India’s Department of Posts has selected German software firm SAP AG to supply a new IT platform for its retail outlets.

SAP says supplying its software for more than 155,000 post offices across India will mean faster and more efficient services for citizens, government and business.

The deal with India Post means the company now provides more than 30 postal customers with the SAP solution to provide more effective customer-facing processes, the company said.

“SAP postal services customers are leveraging the latest technology to transform their business, from improving efficiency in back-office and core processes to creating new lines of operations within their existing infrastructure,” said Hans G. Landgraf, head of Business Segment Postal, SAP AG.

“With our experience, SAP is eager to help India’s Department of Posts improve its business and increase transparency across its organization in order to meet the changing demands of its customers.”

As the backbone of India’s communication for over 150 years, the Department of Posts plays a crucial role in the socioeconomic development of the nation.

Urbanization, increased demand for financial services and increased funding by the government for the weaker sections and the rural sector have opened up new opportunities for the Department of Posts and necessitated the development of new processes as well as supporting technology, SAP said.

Applications

Armed with a transformation charter that includes a complete overhaul of operations under an IT modernization project, India Post will make use of SAP applications including SAP ERP, SRP Customer Relationship Management and SAP Supply Chain Management.

As the DoP generates revenue of more than EUR1.1 billion while employing nearly 474,000 employees, it will also implement SAP solutions for streamlining internal processes in the areas of human resources, payroll processing and finance and accounts, the company said.

In addition to running core and back-office operations, SAP Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise, SAP Sybase IQ software, SAP BusinessObjects solutions and SAP Data Services software will offer the DoP the data warehousing and business intelligence (BI) needed for its entire operations system.

The Indian government also intends to use the DoP’s vast network for its direct cash transfer function, which aims to reduce leakages, cut down corruption, eliminate middlemen, target beneficiaries better and speed up transfer of benefits to eligible individuals. Workers across India, especially those in rural areas, will be able to reap the gains from the direct benefits transfer (DBT) leveraging their existing savings accounts in post offices.

Today, the DoP delivers more than 6bn items every year through its elaborate network of offices. The reengineering of business process using SAP solutions will enable the DoP to increase its engagement with the Indian population through more customer interaction channels.

SAP software will help the organization improve automation of core processes including postal counter automation, track and trace, logistics post, e-commerce and customer interaction channel, the software company said.