- The President of Poczta Polska, Sebastian Mikosz, during a speech on presenting the plan for Poczta Polska said: "Poczta Polska is in a state of clinical death".
- Poczta Polska is the operator designated to provide universal services for the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2025
- The value of the Polish postal services market (PLN 16.51 billion) in 2023 increased by PLN 1.97 billion compared to 2022, reaching a growth rate of 13.6%. This growth reached a double-digit value for another year – according to data from the Office of Electronic Communications.
The postal market in Poland in 2023. How is Poczta Polska doing?
The increase in the market value was accompanied by a minimal increase in the total volume of completed postal services, which in 2023 reached 2.04 billion items, which means an increase of 3.6% year-on-year.
The volume of courier shipments in 2023 increased by 16.8% compared to 2022 and revenues increased by 20.5%. The volume of both postal parcels and letter items showed declines, by 19.7% and 6.4%, respectively.
According to the URE report, the volume of universal services provided by Poczta Polska in domestic trade decreased by 5.5% and in foreign trade by 10.5%. Courier shipments accounted for 71.3% of the postal market value and 51.7% of the total volume of postal services in 2023
In 2023, 11,350 self-service parcel machines were added, which is a 42.2% increase year-on-year. What picture does this data paint?
– The postal services market is growing and is driven by the development of courier services, which already constitute 70% of its value. The development of infrastructure is visible – the network of parcel machines is increasingly covering Poland, which is a derivative of the very dynamic development of e-commerce in recent years – indicates Sebastian Błaszkiewicz, Head of Sales Excellence at Unity Group.
The expert notes that the situation is different in the segment from which Poczta Polska originates and with which it is most strongly associated, i.e. postal and letter shipments. – It showed a decrease in the handled volume, and it can be assumed that it will be even worse after the introduction of e-deliveries, which will happen in the next few years. The prospects for Poczta Polska are therefore definitely pessimistic and there is currently no business idea for a strategic change apart from slogans and directions – says Sebastian Błaszkiewicz.
The Polish Post's market advantage may be its curse
Damian Siusta, Business Development Manager at Postis in Poland, believes that what is an advantage of Poczta Polska can also be its curse.
– An extensive network of branches and facilities, i.e. proximity to the end customer, provides enormous opportunities, but also a huge cost burden. The question is how new ideas for change will use this infrastructure and whether this can be its advantage. All the more so in the face of the planned universal e-delivery system. Let's not forget that one of the important factors in building InPost's position was the slow expansion of its parcel locker network, which has been going on for almost 15 years – explains our interlocutor.
Changes at the Polish Post Office are necessary and must be thorough.
– The question is, however, whether this is possible in the case of a State Treasury company, where politics plays a big role and trade unions can have a significant impact on new ideas to heal this organization? The condition of Poczta Polska does not allow for further sweeping the problem under the carpet or covering it up with further support from the budget – adds Damian Siusta.
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Weaknesses of the Polish Post transformation plan
Sebastian Błaszkiewicz, taking a closer look at the Poczta transformation plan, drew attention to the company's considerable technological debt and staffing problems.
– The voluntary redundancy program, which assumes a reduction in positions by over 9 thousand people with the current employment level of 62-63 thousand employees, combined with a huge, over 20-year technological debt, may result in a further reduction in the quality of services provided. In commercial, well-developing enterprises, using modern solutions that optimize work (e.g. tools using AI), it is possible to successfully automate some processes and thus deal with staff problems, increase efficiency and reduce costs. However, such a large technological debt cannot be eliminated in a short time, and investments in innovations require large financial outlays, which Poczta Polska cannot afford now and I have doubts whether it will be able to afford in the coming years. In addition, to do this effectively, appropriately experienced employees are needed, who must be strengthened by the current team. This will not be easy given the current cost challenges, and let us recall that the average earnings in Poczta Polska are currently around PLN 5 thousand gross. In addition, there are collective disputes (there were 14 of them) with trade unions, of which there are as many as 95 in the post office – enumerates the Unity Group expert.
The Polish Post Office is not good at e-commerce
Sebastian Błaszkiewicz also believes that Poczta Polska is at odds with e-commerce.
– Historically, the potential to build one of the leaders of the Polish e-commerce scene around this enterprise with organized logistics, post offices, infrastructure was huge – independently or through cooperation (e.g. joint venture) with someone from the commercial market. The problems of Poczta Polska in this area concern both the presence on the Internet with its online store and its role in cooperation with China. Due to the flood of cheap parcels from this country, with improperly calculated VAT and imposed customs duties, Polish e-commerce, the State Treasury and Poczta Polska itself are suffering. The refreshed online store announced in July will not conquer the e-commerce world. A very limited offer (mainly postage stamps), lack of a defined value offer, unattractive delivery conditions, undistinguished prices do not bode well. This approach is in the style of "rather to be, to be". Meanwhile, the competition has "left" far ahead, boldly introducing innovations, perfecting the customer experience in the e-services provided, developing pro-ecological solutions, expanding the offer with additional services, e.g. financial, which the Post Office lacks so much – explains the representative of Unity Group.
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Does he see salvation for the state giant? – I am very skeptical about the further development prospects of the national operator. The reconstruction of Poczta Polska, as announced by the new president into a courier-digital-financial company, may not be successful for a simple reason: a patient with multi-organ injuries in a coma may simply not live to see it, and state-owned drips may run out in the meantime – sums up Sebastian Błaszkiewicz.
