NIPOST: Partnership with Transxor Will Digitise Courier Operations

Emma Okonji 

Amid fears that the technical partnership between Transxor Technology and the Courier/Logistics Regulatory Department (CLRD) of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) will adversely affect revenue generation of licensed courier operators, the General Manager, CLRD, Mr. Gideon Oludotun Shonde, has said the partnership will further digitise courier and logistics operations in Nigeria.

Shonde who gave the clarification on Tuesday in Lagos during a roundtable meeting between CLRD, Transxor Technologies and the licensed courier operators, organised by CLRD, said there was need to sanitise the courier and logistics industry, hence the partnership with Transxor Technology to digitise the industry and introduce digital measures to onboard independent single courier and logistics operators in the country.

Some of the measures put in place by Transxor Technology, are the introduction of a digital app for courier operators and the introduction of a flexible payment plan for independent single courier and logistics operators who are mainly riders.

The digital app called WEMUV, seeks to create an interactive dashboard for communication between the regulator, operators, and their customers and also to collect data of all courier and logistics operators across the country. 

Unknown to CLRD, courier operators suddenly became enveloped in fears that the partnership would give room for independent single courier operators to further usurp the business of licensed courier operators. 

Some of the licensed operators who spoke at the meeting, expressed fears that the plan to onboard single operators, would create unhealthy competition between them and the single operators who are not licensed.

They said the single courier operators were involved in sharp practices and that the idea to bring them onboard and also offer them flexible payment plan for their licence fees, would amount to injustice meted on licensed courier operators, who paid their licence fees in full before they were allowed to commence operations.

In allaying their fears, Shonde said the partnership would digitise courier and logistics operations in Nigeria and also help to build trust between operators and their customers.

The CEO of Transxor Technology, Mr. William Uli, said the partnership would help to address the challenges in the courier and logistics industry. “The app we introduced is to help us get the database of all courier and logistics operators in Lagos and across the country, which will help us to identify the challenges and deal with them. We are starting from a small building bloc by first identifying everybody that operates within the sector. By identifying them, we will be able to find out those that are involved in sharp practices and we will be able to address the issues,” Uli said. He assured licensed courier operators that the partnership would protect their business interests, and also accommodate smaller operators, especially the independent single operators, who are not licensed.