Digital Meets Personal
“Even in an era of automation and digital convenience, we believe that human interaction remains at the heart of great service. In a crowded industry like shipping and logistics, it’s the personal touch that truly sets a business apart.”
Post & Parcel speaks to Mike Gratton, Managing Director, Fortida UK “the small-to-medium company champion” to discuss the importance of a seamless customer experience.
Can you tell me about your role?
Working with the senior leadership team at Fortidia’s UK head office, my role is to support and develop our franchise partner networks so they can empower people to power business, here in the UK, across our three distinct brands: Mail Boxes Etc., PACK & SEND and World Options.
How do you see the balance between digital and physical commerce evolving in the post and parcel industry?
Consumer expectations are evolving, with growing demand for real-time tracking, flexible delivery options, and streamlined returns. The industry must adapt by providing end-to-end solutions that combine digital efficiency with physical reliability. While e-commerce continues to expand, success lies in offering choice, speed, and security – ensuring that online purchases are backed by a robust logistics network that delivers both convenience and confidence.
Mail Boxes Etc. enables small businesses with mailbox rental, micro pick-and-pack operations, and marketing solutions, bridging the gap between digital consumer engagement and physical order fulfilment.
As businesses scale, World Options provides efficient online shipping solutions, offering competitive courier services. At the premium end, PACK & SEND specialises in fragile, large, awkward, and valuable (FLAV) shipments, ensuring the secure delivery of high-value items such as fine art and antiques.
How has the role of physical retail spaces, like Mail Boxes Etc., changed in recent years?
Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) was founded in 1980 in San Diego. It initially provided mailbox rental, packaging, and shipping solutions to both consumers and businesses. When MBE entered the UK market in the early 1990s, it established itself as a high-street brand, serving a mix of personal and business customers with mailbox services, printing, and stationery.
With the rise of e-commerce, the role of MBE’s physical retail spaces has transformed significantly. No longer just a print and mailbox provider, MBE centres now act as micro-logistics hubs, supporting businesses with fulfilment, shipping, and marketing solutions.
Today, MBE’s network of retail locations bridges the gap between online commerce and real-world logistics, offering tailored services such as micro pick-and-pack, specialist packaging, and last-mile delivery solutions. As consumer expectations for speed, convenience, and reliability continue to evolve, MBE’s physical presence provides the personal service and operational support that digital-only solutions cannot fully replace.
The role of physical retail spaces has evolved significantly in recent years, driven by the rise of remote working and the accessibility of global markets through e-commerce. As more SMEs operate from home or require flexible logistics solutions, our service centres have adapted to meet these changing needs. While high street locations remain important, we have expanded into industrial and business parks, strategically positioning ourselves closer to local business communities. This shift allows us to provide more efficient support, from fulfilment and shipping to marketing and mailbox services, ensuring that businesses have the physical infrastructure they need to thrive in a digital-first world.
What digital tools do you use to improve customer service?
We have invested significantly in software aimed at improving customers’ experience, automating shipping, and simplifying the whole process, especially when it comes to navigating the challenges of international shipping.
The importance of physical retail spaces highlights another way in which we’re helping to connect the digital performance to human experience.
How do digital and physical processes work together in shipping?
When somebody buys something online, it’s stored somewhere, physically, before it is shipped. Managing the process from the moment the customer clicks buy is where the digital world kicks in.
How that is managed then has ramifications in the real world too, with customer expectations impacting businesses or sellers’ online ratings, such as Trustpilot or other testimonials that will help further promote online businesses to grow their companies.
One of the wonderful things we have within the group of companies in the UK is that we start working with customers right from their start-up phase, all the way through their growth curve. The Mail Boxes Etc. brand, for instance, supports small companies with micro pick-and-pack operations and the opportunity to do that across 140 locations in the UK. Beyond that, we also support them with their digital marketing through our easily accessible creative design and print services. The physical, human, and digital worlds come together so we can ensure things like the right amount of physical space to pick and pack, and the right shipping partners to dispatch on time, with real-time tracking and visibility.
Why is maintaining a human-to-human connection so important?
Across our Fortidia UK brands – Mail Boxes Etc., World Options, and PACK & SEND – we prioritise personal service. Whether it’s speaking to a real person on the phone, receiving hands-on support for complex shipments, or working with experts who understand the unique needs of businesses, our customers always have a human connection they can rely on; someone being at the end of the phone that you can speak to, or real people picking up their emails and speaking with you, guiding you through the process.
The 260 overall franchise partners that we have, they’re all people. They’re small to medium companies themselves. They get it.
How does World Options ensure that humanity isn’t lost in an online-focused service?
I’m proud to say that all of our support team are based in the UK. We have a dedicated customer services team and key accounts team, and they all have a responsibility to connect with our customers and speak to them.
We hold monthly awards for our staff to recognise great people and reward them for going the extra mile in, say, supporting customers with challenging issues. This all helps drive online brand reputation through Trustpilot scores and general word-of-mouth. We have a bunch of initiatives to drive this behaviour, and the core values of Fortidia group centre around this element to ensure that humanity is not lost in online-focused service.
What role do you see face-to-face customer service playing in fostering brand loyalty?
At Mail Boxes Etc. and PACK & SEND service centres, you can walk in anytime and see behind the scenes how the goods are packaged and dispatched. You can meet the people who are putting love into every parcel in the way that they expertly pack precious goods for shipping worldwide. So, it is absolutely a core value to be completely accessible and provide that face-to-face service that is often so missing in the online world.
And it’s not just about being accessible but proactively going out and also meeting our customers where they are, which is true also with World Options. That real face-to-face time fosters much deeper brand loyalty than a purely online experience ever can.
What innovations have you implemented to enhance customer service?
Most recently, we have added artificial intelligence into various calls and connections with customers so that a transcript can be created with a clear summary of the main elements. We can then use this to understand customer queries to allow us to resolve them in a more timely manner and reduce significantly the speed of response to resolve any issues or queries.
What challenges do you anticipate as the industry continues to evolve?
A huge part of our business is about partnerships with our suppliers and partnerships with our people. One challenge that I foresee in the market for suppliers is managing the balance of costs while still ensuring quality of service and delivery. Also, inflation had been at a significant high for a sustained period, despite having levelled out a bit, at the moment. But it is still potentially unpredictable with some of the macroeconomic challenges.
In the UK specifically, we have also been impacted from a people point of view. One of the biggest challenges the whole industry is addressing is finding the right staff across the entire process.
The other thing is that it’s simply a very competitive landscape. People selling online want to be super competitive, so they want the cheapest parcel price.
This means that shipping companies continuously strive to meet those pricings, and we see some unfortunate challenges in the market where sizable shipping companies have ceased trading.
So, I think this is an issue that we all need to be aware of as we continue to grow the volume and there is a demand to get the best possible price and the best quality of service. We need to continuously educate end-customers and understand what their real needs are and protect this incredible industry of shipping.
It’s a real balance to do all of those things at the same time, to drive down costs and have the best shipping price possible while still ensuring operations are environmentally friendly and that we are able meet all of our corporate social responsibilities, and ensure we always play fair with the people that make our industry great.
About Mike
Mike Gratton is responsible for a UK portfolio of brands that includes World Options, Mail Boxes Etc., and PACK & SEND all of which are part of the Fortidia group of companies.
A privately held multinational company headquartered in Italy and operating globally, the Fortidia Group is home to the brands: PrestaShop, Mail Boxes Etc., PostNet, PACK & SEND, World Options, AlphaGraphics, Multicopy, Print Speak, GEL Proximity and Spedingo.
As managing director for the group’s operations in the UK, Mike’s role is to drive Fortidia’s people-focused growth, investing in technology, driving innovation and promoting company values to attract and retain talented people, united in purpose.
