RFI For Post Office Online Shopping Initiative
The Ministry for the Cabinet Office with Responsibility for Government Reform is seeking information from interested vendors who can facilitate an online shopping platform for the Bermuda Post Office [BPO].
“The BPO’s web-based shopping initiative is part of the Ministry’s aim to expand and modernise postal service offerings, by providing customers with the opportunity to shop online and have their purchases shipped to Bermuda using the Post Office infrastructure,” the Ministry said.
“Interested vendors can visit here and review the criteria outlined in the Request for Information [RFI].”
The Minister for the Cabinet Office with responsibility for Government Reform, Lovitta Foggo said, “Email, online advertising, and online bill payment has changed the way that the local community uses the postal service and traditional mail volumes have decreased dramatically as a result.
“The rise of e-commerce and online shopping however is redefining service requirements. Our public services must therefore evolve so that we can meet the needs of the community.”
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The Post Office can’t even get their online PO Box payments sorted out. What are they thinking? Online shopping?
And why is government now competing with the private sector? Online shopping is NOT a public service.
Gotta keep them employed no matter how useless….
I think they’re just trying to find new revenue sources by any means possible. Desperate times, perhaps, since there’s likely no aim to downsize the staffing there.
They’re about the LAST people I’d ever use.
Really crappy that government would encourage consumers to shop overseas. Why would they want to compete against retailers and courier companies?
The only fortunate thing is that the PO does such a bad job now that they aren’t a real threat.
At first I thought this was a great idea as the United States Post Office (USPS.Com) offers online shopping for everything postal related from stamps, mailing boxes, weight scales,passport renewals and more.
After rereading the article, I may be wrong!
The Bermuda Post Office is pathetic,slow and quite frankly,a disgrace,but so is the rest of the Bermuda Government
“The rise of e-commerce and online shopping however is redefining service requirements. Our public services must therefore evolve so that we can meet the needs of the community.”
I have no issue with the Post Office evolving to meet the needs of the community. What I do have a problem with is any branch of government trying to make a profit. Government is simply not equipped for that nor should it be. Let businesses make profits and government provide for society.
Why is the Government looking to undermine local retail operations?
Who owns all these private shipping companies?
I rest My case
“web-based shopping initiative”?
Forget the web-based shopping and let the online vendors handle that. Just provide a parcel-forwarding service so we can ship to NY/NJ and then have the parcel come to Bermuda by regular post (instead of the couriers). For those shipments that are not time-sensitive.
So after a year of not hearing much from the office of Govt Reform, we get this:
“The rise of e-commerce and online shopping however is redefining service requirements. Our public services must therefore evolve so that we can meet the needs of the community.”
Has Lovitta been living under a rock for the past 10 years?!?
ever tried receiving and paying duty on a package at the post office lately you would lose your will to live live molasis running up hill lAWD CHILD MAKES ME TIRED
Really? I always have a great experience at the Post Office.
I smile, I say “Good morning” or “afternoon” and it’s reciprocated. I give them my invoice, they process it and tell me how much I owe and I’m out of there.
Sure, there’s occasionally a line, but it’s usually not that bad… and if it is, it’s usually someone who doesn’t have an invoice or thinks that they should get special treatment.
I go about once a month and every time it’s been a really good experience.
“Our public services must therefore evolve so that we can meet the needs of the community.”
Oh great. When are we firing the 30% of them that are no longer needed to meet the needs of the community?
Never thought I would hear the government promote online shopping. Whatever happened to Buy Bda ?
Their new shopping slogan is Bye Bermuda instead of Buy Bermuda
Thought this Government believed in putting Bermudians first? Can’t see how encouraging people to shop overseas does that?
Remember there was the huge campaign for it, there where initiatives for local vendors to be able to lower prices, there was the increase in import duty for the public. All that yet online sales still continued to grow. I guess they’re now taking the “If you can’t beat them, join them” concept. I don’t agree with it since for it to work the government would have to first do an overhaul of their entire administration and computer system (which honestly should have already been done years ago). If you’ve ever been to the post office to pick up a package you would know what I mean with the amount of wasted paperwork, the antiquated way the whole process is done. The other issue is space, none of the satellite post offices have the space to store bulk items & the main post office isn’t parking friendly.
If I did not know better, I’d say this is a deliberate attempt to close the few remaining retailers. I Wonder who the friends and family are in this instance. All the more reason for a Tax Payer Strike, bankrupt Government before it bankrupts us!
The GPO shopping initiative is for all your packages to go to a U.S mailbox the same as U.S Express does. It is not promoting online shopping. No matter what people will continue to shop abroad. Packages will be received quicker on island. Believe it or not the post office offered this service YEARS ago.Those that do shop overseas and has their packages delivered to the GPO are NOT paying the outrageous prices that are offered elsewhere.Do not knock it till you try it. This requires a storage facility in the U.S and vendors receiving a U.S mailing address. Don’t be surprised if the post office is collaborating with one of the courier services on island. The pickup service should be no different than what Mailboxes or DHL does. All purchases and charges are attached to your credit card for payment and one would just go and collect. Much faster collection service for the GPO. No waiting in long lines.They too would need to implement a delivery service for non dutiable packages to households.
The problem with a Government Department competing with the private sector is they cannot fail due to being funded by the taxpayer. If a private company was to be inefficient, offered poor customer service, overpriced or was mismanaged by its owners and employees it would fail as consumers would find alternatives. A Government Department competing with the private sector cannot fail when taxpayers are supplementing its deficits/losses. If a private company operated as the Post it would be out of business a long time ago. Maybe it is time to privatize the Post if they truly want to compete?