Swiss Post is substantially expanding its offering at selected post offices to enhance its salesnetwork of over 3,600 access points to focus even more strongly on customer needs.
At these integrated post office locations, Swiss Post plans to launch a fresh new look with opencounters, a shop featuring brand-name articles, as well as consulting areas for postal products andfinancial products from PostFinance. This will enable Swiss Post to strengthen its presence athigh-traffic locations and provide a full range of services under one roof.
The first three new-style post offices are set to open in Horgen, Martigny and Köniz in autumn2011. By 2012, Swiss Post will be offering customers a modern shopping experience in ten locationsat an investment cost of CHF 40 million. If the concept is a success, Swiss Post plans to implementa second phase of twenty more of the new-style post offices by 2014, with an investment volume ofCHF 80 million.
At the same time, Swiss Post is looking to improve its service offering in urban areas with arange of access points tailored to specific customer behaviour. PostFinance has enjoyed stronggrowth in recent years and the sale of financial products is attracting increasing interest amongSwiss Post customers. Swiss Post has now decided to enhance an initial ten post offices by offeringconsulting areas for financial products. It has also created a modern, customer-oriented look forthese post offices.
Swiss Post‘s aim is to provide its customers with a new shopping experience at post offices byproviding a full range of postal and financial services under one roof. Customer advisors will beon hand to offer expert assistance with all issues.
At the integrated Swiss Post locations, customers will be served in four different areasarranged around an open, friendly waiting area. The post office counter will offer visitorstraditional logistics services, as well as payment options. Customers with an interest inPostFinance products will be welcomed at a quick advice counter and then offered in-depth advice inprivate offices. This will enable PostFinance to expand its sales network and offer its largelyindependent customers further points of contact should they require advice. The fourth area will bea shop featuring a selection of non-Swiss Post brand-name articles.
The modern post offices will enable Swiss Post to enhance its sales network and focus even morestrongly on customer needs. Swiss Post will serve all customers at the access point best suited totheir requirements. By using agencies, Swiss Post maintains a presence at attractive locations withgenerous opening hours. Some even open on Saturdays and Sundays.
Thanks to the home-delivery service, customers can carry out key transactions right on theirdoorsteps. In urban districts with a large number of companies, Swiss Post now offers countersexclusively for business customers, where packages and letters can be handed in for mailing.
To reinforce its customer orientation, Swiss Post is currently looking into implementing acombination of these various concepts. In urban centres, a mixture of integrated Swiss Postlocations, post offices, agencies and access points for business customers could meet all of thediverse needs in the right localities. Swiss Post will always develop this type of new concept inclose cooperation with the local authorities and provide relevant information at a suitabletime.
Swiss Post boasts one of the densest networks of access points in the world. As of 31 August2010, it operated 3,607 customer access points with 2,319 post offices and agencies, 1,181home-delivery services, 103 PickPost collection points and four internal mail solutions. Swiss Posthas created an additional 80 or more access points since 2005 alone.
