Thanks to online retail, parcel volumes have grown by 65 percent in the last five years. Swiss Post is responding to this huge increase and to customer demand for short delivery times by fundamentally transforming its processing. By 2030, it will invest around 1.5 billion francs in additional locations for parcel sorting, more staff, conversions and new technologies.
While the number of parcels delivered by Swiss Post was just 122 million only five years ago, the figure for 2021 stood at 202 million. And the growth is continuing. At the same time, letter volumes are declining, freeing up capacities in letter logistics. Swiss Post is responding to this change with its “Processing of tomorrow” programme, which is fundamentally transforming parcel and letter logistics. Over the next ten years, Swiss Post plans to invest around 1.5 billion francs in its sorting and delivery infrastructure as part of the “Processing of tomorrow” initiative: by 2030, the logistics network is expected to consist of about 15 locations for parcel sorting in addition to the letter sorting locations – seven more parcel sorting locations than today. “The growing parcel volumes can only be managed with major investments in infrastructure,” says Johannes Cramer, Head of Logistics Services. “With our measures, we can continue to meet future market demands and live up to our title as the ‘world’s best postal service’. We want to remain the preferred provider of logistics services for Switzerland – and not only maintain our market share, but expand it.”
Johannes Cramer Head of Logistics ServicesWe are modernizing parcel processing: ensuring that it is customer-centric and efficient.
To increase sorting capacities at the existing parcel centers, Swiss Post is continuously expanding its infrastructure. “We want to double our sorting capacity for parcels by 2030,” says Johannes Cramer.
To achieve this, Swiss Post is building new regional parcel centers (RPCs) near the conurbations of Basel, Bern and Zurich. Some of these RPCs are new buildings, some are conversions of existing logistics spaces. “Thanks to the new RPCs, parcels posted in one region are also sorted and delivered in that region, without having to go through the big parcel centers,” explains Johannes Cramer.
Making the planned RPCs a reality, however, is a challenge: from finding suitable land and real estate to the start of operations, the process takes several years. Land that offers Swiss Post enough space to accommodate the required processing capacities is hard to find. Swiss Post has therefore developed location strategies for smaller or so-called verticalized RPCs, where the belt conveyors run over several floors.
Because the volumes processed at the letter centers are falling continuously, Swiss Post intends to use the space freed up there for parcel sorting – for example, at the Härkingen letter center. With fewer letters, less sorting capacity is needed there. A regional parcel center will therefore be built in some of the available space. Another part of the planned capacity increase will be the conversion and expansion of the existing parcel centers in Frauenfeld and Härkingen. These renovations depend on the life cycle of the building. Where it is possible and makes good sense, the buildings will be equipped to handle higher sorting capacities.
With effect from January 2022, Swiss Post increased letter prices for the first time in 18 years in agreement with the price regulator: A Mail by 10 centimes, B Mail by 5 centimes. Other price adjustments affect bulk mailing, P.O. Boxes, forwarding and international letter mail. The list prices for parcels remain unchanged. To support its customers, Swiss Post also offers price benefits: SMEs can have up to five parcels collected free of charge by delivery staff. Business customers who frank their parcels online receive a 10-percent discount. Private customers who frank their parcels online also continue to benefit from reduced prices.