DHL and Cainiao want to compete with InPost. EUR 60 million for parcel machines in Poland

The growing market of parcel machines in Poland attracts more and more players. The undisputed leader of the industry is InPost, which has as many as 20,000 sqm. parcel lockers. DPD has about three thousand machines, and Allegro and Orlen have about two thousand of them.

DHL and Cainiao want to have the most parcel machines in Poland

Now DHL and Cainiao will join the fight. The German courier company and Cainiao, a logistics company belonging to the Alibaba Group (owner of AliExpress), have signed a cooperation agreement. As part of the first stage of the agreement, DHL will buy part of the shares of the Polish branch of Cainiao.

The two companies will then invest €60 million to build a network of parcel machines spread across the country. DHL declares that these will be state-of-the-art machines with a friendly interface, which will be located in attractive locations.

Poland is one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in Europe, which is expected to double by 2027, and even 40 percent. of consumers prefer their parcels to be delivered to parcel machines. By joining forces with Cainiao, we will strengthen our position as a trusted parcel provider and create an extensive network of state-of-the-art parcel machines

– explains the CEO of DHL eCommerce Solutions in the message.

None of the companies has yet announced how many parcel machines will appear in Poland, but we can expect that there will be thousands of them. Currently, DHL and Cainiao operate a total of about 1,200 machines in Poland, but their overriding goal is to build a “leading network of vending machines” in Poland. This will mean fighting with InPost, which is dominant on the market.

Both companies have already approved the terms of cooperation, but the transaction still needs to be approved by regulators from some countries. Their decision is expected in the coming months.