Introduction
‘We need to reduce operational costs. Our network operations are inefficient and costly. We are spending more than what we’re earning. It is simply not sustainable’, said Ashhad Ullah. ‘Every day, I receive numerous complaints from our corporate customers in Karachi, stating that parcels are not delivered to their relevant customers in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Islamabad and Peshawar on time’.
It was 26 December 2012. Ashhad Ullah—General Manager of OCS Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. was chairing a meeting at central region’s headquarter in Lahore. Rising fuel costs and increased competition were worrisome as these had resulted in smaller industry-wide profit margins. Customers were increasingly demanding greater efficiency and timeliness for parcel and cargo delivery services.
In today’s meeting, Taimoor Ahmed—(Regional Operational Manager) was also present. ‘Our primary operational costs are transport costs for inter-city and intra-city transportation. We can perhaps try reducing them. But I’m afraid, that this may lead to further deterioration in parcel delivery performance. Moreover, our regional headquarter is located in a congested area. We should follow TCS (the industry leader) as an example and move the regional headquarter near the airport, outside the city’, Taimoor said in a slightly frustrated manner as this argument had been repeatedly presented to no avail.
Ashhad pondered about the potential capital expenditure involved, but said: ‘Make a business case and I promise that I shall seriously look into it’.
A Brief History
Overseas Courier Service (OCS) first originated 50 years ago in Tokyo, with the main purpose of providing quick delivery for newspaper publisher’s publications. OCS’s, quality courier services are spread across 240 countries delivering 70 million business packages annually. In 1986, OCS Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited began operations as an independent courier services company. Currently, OCS Pakistan is delivering across 100 countries and 240 worldwide destinations. Its primary focus is parcel and cargo handling services within Pakistan. Currently, it has around 212 pick-up points in Pakistan with services ranging from overnight, same day, bulk shipment delivery, etc. OCS has always been known for...
