Two of the Kingdom’s biggest package delivery services announced a tie-up yesterday that will extend the reach of their services to cover all corners of the country.

Kerry Express, the delivery service for Kerry WorldBridge Logistics, signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Cambodia Post, agreeing to invest $17 million to expand the coverage of its Express Mail Service (EMS) and increase the use of the country’s post offices, company representatives said.

Sear Rithy, director of Kerry Worldbridge Logistics, said the partnership will help “kill three birds with one arrow,” which are developing postal services in Cambodia, increasing confidence in postal services and helping develop the company’s online shopping service.

“We don’t want to compete with each other, [so this partnership agreement] is a win-win policy,” he said.

“This cooperation will also help serve our [e-commerce service] MAIO Mall to distribute packages to customers.”

The new partnership enables both Kerry Express and EMS to use each other’s resources in case they cannot reach a certain area, Rithy explained.

He said the improved service and expanded coverage would help erode Cambodians’ reliance on taxi and bus services to deliver packages.

“We want them to change and use our services, as they are reliable and faster,” he said. “We will create branch offices close to their home, so they don’t have to go to the bus station anymore.”

Ork Bora, director general of Cambodia Post, said they decided to partner with the private sector to fill gaps in the postal service’s coverage.

“By ourselves, we cannot reach the target to create branches [everywhere] as there are many communes in the country,” he said.

Bora said the two firms would pay a fee for using the other’s service, but would not divulge the cost or structure of these fees.

He added that given the difficulty in finding home postal addresses, especially in far flung areas, the increased use of phones in the country has helped the postal service to deliver packages to homes.

“People these days have phones, so we ask them to put their phone number on the package so we can call them to pick up the package or to check their address,” Bora said.

Seang Nal, a footwear vendor from Preah Vihear province, said he regularly uses bus or taxi services to get his packages delivered from Phnom Penh. However, he said he was open to using the postal service provided it was convenient and cheap.

“It costs me $2.5 to $5 per package depending on the size [to send by bus],” he said, adding that he would usually send “large-sized packages.”

By contrast, Kerry Express currently delivers packages for $1 to $4, depending on weight and size of the parcel, in addition to a packaging fee of $0.12 to $1.

Cambodia Post’s EMS covers all 25 provinces of Cambodia with 33 branch offices and has announced plans to build one branch office in every commune.

With more than 30 vehicles – compared to Kerry’s six vans – and 100 motorcycles, EMS delivers more than 2,000 kilos of mail per day.