E-commerce Logistics with respect to Indian Post Office.

India Posts launch of online portal 'e-post office' is to provide postal transaction and tracking service online. This portal will provide electronic money order (eMO), instant money order (iMO), sale of philatelic stamps (the collection and study of postage stamps), postal information, tracking of express and international shipments, PIN code search and registration of feedback and complaints online. "A user can use his debit or credit card to send eMO or iMO online. This will enable one to send money to person at home anywhere in the country," Through this portal, DoP will also sell products, handicrafts and other products made by small-scale industries. "Earlier consumers used to go to service providers but now services providers are going to consumers. This is the future of the 21st century. We have now taken post offices to every citizen of the country through internet," Kapil Sibal, the union minister for communications and information technology (MoCIT) said at the event."This portal will also be e-commerce portal for the Department of Post. Products of small-scale sector and handicrafts will also be sold through this portal," Sibal added. The content of the portal is in English. Sachin Pilot, state MoCIT asked DoP to develop this content in other local languages to expand reaches of the portal. "This initiative will make every net book, computer a post office. I will urge Department of Post to make this site accessible in various languages," Pilot said. The next version of the portal is expected to be launched in Bangla and Kannada language. This is the first phase of services that have been launched. DoP has plans to bring other services also online in next phase of e-post office project, informed Doraiswamy. In the recent past, Internet and e-mail have revolutionized the world of communications. At the same time, accessibility to email continuous to be a major problem for many people, especially in the rural areas. In its endeavor to make the benefits of e-mail available to everyone and to bridge the digital divide, Department of Posts has introduced ePOST service. Through ePOST, customers can send their messages to any address in India with a combination of electronic transmission and physical delivery through a network of more than 1, 55,000 Post Offices. E-POST sends messages as a soft copy through internet and at the destination it will be delivered to the addressee in the form of hard copy. E-POST costs just Rs. 10 per page of A4 size. E-POST can also be availed by the corporate customers, by having a business agreement with India Post. Corporate customers will get special ePOST rates and other value additions. The internet revolution has allowed rapid exchange of communication through email. However, the internet has not reached most of the rural India and other remote areas. To bridge this digital divide, and to bring the benefit of the revolutionary internet technology to people living in these

areas, Department of Posts has introduced epost. The epost was initially launched in 5 States on experimental basis. In the wake of the experience gained, a tie up has been established with National Informatics Centre (NIC) who have developed the software, and the service is being launched on national basis. Epost is a service under which printed or even handwritten messages of customers are scanned and transmitted as email through internet. At the destination offices, these messages are printed, enveloped and delivered through postmen like other letters at the postal addresses. For this purpose, epost centres have been set up in the Post Offices, covering all the districts and major towns. These epost centres are equipped with internet connection, computers, printers and other necessary equipment. However, epost service is not limited to the epost centres. It can be availed of from any Post Office. Irrespective of whether a customer is in a metropolis or in a remote village, he can send and receive epost messages. The messages booked at Post Offices which are not the epost centres, are sent to epost centres for scanning and dispatch. Similarly, messages received at epost centres for areas beyond their delivery jurisdiction are printed and sent to concern Post Offices for delivery. Besides availing epost service through Post Offices, it can also be accessed from customers home or office if he has a computer and internet access. The customer can make payment through a prepaid card that is available from selected Post Offices and other outlets. The customer has to register as a user, and can access the service at the epost portal indiapost.nic.in and following the instructions. At present, only text messages can be sent in this mode. E messages can also be sent to email ID(s) anywhere in the world. Booking can be done from both a Post Office or from customers computer at home or office. The epost messages would be printed on A4 (8.27 x 11.69) size paper. Therefore, the message booked should be in sheets of no more than A4 size. However, there is no limit on the number of pages that can be sent. Epost messages are treated on par with the unregistered letters under the Indian Post Office Act, 1898.

The current rates for the epost service are Rs. 10 per page per addressee. With the launching of the epost by INDIA POST, email can now be sent and received by even the people living in remote areas, even without the sender or the addressee having access to computers or internet. Besides making the benefits of internet available even to Indians living in remote areas, epost enables businessmen and professionals to advertise their products and services to select customers. They can send their publicity material even from their or home or office from their computers, without having to spend for printing of advertisements and then on posting or hand delivering them. For availing the epost service, or to have further information, customers can approach the nearest post office or log on to indiapost.nic.in.

Q1. What is ePOST? EPOST enables customers to send their messages to any address in India with a combination of electronic transmission and physical delivery. EPOST sends messages as a soft copy through internet and at the destination it gets delivered to the addressee in the form of hard copy. Q2 Where can ePOST facility are availed? ePOST facility can be availed at select Post Offices across the country. Currently more than 13000 Post Offices are providing ePOST service and we are constantly upgrading the network. Customers can also avail the ePOST facility from their premises Corporate ePOST & Pre-Paid User. Q3 What is the cost of ePOST? ePOST costs just Rs. 10 per page of A4 size. For Corporate customer ePOST costs Rs. 6 per page of A4 size & for Bulk it costs Rs. 5/ - per page. Q4 Whether hand written, multilingual and picture message can be sent through ePOST? Yes, hand written, multilingual and picture message can be sent through ePOST by scanning & using multilingual text editor, downloading fonts. Q5 Whether ePOST message can be sent to anywhere in world? For physical / hard copy delivery ePOST message can be sent only to addressee in India. Q6 Whether customer can give the ePOST message in Pen drive/C.D for sending? Yes, customer can give the ePOST message in Pen drive / CD incorporating the address and e-mail IDs of the recipients for sending. Q7 How much time will it take to deliver the ePOST message? ePOST messages will be transmitted on the same day to the ePOST center, nearest to the destination. ePOST center will get it printed and ePOST message will be delivered by the postman at the destination in the form of hard copy. Q8 If prepaid recharge is not fully used, is there a provision to get refund of balance amount? No. Q9 In case of booking ePOST message from the counter of Post Office, whether the receipt will be provided to the customer? Yes. Q10 Whether ePOST message can be delivered at window of receiving Post Office? Yes

Q11 Whether ePOST message can be delivered through post box/post bag hired by the recipient? Yes. Q12 What is ePOST CORPORATE? Business customers can send their messages faster, better and cheaper to every addressee in India through ePOST CORPORATE. ePOST Corporate service enables corporate customers including Govt. Departments, PSUs, SMEs, and Companies etc to draft, design and send the messages as per their business requirements from their office premises by using internet. The message will be electronically transmitted as a soft copy and at the destination it will be delivered to their addressee, in the form of hard copy through a network of more than 1, 55,000 Post Offices. Q13 Whether ePOST messages can be booked from the premises of corporate customers. Yes, By having a business agreement with India Post, corporate customers can book the ePOST messages from their premises in ePOST CORPORATE service.

INTRODUCTION - eMO Electronic transmission of money order (eMO) facilitates transmission of money orders electronically among connected post offices registered as eMO offices. The facility shall be started initially from connected Head Post offices and Sub Post offices only. The connected Head Post offices and Sub Post Offices will book the electronic money orders for other connected HOs (including SOs and BOs in account) and other connected SOs (including BOs in account). eMO is a system of transmission of money orders and not a new service. eMO will have following features: eMO will be booked by the post offices where Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity by NIC or broadband internet connectivity is available and has been established. Booking of eMOs will be limited connected offices, whereas payment of MOs will be universal if all HOs are registered as eMO offices. Security: The system provides for web registration of eMO offices by Divisional administrator. The eMO offices have to then register themselves. Hardware configuration of the machine communicating with the central server is recorded by the central server at the time of registration. Only data from this machine will be accepted by the Central Server. Unique PNR number for every MO booked, to facilitate tracking through India Post web site. After payment, the post office of payment will upload payment details into the System. Payment details for non-connected post offices will be updated by the connected office that has printed the MOs. Intimation of payment will reach the office of booking electronically.

Remitter will use eMO Form in place of ordinary MO Form. Communication messages available only through standard codes. The eMO system will have provision for: 1 remittance from one to one; 2 remittance from one to many; 3 remittance from many to one (payment purposes can be configured); The system provides for registration of bulk remitters and bulk payees by the Divisional administrator. The system provides for bulk booking of MOs on the basis of list provided by the remitter in soft copy. Payment of Many to one MOs will be through a consolidated list. MIS, tracking and data download facility to remitter and payee respectively in the case of bulk booking / payment. MIS for administrators in India Post (Directorate level, Circle level, Region level and Division level) for monitoring. Provision for MIS for the purpose of auditing / pairing. The system provides alerts about the MOs pending for transmission at office of booking and the MOs pending for printing at the office of payment.

eMO Delivery Procedure

Examination of eMO:(1) The eMOs which are payable by the connected post office (HO / SO) and nonconnected post offices in account with it will be printed by the PA daily at fixed intervals as stipulated by the Divisional Superintendent keeping in view the mail / delivery arrangements. However, care should be taken that the maximum eMO are printed before departure of Postmen staff in the case of own office and before dispatch of Account Bag / Registered Bag as the case may be. The eMOs printed shall be signed by the PA and Supervisor with post office date stamp. The eMOs will be printed post office PIN Code wise along with a list in duplicate for eMOs payable at the connected office and for other offices in triplicate. Further, Postmaster will ensure that Print-out of all eMOs received in the office, after the hours of Delivery, is also taken before the closing Hours of the office and kept in the safe custody of the Postmaster, ready to be issued for payment the next day. (2) eMOs payable at connected HO / SO will be transferred to the PA concerned for payment along with one copy of list under receipt obtained on second copy of the list. (3) eMOs payable at post offices in account with printing HO / SO will be transferred along with two copies of list under receipt obtained on the 3rd copy of the list to Sub-account Assistant for dispatching the same to the post office duly entered in SO / BO slip. These can be transmitted through Account Bag or through Registered Bag entering the list of eMOs in registered list to such suboffices if there is a delivery advantage.

iMO Booking procedure

Fill up the To Remit Payment (TRP-1) form as it appears on screen and press submit. The e Post Office will then take you to the site of the payment gateway where your online payment will be processed. After confirmation of payment you will receive a 16 digit iMO number which you can view in My Transactions. Please note this number carefully because payment will be made on the basis of this number. This number will be available online only for 24 hours. The details of your transaction minus the secret 16 digit iMO number will then appear on screen. You can either print the receipt at that time. In case you choose not to print you can access this receipt any time by looking in My Transactions at the e Post Office. Please note that in order to book an iMO you have to first register on the site and create an account. The advantage would be that your details would only need to be filled once and thereafter would automatically be filled whenever you book an iMO. In case of any grievance please contact.

iMO Delivery Procedure

Receiver to present the 16 digit iMO number at any designated iMO post office counter and will fill up and submit a To Make Payment (TMP-1) form along with a copy of his personal identity proof. Receiver can receive the payment in cash upto Rs.50,000. He can also receive the payment through his post office savings bank account in the same iMO office. Photo Identity 1. Voters I-Card 2. PAN Card 3. Ration Card with photo of the receiver 4. Post Office Identity Card 5. Driving License 6. Passport 7. School/college ID 8. Official ID In case the Photo I.-Card has a valid expiry date the same is to be mentioned in To Make Payment (TMP-1) Form

Photo Identity
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Voters I-Card PAN Card Ration Card with photo of the receiver Post Office Identity Card Driving License Passport School/college ID

8. Official ID FAQ on iMO 1. What is iMO? IMO is a web based instant money transfer service offered by India Post between two individuals within India. 2. How fast is the money transfer? Money booked through iMO can be disbursed in the next minute. 3. How much money can be sent through iMO? A minimum of Rs. 1,000/- and a maximum of Rs. 50,000/- can be sent through iMO. 4. Is the money paid in cash? Receiver can receive the payment in cash upto Rs.50,000. He can also receive the payment through his post office savings bank account in the same iMO office. 5. How is money sent through iMO? If the money is being sent through the e Post Office, then all the remitter is to go online, register the account and fill in the online booking form. After the online booking form is completed the customer should press submit and this will take you to the payment gateway site where online payment will be processed. Thereafter the receipt will be generated and the reference number on the receipt can be used for further correspondence if required. 6. How does the payee collect money? The payee can collect money from any iMO post office other than office of booking on presentation of the 16-digit iMO number and production of photo-identity proof. While receiving money the payee will have to fill a simple To Make Payment form (given below). 7. What can be presented as proof of identity? The payee can prove his /her identity by presenting any of the following photoidentity documents: (a) Voters I-Card (b) PAN Card (c) Ration Card with photo of receiver (d) Post Office Identity Card (e) Driving License (f) Passport (g) Approved/Recognized Central Government/ State Government/ PSU/Office/College/University ID Card 8. Is iMO expensive? Given the instant nature of transmission of money, iMO tariff is very reasonable. 9. Can message be sent along with money through iMO? Yes, along with money you can also send a message. Choose any one from a list of

standardized messages and it will be delivered along with the money at no extra cost. 10. What makes iMO special? It is fast money transfer service from the friendly neighborhood post office Money can be transferred within a minute. It is safe The money is disbursed only on presentation of the confidential 16-digit iMO number and proof of identity ensuring that the money reaches the right person. It is hassle free iMO does not involve tedious forms or lengthy procedures. A simple form is to be filled and the money is ready to be transferred. It is reliable India Post has been handling Savings Schemes and Money Transfer for the last 150 years. It is a name you can trust your money with.

11. Can the money be received only at one given iMO Centre or any iMO Centre in India? The payee can take payment from any iMO Centre in India except the post office where the iMO was booked. This can be a great boon for business travelers, traders, tourists, students, patients admitted to outstation hospitals, etc. as they need not carry cash and can encash iMO as per need at whichever location the need arises.

Online Logistics Information System Online Logistics Information System. Items are sent to Depot, Super Stockist/ Consignee from Factory/ Manufacturer. Company creates their own depot at national level or state level to keep the goods. Depot sent goods to Consignee through STN or Super Stockist through Bill. Super Stockist/Consignee sent Items to Stockist through Bill. Transaction chain begins from manufacturer or factory and gets completed with Stockist. It mainly covers Primary sales. It has two basic characteristics-sales and stocks. In sales module, it works as per market hierarchy & generates MIS accordingly. In stock module, it deals with the distribution of stock, maintains track and updates it accordingly. In sample distribution, depot receives sample from factory /manufacturer either through STN or Challan which are distributed to lowest level Field Staff.