Australia Post

Abstract

Australia Post (AP) is faced with the issue of continuance of its monopoly status in the standard letter category, and the pressures of meeting social obligations, while ensuring profitability. This case looks into the organizational set up of AP, the different services offered by AP, and an idea of its performance while conceptualizing future strategy. A historical perspective of the growth of AP, along with recent advancements, and a knowledge of its operating environment help analyze the problems that AP faces, as it finds itself on the crossroads. AP was an instance of successful corporatization of a government operated postal service. In spite of competitive pressures from private couriers and other communication technologies, like the telephones and faxes, AP was among the few profitable postal enterprises in the world, earning a profit of Au$ 330 million in 1994-95. It operated commercially, was subjected to the full range of government taxes and charges, and paid dividend to the government.