Egypt Post: A Case Study On ICT Evolution

Until 2005, Egypt Post (EP) was considered one of the worst government institutes in Egypt from the quality of service point of view. In addition, EP had not been a member of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) for almost 20 years simply because EP had not been paying its yearly membership. On the global level, EP was a modest Universal Postal Union (UPU) member. Only three years later, EP was ranked third worldwide in the UPU congress elections. In addition, EP became a member of the two most important committees in the UPU: The Investment Committee, and the Executive Committee. EP was also unanimously voted by the African Postal Organization to chair the PAPU in 2008 and 2009. It was a classic case of turnaround in terms of organizational improvement, efficiency and providing a quality service. However, there were many challenges to tackle along this road to success. EP's workforce was huge but rather idle, bureaucratic and technologically inept. The existing technology used at EP was outdated and unsecure. The ICT infrastructure was insufficient in terms of quantity and quality, many services were not even automated and the software applications were diverse and incompatible. Additionally, the environment of the offices and the corporate buildings was unwelcoming and unproductive. The strategic plan laid out for EP sought out the ICT department as the engine which would pull the giant organization to the future. A short few months later, with its up-to-date telecommunication and information systems and technically adept staff, its ICT arm was able to lead EP's other divisions and the company as a whole to a path of sustainable growth. The transformation that took place was nothing short of miraculous, and this paper attempts to discuss how EP had come so far in such a short time, not only in Africa but also worldwide.