Polish courier express market
While other economic sectors have struggled in the midst of slackening economic growth across Europe, courier services have remained largely unscathed. Although the market is no longer growing at the breakneck pace of 150% a year, as was the case in the late 1990s, it still saw an increase in both the volume and the value of deliveries in 2002.
Of the 51 companies active on the local market, 25 are recent arrivals which registered last year. Despite the increasingly crowded market, all the major operators saw their revenues grow from 20% (Servisco) to 50% (Masterlink).
The exception was Poczta Polska.
“It can compete in terms of price, and its monopoly is a big advantage, but otherwise it would be in trouble,” said Olga Kozierowska of Masterlink. She estimates that PP controls only 4% of the courier market, a figure that experts say is more or less accurate.
Hence the announcement by PP deputy president Andrzej Siniakiewicz that the company plans to take over a courier company by the end of the year. His comment last week came in the wake of a large-scale consolidation process on the market. In 2002, Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) became the sole owner of Servisco, the market leader with a 22% share, of the €99 million (z³. 425 million) a year market for next-day delivery service. DPWN is now planning to offer all its services under the DHL brand.
“The customer wants ease, and coupled with that must be high quality,” said Aleksander Morozowski, president of Servisco, explaining the benefits of joining DPWN. “One-stop shopping is the way for the future, and this is what we can offer.”
The group has recently introduced a number of new services, such as Europolitan Express – package freight across Europe’s roadways – which combines DHL’s position on the local market with its partners’ infrastructure in the EU.
Robert Mianowski, president of TNT Express, shares Morozowski’s opinion: “Using the full range of courier services allows for full comfort. The customer can check the parcel status via the Internet or SMS.”
It is difficult to see how Poczta Polska can compete with such services, so it is hardly surprising that its market share in international express parcels is estimated to be less than 1%. Co-operation with DPWN is considered as a possibility for the future, but no steps have been taken in this direction.
Even considering the head start that PP has in terms of infrastructure on the domestic market, it may not be able to match its competitors’ capacity for lavish investment outlays. Costs in this area are significant, as can be seen from the case of TNT-TPG Group, whose courier section, TNT Post Group, takes up 40% of total investment spending. The company has also established a stronghold on the Polish market and is seen as DHL’s chief competitor in international package deliveries. PP’s plans to spend €371 million (z³. 1.6 billion) by the end of 2006 may prove insufficient in the face of the competition from the global giants.
“We have little to do with the global scene, and a letter from Warsaw to P³ock can take several days,” said Krzysztof Pniewski of Andersen Business Consulting. “PP is capable of diversification but first they need to fix the problems with their basic business.”
