CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A courier service is an organization which offers special deliveries of packages

money documents or information. Courier services usually boast faster delivery

times than any alternative method of transporting documents and many services

in the modern world rely on it. The idea of couriers and a courier service has

been around almost as long as civilization with rulers in antiquity using

couriers as a means to make new laws and edicts known throughout their lands.

In the modern age of international business the courier service has become a

keystone of enterprise even as emerging technologies such as the fax machine

and Internet have rendered them less useful in some areas.

The largest courier service in the world is the United Parcel Service (UPS)

which delivers more than 12 million packages globally each day. UPS had its

roots as a courier service in the beginning of the 20th century when it was

known as the American Messenger Company. UPS survived the depression and

the World Wars and went on to thrive in the global age. Throughout the years it

acquired other courier services including the Motorcycle Messengers and a

number of smaller European companies. Federal Express (FedEx) and Dalsey

Hillblom Lynn now Deutsche post AG (DHL) are other well-known global

examples of the courier service both with their roots in the early 1970s. Though

not nearly as large as UPS each company controls sizable portions of the

market. FedEx is particularly well-respected for its overnight courier service

the first of its kind. DHL originally focused exclusively on the route between

Honolulu and San Francisco in the United States but grew to encompass the

Pacific Rim and spread to Europe and the Middle East.

Smaller courier services abound particularly in cities. This type of courier

service finds its niche in smaller packages and documents which need to be

transported from one location in a city to another as quickly as possible.

Couriers in these companies often ride bicycles or motorcycles in order to

achieve the shortest turnaround times from pickup to delivery. Indeed the

bicycle messenger whizzing through crowded traffic at unbelievable speeds

with a satchel over one shoulder has become a symbol of the youthful

daredevilry of city life. In recent years with the emergence of more

sophisticated communications technologies and harsh price competitiveness the

number of bicycle couriers in most cities has decreased significantly but the

market remains strong for those who continue to work.

There is also a type of courier service which utilizes the extra baggage allotment

of airline passengers to transport documents quickly and easily with less hassle

through the Customs office of a country. These courier services offer greatly

discounted fares on commercial tickets to foreign locations in exchange for the

use of the passenger's baggage space. The passenger is then given all the

requisite paperwork which they simply deliver to the Customs agent at the

receiving end.

Though technology has replaced many traditional uses of the courier service

there still exists a constant need to transport physical goods and documents over

both short and long distances as quickly as possible.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

Keeping record of parcels in a courier service company and their delivery

information is carried out manually. A lot of files are opened for daily record of

parcels received or delivered. This litters the office with much paper

documents. Most often records are misplaced and when a client comes to

collect his parcel he\she spend some hours waiting for confirmation of the

parcel. Hence delay is bound to occur while delivering parcel to customers.

Also customers must visit the post office before they can purchase stamps or

any other item.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The objectives of this project are as follows.

 Analyzing global trends in e-commerce and why it is important for

economic developments.

 Identifying benefits of the adoption of e-post management system by

courier Service Company.

 Developing an e-post platform that can be used by customers to order for

post office items and make payment online.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The scope of this project covers all details of a typical e-post application with

emphasis on the front-end portal but excludes the gateway application

implementations and technologies. The gateway end which is a very secure e-

payment environment is often times built using SSL protocol which can be

procured from the gateways companies and integrated to the e-commerce site to

support online onsite payment management. However we have chosen to

incorporate a demo copy of the gateway end to showcase its activities for the

audience to appreciate such integration.

1.5 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION

The advantages of e-commerce for business entities can be summarized thus: e-

commerce can increase sales and decrease costs. A firm can use e-commerce to

reach narrow market segments that are widely scattered geographically. The

internet and the web are particularly useful in creating virtual communities that

become ideal target markets. A virtual community is a gathering of people who

share a common interest but instead of this gathering occurring in the physical

world; it takes place on the internet. So the e-post management system

developed will assist courier Service Companies to:

1. Increase sales opportunities for the seller thereby increasing

purchasing opportunities for the buyer.

2. Provide buyers with a wider range of choices than traditional

commerce because they can consider many different products and

services from a wider variety of sellers.

3. The benefits of e-commerce also extend to the general welfare of

society. Electronic payments for goods cost less to issue and arrive

securely and quickly when transmitted via the Internet.

4. Furthermore electronic payments can be easier to audit and monitor

than payments made by check which can help protect against fraud

and theft.

5. E-Commerce platform can make products and services available in

remote areas.

1.6 PROJECT REPORT ORGANIZATION

The project is organized as follows;-

Chapter one comprises the background of the project with the statement of the

problems objectives of the project scope of the project project justification and

definition of terms pointed out.