InPost Parcel Lockers, the Greenest Link in European E-commerce

The business started by scaling at pace in Poland, quickly creating a nationwide network of Paczkomat® parcel lockers whose distinctive yellow and black logos, became synonymous of e-commerce in the major Polish cities.

Parcel lockers enable users to send and receive deliveries, through parcel lockers at times which are suitable to them. The idea behind InPost is to free consumers from the schedule of the couriers. It was not necessary to wait for hours for a delivery, you merely had to pick it up at a time which was suitable for you. As InPost scaled, so too did the convenience of the service, bringing with it increased demand from consumers who realized the benefits the Paczkomat® network.

Currently, 81% of online shoppers use InPost parcel lockers in Poland, and of those, 83% citied the availability of this option as the most important factor in deciding to make an online purchase at a given online retailer.

Today, InPost’s network of parcel lockers is the largest in Europe, with 19,000 located in Poland and a further 9,000 situated in their other core markets.

Effective logistics

In recent years, there has been a boom in e-commerce compared to traditional trade, and with it has come a dramatic increase in delivery volumes. This growth and increase of demand for courier services has led to retailers looking to increase the efficiency of their supply chains, especially when addressing the mile delivery. The door-to-door delivery model has inherent inefficiencies and the market is at risk of total saturation.

InPost looks to avoid disruption of global supply chains through the use of a new, more sustainable logistics model, in particular when it comes to last-mile delivery. The last-mile of a parcel’s journey from a retailer to a customer, takes up half of the cost and also generates a significant proportion of the emissions due to the fleet of vehicles it introduces to city streets.

InPost’s unique supply chain developed by Rafał Brzoska greatly limits the number of delivery vehicles. The Paczkomat® parcel locker model allows a single courier to deliver up to 1,000 parcels to 5-6 parcel machines during the day, a result simply unattainable for a single courier using the traditional to-door delivery method.

Furthermore, an additional advantage of the InPost service is its inherent sustainability benefits. The figures show that deliveries using Paczkomat® parcel lockers reduce CO2 emissions by up to 75% as compared to traditional delivery methods. InPost’s network is a partner for the conscious consumer, dramatically decre-asing the carbon footprint associated with their interaction with e-commerce.

Growth in Europe

InPost is fast becoming a European delivery leader and is one of the most dynamic companies providing e-commerce solutions today. Currently, InPost services are available in Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Italy, France, as well as the Benelux countries. The systematic implementation of InPost’s model, which has been proven in Poland, is translating into a growing interest of Paczkomat® parcel lockers over the continent.

Thanks to this, InPost has been able to continue expanding its market leading partnerships with companies such as Vinted, Zalando or Shopee.

Today, InPost parcel lockers have become an integral part of the urban landscape across Europe. They can be found, in metro stations, bus stops and in popular retail locations. The UK alone already has over 4,000 Paczkomat® parcel lockers. You may be surprised to hear that there are actually more parcel lockers in London, Manchester and Birmingham feature than there are Royal Mail outlets.

In 2022 InPost Group delivered 744.9 million parcels to customers, a 44% increase when compared with 2021. In every one of its markets, InPost is outpacing the growth of the local e-commerce industry.

This included the acquisition of French logistics giant Mondial Relay for €513 million in July 2021. It was the largest Polish private foreign investment in history and allowed the InPost Group to gain a foothold in France, the Iberian Peninsula and Benelux countries. The step-by-step implementation of InPost's model in Mondial Relay’s market allowed the group to increase the volume of parcels handled by as much as 151% year-on-year in 2022. This was a record increase in France, and deliveries via InPost Paczkomat® parcel lockers already account for 7% of the total volume. Moreover, the company was able to achieve this during a period of high inflation, which averaged over 11% in Europe in December 2022, as well as price increases and an economic recession forecast for 2023.

In just 17 years, InPost has transformed itself from a start-up postal and courier service in Poland to one of the largest delivery platforms for e-commerce in Europe. Through its cost-effective, convenient and environmentally friendly model it has been able to generate unprecedented demand from consumer and retailers alike. The future looks bright for InPost as it looks to continue its European expansion. ©℗