a few days before Christmas, the battle for parcel delivery is in full swing

At the end of December, the number of parcel deliveries is at its highest. La Poste, like large private companies, is extremely busy and participates in a booming sector.

Purchasing on the internet has become commonplace, both in town and in rural areas. And it’s a paradox: while the French are reducing their Christmas budget, they are planning the same number of gifts, some of which they order online.

We must also count second hand, which attracts more and more people and which makes sites like Vinted or Leboncoin work, still using delivery people. This booming market is a boon for the Post Office, while its mail delivery business is collapsing and now represents only 16% of turnover. The parcel business now represents more than half of its profits.

The battle of the last mile

On Wednesday December 20 alone, the La Poste group delivered 3.2 million packages in France, whether for delivery at a relay point or at home. La Poste has also hired 3,000 seasonal workers especially for the period. In this delivery niche, however, competition is strong. With many players like Mondial Relay, DHL, UPS, GSL, La Poste competes with private companies who do not hesitate to cut prices and also innovate.

In the United States, for example, Amazon has launched an experiment to deliver its packages in one hour by drones. The objective is to save time, because all that is at stake in this delivery battle is what we call the last mile. The final straight is often the most complicated, often in the city, more congested. This is where the delivery person wastes the most time, driving around, parking and finding the address.

An ecological issue

For this, the Post Office has opened warehouses in the heart of cities two years ago, “urban logistics spaces”. In Paris, she transformed the former Louvre post office into storage space. Postal workers collect the packages, which they then deliver on foot or by bike, avoiding traffic jams.

The issue is also ecological. According to Laetitia Dablanc, researcher at Gustave Eiffel University in Paris, delivery vehicles, trucks or couriers, alone represent 20% of road traffic. It is therefore a significant source of pollution. La Poste is therefore going all out on electric vehicles and cargo bikes.