Sign In Newsletters Contact Us
American ShipperEuropeLast-Mile DeliveryModern ShipperNewsParcel FreightPostalMag

DHL eCommerce to buy out parcel locker partner in Poland

Extensive network of delivery access points provides convenience for e-commerce customers

Eric Kulisch
·
DHL eCommerce is expanding its footprint in Poland with an agreement to buy the remaining shares of its parcel locker partnership.
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • DHL eCommerce is acquiring 100% of APM Solutions, its parcel locker joint venture in Poland with Cainiao, to gain full control.
  • This acquisition aims to accelerate the expansion of its branded parcel locker network in Poland, targeting 10,000 units by the end of 2026.
  • The move enhances DHL's infrastructure and competitive standing in Poland's fast-growing e-commerce market, where a significant portion of consumers prefer out-of-home delivery.
Key takeaways sponsored by SONAR
See a mistake? Contact us.

DHL eCommerce plans to acquire 100% of APM Solutions, the joint venture it started in Poland with Alibaba’s logistics arm, Cainiao, in 2023 to create an extensive parcel locker network, company CEO Pablo Ciano said in a LinkedIn post last week.

With full ownership, DHL eCommerce will accelerate the roll out of its branded parcel lockers, targeting 10,000 units in Poland by the end of 2026, he said. APM Solutions currently has more than 6,000 parcel lockers, according to its website. 

“This transaction is a milestone in expanding the logistics ecosystem in Poland, giving merchants and consumers more choice, convenience, and flexibility in how they send and receive parcels,” Ciano said. 

Poland is one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in Europe. DHL eCommerce is complementing its door delivery options with more options in a country where up to 40% of consumers prefer to have shipments delivered to a parcel vending machine.

The move also gives DHL eCommerce, which provides cross-border and domestic B2C shipping service for e-commerce merchants, more infrastructure with which to compete with InPost, the dominant courier in its home market of Poland. 

Over the past three years, DHL has invested an average of $275 million in Poland for its e-commerce, express, supply chain and freight forwarding business units.

DHL Group’s e-commerce logistics business in early 2023 purchased an equity stake in Cainiao’s Polish subsidiary to capture a larger share of the out-of-home delivery market. The companies initially invested nearly $70 million to install parcel lockers across Poland with the goal of forming one of the country’s largest access point networks.

DHL’s e-commerce logistics business continues to expand in Europe and the Middle East. In late August, the company acquired a share of Saudi Arabian courier Apex Logistics. InPost, too, is in rapid expansion mode, buying Spain-based courier Sending and Yodel, a large delivery company in the United Kingdom.

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

InPost partners with Bloqit to install 20K parcel lockers

DHL’s German postal unit aims to increase use of parcel lockers

Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Parcel and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com