Bengaluru:  The postman had almost disappeared  what with Whats app, email and the courier. However, the e-commerce boom has injected new life into an endangered breed.

India Post (Karnataka Circle) has entered into agreements  with market leaders Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart, and earned revenue of Rs 50 crore, delivering orders. The ongoing fiscal looks good for the department to romp past the Rs 100-crore mark.

India Post’s business partners are the top in the industry: Amazon, Myntra, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Home18 and Global Shiksha, among more than a dozen collaborators. This impressive list grew longer from the middle of this financial year, after the department put up an impressive initial show and delivered the goods.

“We take up both Speed Post and Cash on Delivery (COD) orders,” said MS Ramanujan, chief postmaster general, Karnataka Circle. While postmen deliver small parcels, a delivery van ferries the heavier ones mainly in  Tier II cities and rural areas that mainline courier companies do not reach. There is immense opportunity in cities like Belagavi and Hubballi-Dharwad. Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru are already buzzing e-commerce centres.

With the calendar year nearing a close, the postal department is approaching its heavy workload phase. Google has announced its year-end sale from December 10, and other companies are likely to follow suit with tempting offers, sending customers into a tizzy to grab the best deals online.

Same Day Delivery

Next week, the postal department is piloting a customized service – same day delivery for top biggie Amazon. “Goods received by 3pm will be delivered the same day,” said BS Chandrashekhar, assistant director, business development of Karnataka Circle.

This added service is feasible for the postal department where employees work in shifts, and the cut-off for the last delivery on the same day is 8pm.