Australia Post set for major network overhaul

Australia Post is preparing to embark on a large-scale network overhaul across its web of post offices, delivery centres and offices around the country.

The upgrade, which the government-owned organisation claims will be the “largest telecommunications transformation in the country”, will span 4000 sites in metropolitan, regional and remote areas.

It expected to lead to faster parcel processing and improved transaction performance for services like Bank@Post and passport application, which could help AusPost keep its deal with the Department of Foreign Affairs beyond 2021.

Chief information officer John Cox said the upgrade is a crucial component of AusPost’s growth strategy, which will also extend to a renewal of retail Point of Sale and telematics in vehicles.

“This is the largest and most significant transformation of its type and demonstrates how Australia Post is leaning into the future to complete our ambitious agenda,” he said in a statement.

AusPost’s recent shift to Google Cloud for its enterprise data analytics platform is also central to the strategy, having already reduced the amount of time taken to perform analytics “by a factor of ten”.

Telstra will take charge of mobility in a continuation of its relationship with Auspost for “all [its] communication, collaboration and mobility needs, including audio/video conferencing”.

“We are really excited to continue working with Telstra as they build out their 5G network, to drive innovation and improve our service delivery,” Cox said.

Brisbane-based business communications service provider Comscentre, on the other hand, will transform and run the data network at the 4000 sites, using NBN to provide AusPost with “wholesale business-grade services”.

As part of the five-year managed services contract, Comscentre will move what is Australia’s largest retail footprint to software defined WAN infrastructure from Cisco, having previously been involved in a similar project with Flight Centre four years ago.

AusPost will also have complete visibility of its entire network ecosystem through Comscentre’s internally-developed network management platform, dubbed one touch control (OTC).

“We are pleased to have Comscentre on board to help take our customer service and experience to a new level,” Cox said.

“Comscentre demonstrated a clear understanding of our vision for the future, and we look forward to expanding our capability with their expertise.”

Comscentre’s executive director Cameron Quilty said the “historic win” validated the company’s network-agnostic approach to transformation.

“We are excited to be working with Australia Post and look forward to driving customer service and experience to the next level," he said.

The overhaul will also see Engage transform AusPost’s contact centres, which will see the company consolidate platforms and building machine learning capability for intelligent customer interaction.

“Engage is thrilled to assist Australia Post with this innovative vision where they will transform the experience for their customers, leveraging cutting edge technology," Engage’s general manger Rebecca McClellan said.