Business Continuity Plan for 24/48 Speed Post Products (NDD/DDD Services)

 

Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for 24/48 Speed Post

1. Objective

The products 24 Speed Post Parcel (24 SPP), 24 Speed Post (24 SP) and 48 Speed Post (48 SP) are Next Day Delivery (NDD)/Day Definite Delivery (DDD) services designed to ensure delivery within defined timelines between identified metro cities and notified PIN codes.

In order to ensure continuity of operations in case of APT system downtime, application failure, network disruption, or any other technical issues, the following Business Continuity Plan (BCP) shall be followed by all operational units involved in the handling of these articles.

The objective of this SOP is to ensure that movement, transmission and delivery of articles continue without disruption and service commitments are maintained even during system outages.

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2. Booking at Post Office

i. Booking of 24 Speed Post Parcel (24 SPP), 24 Speed Post (24 SP) and 48 Speed Post (48 SP) articles shall be strictly system-based.

ii. In case the booking system is not operational due to system downtime or technical issues, booking of NDD/DDD Speed Post articles shall not be accepted manually.

iii. The Counter Postal Assistant (PA) shall politely inform the customer that booking cannot be undertaken during system downtime.

iv. The mobile number of the customer shall be recorded and the customer shall be informed telephonically once the system becomes operational so that the article may be booked.

v. No manual receipt or offline booking shall be permitted for NDD/DDD Speed Post articles.

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3. Bagging at Booking Office (During System Downtime)

i. Separate bags shall be prepared for NDD/DDD Speed Post articles (24 SPP / 24 SP / 48 SP) and connected to the designated Origin APT Mail Office (APTMO) for transmission through the identified flight on the same day.

ii. If booking has been completed in the system but bagging cannot be performed due to system issues, the booking office shall:

a. Prepare an Excel list containing Article Number, Destination PIN Code, Destination Office and Booking Office Name.

b. Physically prepare the bags as per the prescribed bagging pattern.

c. Since the articles have been booked in the system but not dispatched through the system, the Booking Office In-Charge shall prepare the following abstract:

 

S.No	Product	Number of articles booked	Number of articles dispatched
1	24 Speed Post (24 SP)
2	48 Speed Post (48 SP)
3	24 Speed Post Parcel (24 SPP)
4	Total

d. The abstract shall be verified and signed by the Booking Office In-Charge and shared with APTMO/MMS along with the Excel list.

e. The Excel list and abstract shall be shared through WhatsApp/email with operational / administrative units including Divisional Office, MMS, & Origin APTMO.

f. Bags will be prepared by using physical bag labels.

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4. Processing at Origin APT Mail Office (APTMO)

i. The Origin APTMO shall give priority to sorting and dispatch of NDD/DDD Speed Post bags and Parcel Bags connect them with the earliest identified flight.

ii. In case the APT system or bagging module is not operational due to network/system failure, the Origin APTMO shall process bags based on the mail list shared by booking offices through Excel/WhatsApp.

iii. Since the BCP module presently used by RMS offices is not designed for NDD/DDD articles, the Origin APTMO shall verify bag receipt with reference to the mail list shared by booking offices.

iv. Receipt of bags shall be confirmed in the designated WhatsApp group created for operational coordination.

v. The Divisional Office shall monitor this activity regularly.

vi. The Origin APTMO shall prepare a daily abstract indicating the number of NDD/DDD articles received and dispatched.

vii. The abstract shall be checked and verified by the SPOC identified at the APTMO by the respective circles.

viii. The verified abstract shall be maintained at the APTMO for monitoring and reconciliation purposes.

ix. If bag information is not available in the system due to network failure, the Origin APTMO shall hand over the bags to the airline under proper receipt.

x. Details of such bags shall be posted in the designated WhatsApp group for information of destination circles and operational units.

xi. The Origin APTMO shall share outward flight connection updates in the following format:

24 SPEED POST - OUTWARD FLIGHT CONNECTION UPDATE dated

Offload Status :-

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5. Destination Operations (APTMO & Processing Hub)

i. Destination APTMO shall ensure priority receipt of NDD/DDD Speed Post bags arriving through the identified flight.

ii. Destination APTMO shall verify bags with reference to information communicated by Origin APTMO through WhatsApp or other communication channels. In case of any discrepancy matter should be taken up with Origin APTMO.

iii. Destination APTMO shall hand over the bags to the designated Processing Hub for further processing.

iv. Processing Hub shall receive the bags from APTMO and undertake priority opening, sorting and processing of NDD/DDD articles.

v. Processing Hub shall dispatch sorted bags to delivery offices on priority.

vi. If the APT system is not operational, processing shall continue manually using article details shared through Excel/WhatsApp.

vii. If bags communicated by Origin APTMO are not received, the matter shall be brought to the notice of the SPOC.

viii. The SPOC at Destination APTMO shall take up the matter with Origin APTMO to ascertain the status of bags.

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6. Delivery Office Operations

i. Delivery offices shall open NDD/DDD Speed Post bags on priority and prepare delivery manifests.

ii. If the APT system is not operational, delivery operations shall be undertaken manually.

iii. Delivery office shall prepare an Excel list of articles received, issue manual delivery slips and hand over articles to postman staff.

iv. Only prepaid NDD/DDD Speed Post articles shall be delivered during system downtime.

v. COD articles shall not be delivered during system downtime.

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7. System Restoration and Data Updating

i. Once the system becomes operational, the bag shall be received in the system as a Legacy Bag.

ii. Articles shall be received through the Legacy Bag process.

iii. Articles delivered manually shall be updated through Window Delivery.

iv. Discrepancies shall be reconciled using Excel records maintained during the BCP period.

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8. Communication of Delivery Information During System Failure

In cases where delivery of NDD/DDD Speed Post articles has been completed outside the system, the following details shall be recorded:

• Article ID

• Booking Office

• Delivery Office

• Delivery Date and Time

• Delivery Status

The delivery office shall communicate this information to the Divisional Mail Management Unit (MMU), which shall consolidate and forward it to the Regional and Circle Offices.

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9. Reference

This BCP shall be followed in conjunction with the Standard Operating Procedure for Booking, Processing, Transmission and Delivery of Day Definite Delivery Speed Post products issued to the Circles.