InPost is a leader in logistics solutions for the e-commerce industry in Europe. Founded by Rafa? Brzoska, InPost is now a leading delivery platform for e-commerce, which has revolutionised the parcel market in Poland.
Today, the InPost network is Europe’s largest and most convenient automated parcel collection and delivery system, with over 37,000 modern APMs and over 31,000 PUDO points in 9 countries (UK, France, Poland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands). InPost has over 7,000 lockers across the UK.
Neil Kuschel, CEO at InPost UK, tells Grocery Trader the biggest trends in out-of-home delivery and how InPost is fulfilling its responsibility to the environment.
Where have you worked before and in what roles have you worked?
I originally joined DHL as a sales rep and stayed there for 20 years. I started off in Bahrain, then moved to Dubai, and I ran sales and marketing for Africa for a couple of years, before moving back to the UK in 2011 – just as the boom in ecommerce took off. When DHL invested in Global-e, a tech company that helps online retailers with cross-border sales, I joined them as the European CEO and took that through a huge growth journey, including a successful IPO in 2021. When I finished there, I started doing some advisory work about E-commerce technology that helped online retailers to grow and I started talking to InPost about bringing their parcel lockers into checkout for retailers in the UK market. The idea of disrupting how the UK consumer sends and receives their parcels, to be able to level up businesses and make everything cleaner, greener and more convenient really appealed to me, I wanted to be part of that change.
What does your current role involve?
My role is all about accelerating our growth strategy in the UK, making sure that our approach perfectly aligns with consumer demand for convenient, fast, affordable and sustainable collection and delivery options. Through tech solutions and strategic partnerships, we are revolutionising the way parcels are delivered and received.
What are your goals for what you want to achieve in the role?
We have aggressive growth plans and ultimately want to have every UK consumer using lockers as part of their journey. As pioneers in the industry, InPost is working to redefine deliveries and my aim is to make the locker as ubiquitous as the post box. We want to revolutionise parcel delivery in the UK by making lockers an affordable, convenient and quick option, with Out of Home (OOH) being the most environmentally friendly form of delivery.
How would you describe InPost for anyone who hasn’t heard of the business?
InPost is a dynamic and fast-growing out-of-home delivery specialist and parcel locker leader, providing innovative logistics solutions for consumers and businesses across the UK. Through our InPost parcel lockers, we offer a low cost and eco-friendly way for consumers to collect, send and return parcels quickly and with ease. Alongside our lockers, we offer PUDO (Pick Up and Drop Off) services via an ever-increasing number of locations nationwide. Thanks to our rapidly growing network of parcel lockers and PUDO points, millions of consumers now have the flexibility to choose anytime, anywhere delivery options.
How is InPost performing as a business?
In Q1 of 2024 alone, the number of parcels we handled more than doubled YoY (+147%) to 17.2m, and the network expanded to over 8,460 OOH (Out of Home) points (+59% YoY) which further solidifies InPost’s position as the leading OOH network in the UKi.
What milestones has the company reached recently?
The InPost network is growing rapidly, and we recently celebrated the 7,000th InPost Locker location being installed in the UK demonstrating the great demand we’ve seen for our lockers. As a result of the impressive demand, we’ve already achieved a substantial 40% increase in InPost Locker locations since March last yearii. The locker market remains extremely strong, and we have aggressive growth plans in place to help our retail customers capitalise on this demand.
In which areas of the country are you strongest?
In the UK today, 62% of people in the top three cities live within seven minutes of an InPost locationiii. In Poland, 87% of people live within seven minutes’ walk to a locker and our ambition is to recreate the same scenario here in the UKiii.
What are the biggest trends in out-of-home delivery at the moment?
Convenience is key for consumers today. As they battle with their often-hectic daily schedules, many are now looking to their local stores for products and services that extend beyond traditional food and drink sales. Retailers are uniquely positioned to offer a range of vital services that consumers find integral. One great example of this is in store delivery services, such as an InPost Locker, which provides a range of benefits for both retailers and their customers.
As our appetite for online shopping continues to grow, we’re already seeing strong demand for lockers across the UK. In fact, our latest research shows that more than half of UK consumers are now using delivery lockers for online purchases, rising to 71% for Gen Zs and 68% for Millennialsiv. Convenience (36%), lower costs (19%) and speed (17%) emerged as the top three reasons for choosing lockersiv. Locker users are also more affluent, with 31% having an income over £50k and 39% shopping once a week or moreiv, presenting significant sales opportunities for retailers to tap into.
InPost Lockers increase footfall and grow overall sales for retailers as customers using the lockers often make additional purchases when visiting the storesv. The convenience of collecting and returning parcels while shopping for daily essentials can make a store a go-to location for consumers, as it makes an already convenient stop-off even more so. Another one of the standout benefits of hosting InPost Lockers is the guaranteed rent we pay landlords, providing an additional income stream, alongside the incremental sales achieved through the increased footfall generatedv. With no direct costs and minimal space requirements, hosting an InPost Locker is a strategic move that can set a business apart from the competition.
How is InPost fulfilling its responsibility to the environment?
While convenience is key, consumer behaviour is also driven by increasing concerns over sustainability. InPost Lockers help reduce carbon emissions by leveraging centralised locations rather than individual home deliveries. For example, an average locker will have around 80 compartments and those compartments can be emptied twice a day. If you compare this to home delivery, 10 x more parcels can be delivered by a courier to a parcel locker than to a home address at the same time. By consolidating shipments and minimising the need for multiple delivery attempts, lockers align with growing consumer preferences and the vast majority (84.2%) of shoppers believe that they present a greener solutioniv.
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