InPost and the City of Kraków in the ‘Green City’ programme

Environmental solutions and improving air quality

InPost – Europe’s leading e-commerce delivery platform – has entered into a partnership with the City of Kraków as part of the ‘Green City”. The programme supports the development of Polish cities in line with the ‘smart city’ concept – by offering residents modern services, developing an optimal and environmentally friendly network of infrastructure, and taking action to improve air quality and protect the climate. The “Green City” programme is part of InPost’s long-term strategy, which encompasses a wide range of innovations and environmental initiatives.

The “Green City” programme also envisages the development of a range of modern services for residents, such as electric chargers at InPost machines, the expansion of environmentally friendly transport, and the planting of air-purifying vegetation. In addition, InPost intends to gradually replace its delivery fleet with electric vehicles, starting with its partner cities.

– As the market leader, we set the standards in business, including in the area of environmental responsibility. We have an ambitious goal – we want to be the most climate-neutral logistics company in Poland, and ultimately achieve complete climate neutrality. What’s more, together with our local authority partners, we are launching initiatives to improve the quality of life for residents of Polish cities – by developing mobile access to municipal services, supporting eco-friendly transport, reducing car traffic and protecting air quality. We are probably the first logistics company in the world to have joined forces with local authorities in efforts to protect the environment and the climate. By the end of the year, we aim to extend the programme to cover several dozen of Poland’s largest cities – emphasises Rafał Brzoska, CEO of InPost.

– Kraków has been committed to environmental protection for years and is a leader in this field in Poland. The main aim of our joint efforts with InPost is to promote environmentally friendly activities, develop supporting infrastructure, and implement initiatives that foster and promote environmentally responsible behaviour amongst residents. We want to further develop the concept of electromobility by drawing on the best practices established by InPost. To this end, a network of charging stations for electric vehicles could be established based on the existing and planned infrastructure of self-service kiosks and Paczkomat® parcel lockers. – he says Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Kraków.

The InPost Paczkomat® is the most environmentally friendly way to shop online. According to InPost’s analysis, having a parcel delivered to a parcel locker reduces CO2 emissions by up to 75% compared with delivery directly to the customer’s home. In 2020 alone, deliveries to InPost lockers reduced CO2 emissions by over 180,000 tonnes. Further development and optimisation of the InPost network of parcel lockers will help to reduce traffic in cities, which will lead to improved air quality and climate protection.

InPost now has nearly 7 million active app users InPost Mobile. Thanks to the app, several people can collect parcels from a single parcel locker at the same time, without having to queue or touch the screen – the lockers are opened using a smartphone. The revolutionary service for sending parcels via the app is also breaking popularity records – parcels are sent via an InPost Paczkomat® to another Paczkomat® or to a specified home address. There’s no need to stick any labels on the parcel – all you need is the electronically generated QR code or the dispatch code from the app. For the past year, the InPost app has been among the most downloaded and used apps in Poland on the GP and App Store. Via the InPost Mobile app, you can pay for your parcel using a BLIK code, a payment card or a quick bank transfer (DotPay), with Apple Pay and Google Pay coming soon. You can, of course, track the status of your parcel in the app, but also on the website www.inpost.pl in the ‘Track your parcel’ section and via the chatbot, by entering the 24-digit parcel number or your telephone number and the last 4 digits of the parcel number. The InPost Mobile app can be downloaded from Google Play, the App Store and Huawei AppGallery.

You can also contact InPost via Google Assistant. The conversation begins by calling up a bot called ChatBot Mat using the phrase “Talk to InPost”. Customers can ask, amongst other things, about the status of their parcel, the nearest Paczkomat®, and – a new feature – the number for courier. The same bot is also available on Messenger, with all its features.

In April 2021, InPost, in partnership with IdoSell, launched the groundbreaking Smile service. Thanks to this, consumers who shop at selected online stores will receive free delivery to a Paczkomat® parcel locker on orders worth over 40 zł.

InPost has also entered into a long-term partnership with Echo Investment. Under the terms of the agreement, equipment enabling the convenient collection and dispatch of parcels by both residents and other users will be installed in the developer’s residential and mixed-use developments. The first unit has already been installed at the Moje Miejsce development in Warsaw. Further units will be installed at the Bonarka Living estate in Kraków and the Enter estate in Poznań.

In light of the rapid expansion of the InPost Paczkomat® network in Poland and across Europe, InPost is building a new factory to manufacture these devices and will expand its research and development centre. The factory will be built as part of the newly established City Logistics Kraków Airport business park, will cover a total area of 7,230 m² and will be fitted with solar panels. It is due to be commissioned as early as June 2021. The new facility will be built right next to the Balice II junction on the A4 motorway. This will enable InPost to improve the efficiency of its production processes whilst ensuring a convenient workplace for its staff and increasing employment. At City Logistics Kraków Airport – in addition to the manufacture of machines, including the electrical assembly of modules with touchscreens – a research and development centre will be expanded to include two laboratories and a showroom. Development work and testing of new solutions will be carried out there.

The carbon footprint calculator shows that if traditional home deliveries by courier were replaced by delivery to a Paczkomat®, the reduction in CO₂ emissions would be as high as 75%[1] . Delivering a parcel to an InPost parcel locker means at least 0.35 kg less CO2 emissions into the atmosphere per parcel. This makes InPost the most environmentally neutral logistics service provider.

InPost also offers a service “Weekend Parcel” – due to the growing demand for services based on a network of machines. This enables deliveries to Paczkomat® points even on Saturdays and Sundays – the cost of the service is 4.99 zł (including VAT). Under the “Weekend Parcel” service, parcels are delivered to customers at the weekend provided that the dispatch (i.e. placing the parcel in a parcel locker or POP, or placing an order for collection by a courier) takes place by 1.00 pm on Saturday.

The Paczkomat® network (over 12,000 units in Poland) is more than twice the size of Poczta Polska’s own network of branches (4,600[2]). The InPost Paczkomat® is also available in Poland at shops: Dino, Lidl, Kaufland, the Delikatesy Centrum chain of shops operated by the Eurocash Group, and also in Auchan shopping centres. InPost has also signed an agreement with the Auchan retail chain for deliveries to Ice cream vending machines. The features of InPost’s refrigerated lockers enable the safe storage and collection of food, drinks and frozen goods ordered online via Auchan Direct. According to research by Kantar TNS, as many as 40% of online shoppers want to collect their groceries from an InPost Paczkomat®.

Furthermore, InPost – in response to market demand – has launched Paczkomat® InDoor, designed specifically for installation inside buildings. Thanks to InDoor devices, property owners can offer their residents and tenants the most convenient and popular option for collecting their purchases. At the same time, they attract local residents to the area – which helps generate additional revenue for shops and service outlets.

According to a Gemius report[3], Paczkomat® is the most popular delivery method – it has overtaken couriers. As many as 61% of online shoppers prefer this type of delivery. This represents a rise in the service’s popularity among internet users of as much as 9 percentage points compared with the findings of the 2019 report. For the first time ever, Paczkomat® has overtaken courier deliveries in popularity, which are chosen by 55% of respondents – this is the first result of its kind in the world. Furthermore, as many as 68% of respondents state that the option to collect their purchases via InPost lockers motivates them to shop at a particular online store – this represents a year-on-year increase of 7 percentage points.

Since 2019, InPost has been the market leader in warehouse space lettings in Poland. In 2019, the company leased a total of 107,950 m² – accounting for 4% of total net demand in the country[4]. InPost was also the leader in the CEP sector in terms of space brought into use in 2019 – a total of 57,863 m² – thereby overtaking DHL and Poczta Polska to take the top spot. The sites launched by InPost in 2019 position the company among the top three most active e-commerce players in the warehouse logistics market – in this respect, InPost is second only to Amazon and Zalando, the global e-commerce giants.

InPost is also investing in eco-friendly transport. The company has expanded its fleet of electric vehicles with 40 new Nissan e-NV200 XL Voltia models and has announced plans to purchase more. The vehicles offer a range of up to 200 km in urban areas, 8m³ of cargo space and a payload capacity of 580 kg.

InPost is systematically introducing new services – in 2020, it launched the specialised Paczkomat® Urząd 24, which it provided to government offices, including Toruń, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Gdynia, Kraków, Kalisz, Słubice, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poświętne, Izabelin, Nowy Targ, Wolsztyn, Chojnice, Pruszków, Brodnica, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Wołomin, Koszalin and Lubań. These allow residents to carry out administrative tasks without having to enter a building or have direct contact with officials. Further installations of these machines at local government offices across Poland are planned – InPost is in talks with several dozen more towns and cities.

InPost has also launched its InPost Fulfilment logistics service, designed for business customers. The company provides infrastructure and expertise, and supports customers at every stage of their warehousing processes. As a logistics partner, InPost offers the highest quality of service and automates the entire logistics process, drawing on its own experience. Thanks to the InPost service Fulfillment E-commerce entrepreneurs can focus on growing their own business without having to worry about issues relating to warehouse facilities, packaging and dispatch.

InPost S.A. (“InPost”) is a leading e-commerce delivery platform. Founded in 1999 by Rafał Brzoska in Poland, InPost operates a network of Paczkomat® parcel lockers in Poland, the UK and Italy, and also provides courier and fulfilment services for e-commerce retailers in Poland. In 2020, InPost handled 249 million parcels via its Paczkomat® machines, working with over 26,000 e-retailers. Strategically positioned within the rapidly growing e-commerce ecosystem, it capitalises on favourable market trends – enabling the rapid roll-out of new machines. InPost’s machines provide consumers with a cheaper, flexible, convenient, environmentally friendly and contactless delivery option. As a result, InPost offers the most eco-friendly delivery solution for e-commerce – delivery to Paczkomat® machines reduces CO₂ emissions by two-thirds compared with courier deliveries in urban areas and by as much as 90% in rural areas. Furthermore, it helps to reduce traffic congestion and provides a more convenient parcel delivery solution for consumers, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without the need to wait at home for a delivery. Highly efficient IT infrastructure and the rapid implementation of new technologies form the basis of InPost’s operations and development. The InPost mobile app, ‘InPost Mobile’, is one of the most popular apps in Poland, with nearly 7 million active users. In January 2021, InPost successfully made its debut on the EURONEXT Amsterdam stock exchange.

For more information, visit: inpost.pl