Pošta Srbije, Post of Serbia, is one of the country’s largest and most successful public companies, thanks to the fact that it is constantly improving, but also boasts almost 15,000 dedicated workers, coverage of all 88,000 square kilometres of Serbia, availability in more than 1,900 places, and a tradition dating back 180 years
Pošta Srbije is an unavoidable partner in state and social projects, ready to make available all its resources under regular and extraordinary conditions, says CEO Mira Petrović.
What is important for the sustainable and profitable survival of such a large system as Post of Serbia?
The measure of Pošta’s success can be boiled down to the difference between an innovative entrepreneur and an opportunist. As communication progresses, so does society, and one of the main intermediaries in this process is Pošta, which applies the latest trends and achievements in its field, as has been the case with the introduction of the telegraph, telephone traffic, radio signals, the first cable televisions and electronic certificates.
However, the changes introduced by Pošta ensure that this system is also avant-garde in social events. Did you know that Pošta was the first state institution to employ women, at the end of the 19th century, and did you know that Post of Serbia is perhaps the only large system today in which women dominate in the senior management? Thus Pošta confirms in practice that it has already applied that which society strives for as a whole – gender equality and the equal participation of women in all spheres of social, economic, public and political life.
When you say contribution to society, what do you mean specifically? Have recent events caused by the Covid-19 pandemic once again put the role of Pošta to the test?
During the state of emergency, Post of Serbia was obliged to maintain continuity in the provision of its services and it responded successfully to this mission. Alongside that, it also performed tasks entrusted to it by the state, such as distributing protective equipment throughout Serbia, which showed the importance for the state of having a strong public operator of which it is the founder.
The state is where its connections with citizens are, and generations of postal workers live with the awareness that they are holding this society’s pillars of communication
Pošta is a recognised partner in national projects, such as recording tourist vouchers and requests for the replacement of outdated health booklets, in the project ‘Take the receipt and win’, in the development of a unique register of addresses in Serbia, the register of registry books etc.
Despite complex market conditions and extremely strong competition, Pošta constantly achieves significant growth in express and logistics services. How do you achieve that?
Constant investments in infrastructure, capacity expansion and the automation of processing work that was launched by my predecessor don’t only mean raising the quality for the end-user but also constantly maintaining high competitiveness. Considering our leading position, in this way we also contribute to the overall development of the market. When your mission is development, then it is inevitable that the scope of services and revenue will grow.
A second factor is people and experience, and the experience of Pošta has developed over 180 years. Consumers awarded that with the “My Choice 2020” acknowledgement, while the World Postal Union awarded it with the “Golden A” certificate for quality management in international postal traffic.
With the aim of always being close to users, you constantly expand your network of branches, counters and the range of products and services you provide. Could you reveal part of your plans to us?
We will establish the “Kragujevac” postal and logistics centre by the end of this year. We have invested in a complex of approximately 2,000m2, the purpose of which is logistics and the automated processing of parcels. This facility will improve our business operations, but also contribute to regional development. We will also draw attention to the problem of environmental pollution this year by including a contingent of electric vehicles in our fleet for the first time.