Introduction

Tranzum Courier Services Express, or better

known as TCS Express, is a service-oriented
company based in Pakistan which specializes in
the

dealing

of

carriage-able

goods

and

documents. TCS Expresss operations start from

the doorstep of the customer and end at the desired place through the most
secure and reliable services. TCS Expresss mission, as described by Jamil
Janjua, Group CEO at Tranzum TCS Express Worldwide, is to provide valuable
service to customers which will not only contribute towards the consumers
success, but also towards the profits of the company.

Milestones
Through investing into its business model and realizing customer needs and
expectations, TCS has been able to achieve many milestones over the years
of its operations. These milestones have indeed set quality standards and
benchmarks for the express courier service.
1983
TCS was found in Pakistan, with 12 stations & 25 booking first day
1985
Countrywide Network Expansion to over 100 locations to meet Pakistan
Banking Council need
1989

 Established Unique Gift Delivery Service, Sentiment Express (Gifts &

Greetings)
1990s
Emerged as the leading courier company in Pakistan (High Growth
Years)
1992-96
Diversification (Air Cargo and Trucking)
1997-2000
International Expansion (UAE & Canada)
2001-02
Major Investments and Re-structuring of domestic operation
2002
Formed TCS Aviation in order to become self-reliant
International Expansion (UK)
Formed Road Transport Company (Renamed TCS Logistics in 2006)
2003
Recognized in Harvard Business Schools Case Study
2004
Ground Breaking of TCS customized operations and corporate office at
Karachi Airport, Total Area: 5400 sq yards;
Established Visatronix;
Acquired non-resident visa facilitation rights for the embassy of
Canada, High commission of India, Embassy of Spain, Italian Consulate
Karachi;
Formed TCS Air & Sea Freight Division;

 Formed Travel & Tour Company (INTIANA & VISATRONIX);

Formed TCS Management Development Services Company (OCTARA);
2006
Established Mail Management Solutions division & Print shop;
Acquired non-resident visa facilitation rights for Embassy of South
Africa;
2007

TCS awarded Super-Brand title;

TCS awarded Brand of the Year award;
TCS won 1st Telecom Excellence Award;
Implemented ISO 9001:2000 in TCS Logistics;

2008

Brands of the Year Award;

Brands Icon of Pakistan;
Completed 25 years;
Acquired non-resident visa facilitation rights for Embassy of Malta;
Won the Logistics & Printing project of Election Commission of Pakistan;

2009
Acquired non-resident visa facilitation rights for Embassy of Egypt;
Acquired non-resident visa facilitation rights for Malaysian Embassy
Karachi;
Through investing into its business model and realizing customer
needs and expectations, TCS has been able to achieve many
milestones over the years of its operations. These milestones have
indeed set quality standards and benchmarks for the express courier
service.

TCS Today
Today TCS is known for its trust and reliability element and has a strong
presence not only in Pakistan, but also in the Middle East and North America.

The

company

provides

both

domestic

and international

services

to

consumers, corporate, SMEs and households and is now the biggest network
in the country. Following are some relevant figures regarding the operating
scale of TCS:
Monthly pickups and deliveries: 6

million
Offices: 155
Continent of operations: 5
Professionals working with TCS: 7000
Express Centers: 530+
On-line and off-line locations: 2000
Satellites tracked delivery vehicles: 250
Chartered planes: 2
Couriers: 3000+
Employees: 6000+
Destinations: 3500

Currently, TCS operates with seven registered companies: five in Pakistan

and one each in the United Kingdom (UK) and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
TCS is the only logistics company in Pakistan that flies its own aircraft and
also operates a 24/7 call center. TCS is headquartered in Karachi, near the
Hajj Terminal at the Karachi Airport, and provides express and logistics
services in the following segments:
Consumer-to-consumer
Business-to-business
Business-to-consumer

Key Elements of the Marketing Strategy

Target market
The services offered by TCS are such that they are required by all nearly all
businesses weather large scale or small scale. Consequently TCS target
market consists of the business market or the corporate sector.

The corporate sector, the two major target areas for TCS are banks/financial
institutions and export/import sector.
Banks and financial institutions are the major target markets which generate
a large percentage of its revenue. The main product is DOX in order to send
drafts, cheques, agreements etc. TCS has traditionally remained dominant in
this sector as it provides timely and speedy delivery.
Another major target market of TCS is the export/import sector. It attracts
businesses by offering different sized packaging and ensuring a safe and
timely delivery of their goods.
TCS also targets consumers. For example its students express and
sentiments express targets customers looking for a quick and economical
way to deliver goods or documents to places inside and outside their locality.

Consumer Buying Behavior

The typical customers are categorized into two classes, the business class
and the private class. The major reason why TCS is the market leader in the
courier service is because of the perception that is associated with its brand.
TCS is perceived as a value for money, efficient and timely method of
sending things through courier services.
The typical consumer perception varies from category to category. Firstly we
will be discussing the typical buying behaviour of the business class clients.
Business Class
This class usually consists of organizations; they outsource their courier
needs to TCS. The main reason why they outsource their courier services to
TCS is because of the timeliness factor coupled with the largest network a
courier service has. This visibility gives TCS a great edge over competitors
like DHL and OCS. Also the rate of the services provided is much lower than
those of its competitors; this is one aspect that appeals to the profit oriented
organizations.

But theres a flip side to the rosy coin, in international courier services, these
very same profit-oriented organizations choose DHL or FedEx as a courier
service provider over TCS because of the fact that TCS has relatively lesser
visibility in the global arena. The effective distribution in international arena
is limited to certain countries. Also for international deliver TCSs charges are
higher than its competitors. All in all, if summarised the business class is an
active customer class for TCS that is affected by the prices they charge for
their services.
Private Class
In the private class category, the main reason why people choose TCS over
other courier service providers is because of the trust-bond they have come
to associate with TCS. Many people in the class trust players that are
reputed, and have been providing such services for the longest time period.
TCS was the pioneer in the courier service provider category; this is the
biggest reason many private customer use TCS over other service providers.
Also many consumers that represent the younger generation associate
innovation with TCS.
The various event based promotions is seen as an innovative step by many
young consumers and hence they like to try TCS products and services. Many
people are swayed by the timeliness of the service by TCS when compared
with OCS and other courier service provider. Having a vast number of outlets
throughout Pakistan has enabled TCS to minimize time lags to a bare
minimum and this has helped attract customers by earning their trust,
through delivering their packages on time.

One of the best Supply Chain

TCS has established one of the most remarkable supply chains in the courier
service industry. Headquartered in Karachi, TCS today provides express and
logistics services in the C2C, B2B and B2C segments. It has a wide network
of 140 offices, making it the biggest courier of the country. In addition, it has

over 350 retail outlets and over 2000 service locations worldwide. It has a
fleet of 5 planes, 200 vehicles, 3000 bikes and 6000 employees to facilitate
its operations. The new state of the art building is located near the port
making TCS more efficient (Kotler, 2008). The most important aspect of the
TCS supply chain is that it has established a value delivery network. By
installing a customer friendly distribution system, TCS has achieved a
leadership position in the express courier industry in Pakistan and is adamant
to expand globally too (Kotler, 2008).

Marketing Mix
The marketing mix consists of four elements: Product, Price, Promotion and
Place. We will talk about each one in light of TCSs marketing strategy.

Product

1)

International express services

TCS operates in UAE, UK and Canada,

other than Pakistan. it offers excellent
speedy

and

fast

delivery

services

internationally and covers about 3500

destinations across the world through its
extended

international

network.

Its

international express services include:

Freight plus
This offers delivery of less urgent and large size shipments within 10-12
working days. But this service is not for domestic goods, its exclusive for
export shipments. Moreover customer clearance is also provided.

Red box
TCS has come up with a red box to help customers safely deliver anything
they want to from toys, books clothes to shoes or other accessories. The box
is simple and, convenient and also cost in effective. Things can be sent to
residents in UK, USA, Canada and Far East. TCS has gone out of its way to
help customers show their loved ones how much they care with the
innovation of the red TCS bx. Everything from its red attractive color to its
material helps make the delivery service unique and safe. The box is
available in two different weights ten kg and twenty five kg.

Students express
This service is especially for students. It delivers their documents to colleges,
universities and other educational institutions anywhere in the world. To avail

this service the student has to submit a copy of his/her id card along with the
documents to be sent and the rest is taken care of by TCS.

2)

Domestic express services

TCS is known as the most trusted

name for delivering a wide variety of
documents,

packages,

parcels,

and

cargoes within Pakistan. This includes:

MMS
Mail management solution
MMS ensures continuous delivery of value. TCS imported state of the
art printing and sorting technology from the best suppliers in Europe
and Asia pacific. This has allowed TCS to operate as the only end to
end solution provider in the category with the largest delivery network
in Pakistan.

Sentiments express
TCS sentiments express handles the gifts delivery service. It was started
when the management realized there was huge demand from consumers
wanting to celebrate various occasions like Eid or birthdays with their friends,
family, and colleagues residing in a different city. TCS saw that these
customers did not have an easy and cheap way to deliver gifts to their near
and dear ones. So TCS came up with sentiments express which makes it easy
for customers to deliver personalized high valued gifts safely. TCS offers a
wide array of gifts ranging from gourmet cakes, floral bouquets, to various

other gifts wrapped in a unique and attractive way , adding more meaning to
peoples celebration.

Same day express

Overnight express
Red box

3)

Logistics services

TCS rightly saw potential of supply

chain management in Pakistan and
introduced

its

logistics

wing

as

registered company in 2002.

Overland express
TCS overland express is the market leader in door to door goods
transportation in Pakistan by land through forty to fifty containers. This is
especially

suitable

for

companies

that

have

to

transport

goods

or

merchandise in bulk to different cities all over the country within three days.
Moreover packaging facility is also available. The main product offering are:
LCL (Loose container Load)
FTL (Full Container Load)
Hub to Hub delivery
Hub to Door delivery

 Pallet boxes of 50 Kgs.

Built-in insurance of Rs 100 per kg
Ware house and distribution
The W&D division provides total logistics and supply chain solutions in
Pakistan. it has one of the most modern and efficient tools in warehouse
management and out of the box distribution models.

Promotion
TCS does not indulge into mass promotional
activities like DHL does. The reason that TCS
does not invest in mass marketing is because of
its loyal customer base, also promoting itself on
billboards has not being effective in the past.
The only TV commercials that TCS does are for
special occasion like Fathers Day etc. But even
those advertisements were discontinued, since
the cost incurred was greater than the actual
outcome of the advertisements. On the other
hand to create awareness of its occasion based
schemes, media such as radio and newspaper
are used extensively. The main concern is cost. The cost incurred in having a
print advertisement and radio commercial is lesser than running an
advertisement on TV. Also TCS is investing itself into e-marketing, whereby
we saw that TCS ads started appearing on Facebook and other popular
websites.
Print Media
The infrequent nature of occasions makes way for advertising only for a
limited time at a specific time of the year. This saves the overall cost as
compared to having a TVC running all year round. This is an effective method

of promoting its products and services, as it pin-points the targeted

consumer effectively.
Radio
Another media that is extensively used by TCS is radio. The major reason
being cost. The cost incurred is lesser than running promotional content on
TV. Another activity that TCS employees carry out is that they attract new
clientele through radio, is the concept of giveaways. On selected events,
give-ways are given as prize to random people who take part in a contest
being held by TCS through radio.
CSR initiatives by TCS

TCS takes customer social responsibility very seriously, it has made it a

fundamental part of its business. TCS has worked in collaboration with a lot
of NGOs and governmental organizations such as SIUT, SOS village, drug
enforcement cell among others to work towards a peaceful and prosperous
society.
10th young leaders conference 2011
This 6 day conference was an activity based
event. The main idea was to make young aspiring
minds to think creatively on the current issues of
Pakistan. In essence the discussion led the young
generation to believe that there is a bright future
possible for Pakistan.

TCS and PUKAR relief work

TCS joined hand with PUKAR an NGO, to work towards
rehabilitation of oppressed people of Swat. Also TCS has placed
donation boxes for PUKAR throughout its network across
Pakistan. In essence it is working towards the rehabilitation of
the internally displaced people.

TCS joins hand for relief work

TCS joined hand with leading media partners
to work towards relief work for those affected
by the recent floods in Pakistan. TCS accepted
donations in the form of cheques and cash for
this

noble

cause,

and

established

relief

donation boxes across its entire network within

the country.

Pricing
This section will delve into the pricing strategies adopted by the Tranzum
Courier Services and will critically analyze their efficacy in the domestic and
international context.

A significant way of achieving high profitability is to retain existing customers

who contribute to the service providers revenue by continuously purchasing
and paying more for products and services and building brand equity to the
provider. Achieving and maintaining a high market share and a high price
premium through attracting and retaining a loyal customer base is
particularly significant in a business-to-business and business to consumer
market (Rauyruen, Kenneth, & Groth, 2009, p. 175).
Pricing is very important tool of any marketing mix and even more important
in Pakistans courier service industry which is monopolistically competitive.
Loyal customers are insensitive to price changes, which is also the case with
TCS to some extent. However, the advent of numerous local and
international players in the global Courier service industry has affected the
consumer loyalties worldwide and customers are more likely to switch
between service providers than ever before (Boronico, 1997, p. 80).
Moreover, in TCSs case, the firm is operating in a developing market with an
escalating

consumer

base,

thus,

pricing

is

very

important

for

the

organization which will not only help it to attract new customers, but also
allow it to sustainably retain them.
TCS practices three different kinds of pricing strategies due to different
nature of the business. The service it provides differs because TCSs services
vary from the type of customer to the level of service to be offered and the
geographical proximity of the service. Thus the pricing model needs to be
completely different from that of traditional product manufacturers or service
providers since the nature of their products and services is fixed, unlike the
case of TCS where one business may want to send a parcel to Kazakhstan
and at the same time a consumer may want to send a parcel within Karachi.
To cater all these deviances in the extent of services provided due of the
nature of the business, TCS have adopted numerous pricing strategies for
different business units and consumer & business groups. Just like all the

travel and courier business in the world, TCS too practices Geographical
pricing which is quite evident from the TCS rate list attached in the appendix
1.

Geographical Pricing
TCS practices extensive geographical pricing and the extent of it can be
comprehended by the types of geographical pricing it has adopted. TCS has
adopted five different types of geographical pricing strategies. The most
important ones from them are uniformed delivery pricing and zone
pricing.
Uniformed Pricing
Uniformed delivery pricing is mainly practiced in Sentiments Express in
which the cost of cake with its delivery will remain the same no matter to
and from which location it is sent.
Zone Pricing
Zone pricing is mostly practiced in international courier services. As it can be
seen from the TCS rate list in appendix 1, the international prices are
categorized into different zones and each zone has a different price from
other zones. The price stays the same no matter which location in the zone
courier is sent.
Freight Absorption Pricing
Sentiments express also uses freight absorption pricing to some extent as
the products offered by sentiments express are not charged for freight
charges. Now whether the freight charges are included in the price or TCS
intentionally absorbs them to penetrate market is another case.

Dynamic Pricing
The essential characteristic of dynamic pricing is that prices are adjusted
continually to meet the characteristics and needs of individual customers

and situations. This pricing is mostly practiced in domestic & international

mails and parcels. TCS offers a basic rate and then rates of specific different
services can be added to the basic rate if the consumer wants to avail
services that are not being offered in the basic rate free of cost. For example,
if Mr. A wants to send a mail from Karachi to Lahore, then the basic rate is
Rs. 140 per kg, however an additional surcharge is added if the mail is to be
sent by same day express, which will deliver it same day rather than on the
next working day (TCS, 2012).

International Pricing
It is very important for companies that operate internationally to set prices
that are reconciled with each and every individual country. The most
important price determinant in the international courier industry is the
existing prevailing prices in the industry. TCS also practiced international
pricing strategy as it operates in many other countries other than Pakistan
along with major industry players like FedEx, DHL etc. Appendix 2 & 3 show
the prices of TCS that are aligned with the international prices of major
multinational companies. It can be deduced from the data that TCSs
international prices are not very different from the FedEx international prices.

Pricing problems
TCS is currently serving both B2B and B2C customers consecutively without
any differentiation. For example, the mail delivery service is simultaneously
used by business and other individual consumers and it is extremely
implausible to differentiate between them with respect to marketing. There
are separate services offerings for consumers and businesses but on many
occasions directly go for the consumer service being offered. This is one of
the issues TCS faces with respect to pricing.
TCS does not practices competitive pricing which is evident from the
comparison of TCS rates with that of local courier services. Appendix 4 shows

the rate list of Leopards Courier Services, which is the biggest competitor of
TCS in Pakistan. It can be noted from the comparison of Appendix 2 & 4 that
TCS has quite high prices than its competitor because TCS believes its
services are of better quality and does not believes in competitive pricing on
cost of quality compromise.

EXTERNAL FORCES IMPACT

ECONOMIC ASPECT
As Pakistan is an emerging nation with a growth rate of 11.5% it has become
an attractive destination for the foreign companies to invest in. This trend is
favorable for the courier industry because new companies will start of their
operations in Pakistan in nearly every sector, form banks and automobiles to
telecommunication etc, they will seek courier services companies to carry
out their processes because they want their bills and other important
documents to be delivered on time with a proof of deliveries. Besides, GPD is
also increasing with its direct impact on per capita income. Per capita income
in turn affects the disposable income. With the increase of disposable income
the buying power of the consumer also increases, making them switch from
the Pakistan postal services to courier service industry.
POLITICAL & LEGAL ASPECT
Stability of the government holds a very important position in the courier
industry because when the new government takes the charge, they develop
new legal policies that affect nearly all business environments. In the present
government, the monetary system and its activities are fully functional.
Access to loans from the bank is now an easy option, increasing the buying
power of the common customer and is favorable for the courier service
industry.

SOCIAL/CULTURAL ASPECT
Celebrating mothers day and Valentines Day in Pakistan is clear evidence,
showing the impact of highly influential American and European culture.
Besides this, media and foreign channels are changing the life styles of the
people, making it faster day by day. Now customers demand quicker, faster
and reliable services. With these changes in our culture, the courier service
industry has to keep pace with the new trends by offering customers the
required needs.
TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECT
Technology is changing on daily basis offering businesses new dimension to
carry out their operation. Similarly, in the courier service industry,
technology is playing a very important role in providing faster and reliable
delivery services. Though these technologies demands major investment by
the company but in turn deliver productive results in terms of profit and
gaining competitive edge.