measures in hopes of boosting efficiency. It intends to introduce faster computerized sorting equipment, consolidate mail processing and provide mail carriers with a new fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles.
Initiative five: Labor
Canada Post is shifting its focus toward efficiency, effectively altering its business plan and eliminating the need for its excess of staff. Over the next six years, the agency hopes to shed upwards of 8,000 employees. But while these numbers may seem shocking and conjure thoughts of mass layoffs, agency officials say there are more than enough employees nearing retirement to simply lose the staff through natural attrition.
Canada's government and primary postal agency are making blatant efforts to not only ensure continued mail delivery, but they're also taking steps to improve the service. Businesses hoping to take a note from Canada Post and ensure their own best practices can invest in mailing software, which can optimize postal operations and automate a number of more labor-intensive processes.