Austrian Post has put its 100th parcel terminal supplied by automation specialist KEBA intoservice while it plans to adjust its product and pricing structure in line with inflation from
March next year.The postal operator started setting up the parcel collection stations in post officeself-service zones last year, with the aim to install up to 250 machines by 2015 and 400 by 2016under a €4 million contract with KEBA. Over 150,000 shipments have been picked up at the stationssince their launch, and the number is rising each day.
“Our customers appreciate the possibility to pick up their parcels regardless of opening times.Therefore, we are expanding the service. By the end of the year, there will be around 130 pick-upstations, especially in urban areas,” Peter Umundum, Austrian Post board member and director forParcels & Logistics, said.
Umundum also praised the smooth rollout of the parcel terminals in cooperation with theAustrian-based supplier. “KEBA is an experienced partner, well-known for its high product qualityand the cooperation is working really well in terms of the rollout,” he said.
Explaining the self-service terminals function, Umundum said: “If the recipient is not at homeat the time of delivery, he or she gets the yellow notification note, as usual. If there is apick-up station installed at the nearby post office in the self-service area, the parcel will beleft there, ready for pick-up round the clock. To open the locker, the notification note is heldwith the bar code in front of the reading device of the pick-up station and the correspondingcompartment is opened with the parcel inside.”
Since August, customers can also redirect their parcels via the Austrian Post app to theirdesired address such as the nearby post office, a pick-up station, a neighbour or any other placeof their choice.
KEBA CEO Gerhard Luftensteiner also expressed his satisfaction about the successful partnershipwith Austrian Post. “We are naturally very pleased that Austrian Post has opted for KEBA. Thecompany is one of our most important customers and we are proud of being able to jointly ensurethat its customers can now obtain their parcels quickly and easily on a 24/7 basis,” he said.
KEBA, which manufactures its parcel terminals at a plant near Linz that opened last year, has sofar installed more than 3,500 self-service parcel terminals over the past 14 years, mostly forDeutsche Post DHL in Germany, but also in Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Czech Republic and severalother countries. The firm has also won a major contract to supply 1,500 ‘Packcity’ lockers toNeoPost and GeoPost in France by 2016, rising to 3,000 in the longer term.
Separately, Austrian Post announced inflation-related price increases for its mail and parcelproducts to come into the effect in March 2015. The last product and price reform took place in2011. The postal rate adjustments were yesterday approved by the relevant regulatory authoritiesincluding the national Post Control Commission (PCK) and the Austrian Regulatory Authority forBroadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR).
As part of the increase, the price for a standard domestic letter in the “Premium” category(delivery on the next working day) will rise from 62 to 68 cents. The “Economy” option for bulkletters sent by business customers (longer delivery time, minimum of 1,000 items) will cost 62cents, instead of the current 57 cents. The “Large Letter” format, which is extensively used forsmall e-commerce goods, will also become slightly more expensive, with the price rising from €3.80to €4.00.
Separately, the price for small domestic parcels up to 2kg will rise from €4.47 to €4.60 fromJanuary 1, 2015.
“This change in postal rates, the first since 2011, is aligned to the inflation rate since then,in spite of the fact that costs relevant to the postal business such as staff costs or charges haveclimbed up more sharply in the same period. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has climbed by 10% sincethe last tariff application was submitted,” Austrian Post said to explain the move. It expectsadditional costs for Austrian citizens to amount to €1 on average for one year, with the averagepostage expenses per person in Austria equalling €12 annually.
