A range of announcements this week highlight the continued demand for parcel lockers as companies explore options to hit environmental and efficiency targets and improve their customers’ delivery experience.
Omniva announced that it plans to install 267 parcel machines across the Baltics in 2022 and 2023. Omniva currently has the largest network across the Baltics with 960 parcel locker machine in total. Last year Omniva upgraded its locker service by offering a multi-parcel per cell solution. Across the Baltic states, each cell in an Omniva parcel locker bank can store several parcels ordered by the same individual.
In the UK, InPost is continuing its network expansion with a new partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester. The partnership, which supports the body’s green initiative to reduce carbon output, will see up to 28 parcel lockers rolled out across the Greater Manchester area by the end of the year. Thirteen lockers are already installed and more parcel lockers are planned for 2023. InPost now has a UK network of over 4,000 parcel locker machines that can be found at locations such as train stations, supermarkets, retail parks and petrol forecourts.
In Belgium, bpost announced that its partnership with the National Railway Company of Belgium has been extended and it will roll out parcel locker machines at 70 new locations in the next six months. bpost parcel lockers have already been installed at 33 railway stations and 70 new location will added in the coming months.
In Romania, parcel carrier Cargus is starting a new pilot of SwipBox Infinity parcel lockers in Bucharest. The Cargus pilot will involve 300 outdoor parcel lockers to assess the utility and adoption of locker deliveries. Cargus already offers a network of parcel shop pick up and drop off locations. The Swipbox lockers will be located close to workplaces and residential areas across Bucharest.
Also in Romania, leading carrier Fan Courier announced that it will be developing its own parcel locker network with a planned 1,000 units scheduled by mid-2023. The €10m investment will include the purchase of lockers, monitoring systems, development of new software and applications and additional equipment. The largest network in Romania currently is operated by Sameday courier company, with a network of 3,500 parcel locker banks.
Parcel shops and lockers have grown significantly in recent years. It is estimated that there are more than 1.8m pudo locations globally of which 1.2m are parcel shops. Pudo networks continue to be expanded and new networks are being rolled out in most countries. A high percentage of the global population are now within a short distance of one or more pudo locations. There are several advantages of pudo locations which benefit a range of audiences, including carriers, retailers, location hosts and consumers.
For carriers, pudo locations reduce parcel delivery costs by increasing parcel consolidation (delivering many parcels to one location rather than delivering to many locations). They also improve the delivery success rate of carriers, as they are always available to accept parcels. In addition, they reduce the environmental impact of delivery by minimising total miles driven. For retailers offering delivery to consumers, it is a cheaper free delivery option than delivery to home, which is a costlier option. For location hosts, offering parcel collection increases footfall and thereby providing additional marginal revenue to the site.
Source: Transport Intelligence, 28th October 2022
Author: Paul Chapman
