It has been 25 years since the InPost Group started its operations. Fifteen years ago the first Paczkomat® machine was deployed, today there are over 40,000 of them in Europe. How do we surprise people now? What do we do to be an innovative company?
When I started working at InPost six years ago, we had 6,000 Paczkomat® parcel lockers. By the end of the first quarter of 2024 we had 70,000 OOH points in Europe – that's huge progress. Companies fall into two types – those that deliver value to the consumer by answering the question – what can we do to make the product interesting, and ‘game changers’, that is companies that answer the question – what else can we do. InPost is not only about Paczkomat® machines, but an entire ecosystem. One example is our latest service, InPost Pay, intended to draw the consumer into our world and exceed their expectations in terms of progress.
Is it a good idea to add more services, such as financial services?
Poland is amazing when it comes to fintech, or financial solutions. I can compare Poland with other markets because I work with people from France and the UK. Compared to them, Poland stands out for its extraordinary development. Blik is a huge success and a dynamically developing product. Financial services are not as developed in France or the UK. After 1990 our economy gained momentum and skipped certain stages of development, which illustrates the creativity of our nation.
For example, we skipped cheques, which were popular in many countries in the West. Compared to Poland, a customer in Germany has to wait much longer to receive a transfer.
And the process is much more complicated.
What do you think can be introduced to our market based on international experience?
There are many things. However, it is not possible to create innovative products in every company. Innovation means the culture of an organisation, and you need to have the right mindset to create revolutionary products. It has to be a part of the company's DNA. At InPost innovation is not just the responsibility of one person – these processes take place at the level of finance, machine design or consumer services. The whole company is involved.
