Russian Post will send unregistered small parcels to Yakutia

And now what?

Russian Post has found a new warehouse for unregistered parcels. Previously, letters, packages and boxes were collecting dust in Moscow offices, but from January 1, 2017, the city of Mirny will take on this unenviable role. If you order a thing through an online store in Moscow, this will not prevent it from first stopping at a warehouse in Yakutia. And until the product registration number is clarified, stay there for a while ...

To understand the likelihood of you encountering a similar situation, just look at the figure: 90% of goods sent by mail from abroad are not registered. This is the data of the Association of Internet Commerce Companies (AKIT). Now, for sure, the point where your iPhone case or souvenir is almost certainly “stuck” will be known.

However, the Russian Post itself told Novaya Gazeta that the “idea” with Yakutia was only for the sake of quality service. We also talked with the president of AKIT about the increase in the cost of delivery and learned from the expert how the time it takes for the customer to receive his goods will change.

"Post office"

press office

- Changes in acceptance and billing have affected only small unregistered packages with a commodity investment. We want the consumer to receive quality service, and therefore we are creating a single sorting center. Small unregistered packages will be gradually replaced by alternative products that will combine the convenience of the postal channel with the latest technologies for controlling the timing, quality and speed of door-to-door delivery.

MMPO in Mirny serves as an alternative entry point for unregistered mail from foreign postal administrations that do not wish to act in accordance with the procedures approved by the Russian Post. In fact, all the other 12 MMPOs continue to work, and the one that opens in Yakutia will be intended only for unregistered shipments. MMPO Mirny by the beginning of work will be equipped according to the required standards and in accordance with the planned load for the uninterrupted reception of incoming international correspondence. It should be noted that the volume of postal items in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is growing annually by 60-80% per year. The opening of MMPO in the city of Mirny will allow processing mail delivered by the Russian Post's own mainline aircraft TU 204-S. On December 5, one of the planes made the first postal flight to Yakutia.

Alexey Fedorov

President of the Association of Internet Trade Companies (AKIT)

— The Russian Post has created a very ingenious case by choosing the city of Mirny, which is difficult to get to, as a place for receiving international parcels. And if any other mail decides to deliver unregistered parcels there, Russian Post will accept them.

The question concerns exclusively foreign traffic, and the delivery price for the end user will not change. All shipping will be sponsored by the Chinese state, as is the case today. In the most pessimistic scenario, for an additional 30 rubles spent, a Russian citizen will receive a better service.

Delivery of the same product today costs 1,000 rubles from Russia to China, and free of charge from China to Russia. We see that Chinese companies and possibly the Chinese state are sponsoring the delivery of goods to the Russian market. We would very much like to see the same attitude of the Russian state towards its online stores.

We understand that in this case we are talking about small packages up to 2 kg. Today the cost is 100 gr. the registered package is 87 rubles, the unregistered - 36. Thus, the Russian Post is trying to make the unregistered traffic cost the same as the registered one. When this happens, people will be able to receive packages faster (within 7 days) and with a guarantee (it will be possible to track packages).

Andrey Vinogradov

Senior Lecturer, Department of Logistics, National Research University Higher School of Economics

- I think that this program is aimed at ensuring that the goods are delivered to the customer faster. We remember what Russian Post is most criticized for - they are trying to get away from the image of the "braking element" of the parcel path.

I understand that this is a program for the development of sorting centers. And it will subsequently spread not only to Yakutia. We are talking about opening a new center and changing the delivery route in order to relieve the Moscow hub. This decentralization is taking place so that there are no bottlenecks in the Moscow region, as was the case several years ago. I think that various scenarios are being calculated by the leadership of the Russian Post. And if a decision is made to build a distribution center in Yakutia, this is rational, based on the ratio of delivery times and cost. That is, the cost, of course, may increase, but the delivery time will be reduced.