The parcel machine revolution is coming

pakowanie-paczek

Wpis dostępny jest także w języku: polski

InPost has just debuted on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and it seems that it chose the best possible moment to do so. Competitors such as Allegro, AliExpress or Orlen are closing ranks and are going to invest in their own network of parcel machines. InPost’s position on the Polish market is very strong, but it may soon cease to be dominant.

When will InPost launch 15,000 parcel machines?

The incredibly dynamic growth of the e-commerce segment, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, has fuelled the development of the parcel machine network in Poland. InPost in mid-June 2020 had 7,000 parcel machines, and already in December it announced the launch of parcel machine number 10,000. It closed the year with 10.8 thousand parcel machines. According to his own data, in 2020 he controlled 98% of the parcel machines market in Poland.

Rafał Brzosek’s company, however, does not intend to rest on its laurels. In the near future, InPost plans to increase the number of parcel machines to 14,500-15,500 and in the medium term, to add 2,000-2,500 parcel machines per year. And this only in Poland. In the medium term, the network wants to operate 10,000-12,000 parcel machines abroad (at the end of 2020, it had a little over 1,000).

Allegro will build its own network?

According to unofficial information from Reuters, Allegro, the largest Polish e-commerce platform, also wants to build its own parcel machines. InPost is its main logistics operator. Has Allegro been motivated to make such a move by InPost’s cooperation with Amazon? It seems not, because according to some sources, the first parcel machines are to be delivered to Allegro already in March. By the end of 2021, deliveries are expected to cover half of the 3,000 machines planned for this moment.

Orlen is aiming at a slightly smaller number of parcel machines – 2,000. It wants to install them within two years. This was revealed by the company’s CEO Daniel Obajtek in an interview with Rzeczpospolita. Earlier, in October, similar development plans were declared by another state-owned company, Poczta Polska. However, parcel machines do not seem to be a priority for PP, which emphasises that it already has 13,000 parcel collection points and in 2022 there will be 20,000 of them.

Waiting for AliExpress to move

AliExpress, the global e-commerce giant and the most popular foreign shopping platform among Polish consumers, is also thinking about its own network of parcel machines. Alibaba, the owner of the portal, does not rule out creating a logistics hub in Poland. AliExpress has already announced the acceleration of deliveries to Poland – deliveries from its cooperating warehouses in Poland will be carried out within three days, and a 15-day delivery guarantee will be introduced for cross-border deliveries from China.

In an interview with Wiadomosci Handlowe, Gary Topp, COO in Central and Eastern Europe, also did not rule out the possibility of AliExpress building its own network of parcel machines. All this to optimise the so-called last mile logistics. Although the company refuses to give specific dates, it is known from unofficial information that it has just started looking for an experienced manager who will be responsible for the implementation and development of a local network of parcel machines in Warsaw.

About the author

Agnieszka Skonieczna

Retail Business Unit Director

Analyst with over 13 years of experience. She heads the Retail department at PMR. Areas of specialisation: grocery retail, DIY and home furnishing markets.

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