Dominika writes*
As e-commerce is on the rise, and many firms are stepping away from the classic model of physical stores, it is no surprise that there would also be modernizations in the courier services that deliver online purchases (Szelag, 2016) .
During the COVID-19 Pandemic we experienced a huge rise in shopping online as restrictions, lockdowns and safety regulations forced people to shop from home. This led to a large increase in the use of courier services (Czerwinska, 2023). The courier industry also had to adapt to the contactless system imposed on them by regulations. Although parcel lockers have been around for years, no contact regulations boosted their popularity above forecasts (Czerwinska, 2023).
One such courier firm that greatly benefited from the demand for parcel lockers is the Polish firm InPost. Founded in 1999, InPost has growing international reach in Europe, and has become the leading courier service in Poland (InPost). Their parcel lockers offer an easy way to send and receive parcels 24/7. In response to the challenges that the courier companies were about to face because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, InPost introduced changes to their services that would both ensure better safety for their staff and also expand their reach. Anticipating a rise in demand for courier services they expanded their network of parcel lockers (Czerwinska, 2023). According to their 2020 annual report, they increased their count of lockers by 78% and by an additional 63% the following year (InPost).
The pandemic years turned out to be very successful for the company as their foreshadowing and quick action allowed them to prosper till today. InPost’s automated system was convenient and safe (Czerwinska, 2023), and now the company has an even stronger market position.
Bottom line: InPost’s COVID-19 innovations served society as well as the company.
* Please help my Real Donut Economics** students by commenting on unclear analysis, alternative perspectives, better data sources, or maybe just saying something nice 🙂
** Why “Real”? In short, because (a) Raworth’s claims to being a “21st century economist” denies that all of her ideas were presented by others in the 20th century and (b) she presents no viable mechanisms (besides “be nice”) for achieving equality and sustainability. My students are more realistic. In long? Read this.
I really like your topic. I think that it is interesting to see how even during COVID some were able to take advantage of the new situation and adapt to remain relevant. I think that in your paper it would be interesting to analyse some post COVID developments of InPost. Has there been a decline in demand for their services? Did the composition of their services change, are they now using predominantly services that are different to their parcel lockers?
I was also wondering whether they came up with a new way of working that allowed them to develop? Or was it all thanks to their quick response during the pandemic?
Hi Ayala! After COVID InPost still remained the most popular parcel service so I would say that people were convinced about the convenience of their services and continued to use them. As to your second question they still use predominantly parcel lockers but they also provide door to door delivery. They also try to find many ways to still innovate their services, like making sure they’re more sustainable and to develop their app.