PostNL installs parcel locker terminals at key transport hubs

Dutch postal service PostNL has introduced automated parcel locker terminals at transport hubs in the Netherlands. The company is working with Polish parcel locker supplier InPost on the project, which has seen self-service parcel pick-up and drop-off points introduced in Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport.

The lockers have also appeared at railway stations in Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Breda, Eindhoven, Leiden and Almere.

The service, operated under the brand “Pakketautomaten” gives customers the chance to collect parcels, including e-commerce purchases, 24 hours a day, seven days a week while they go about their travels.

InPost said the parcel terminal locations in seven of the largest cities in the Netherlands have central locations visited by more than 400,000 travellers per day.

Rafał Brzoska, the chief executive of InPost parent company Integer.pl Group, said his firm “really value” its contract with PostNL since it was “amongst the largest players in Europe”.

The deal with PostNL sees the Dutch firm renting the parcel locker terminals from InPost.

“The rapid development of e-commerce provides a massive opportunity for both postal and logistics operators,” said Brzoska.

“To take full advantage of this though it is crucial to adapt to market needs and implement solutions that are effective, competitively priced and, most importantly, convenient for users. In our opinion, self-service terminals fit these criteria perfectly and we are confident that parcel lockers will be very popular in the Netherlands. Cooperation with PostNL reaffirms the effectiveness of the solutions offered by InPost and gives us crucial experience for fulfilling our plans of further expansion in foreign markets.”

Dutch e-commerce consumers will be able to select the parcel locker delivery option when ordering items through certain online retail websites.

For websites that do not have the parcel locker option, customers can still have items delivered to a Pakketautomaat location by using PostNL’s delivery management service.

Recipients are notified by text message when their item has arrived in the parcel locker location of their choice, with the message including a code to allow them to open the secure locker containing their package.

Customers will have three days to collect an item before it is returned to a PostNL depot.