WBJ: With the rapid growth of e-commerce, parcel delivery seems to be the one link in the value chain that has a lot of room for improvement. How do you think the last mile problem will be approached?

Lech Kaniuk: The last mile problem (i.e. delivering a parcel to the recipient) is a serious issue, one that e-commerce has only begun to tackle. The number of parcels is growing very quickly, the courier, express and parcel market has increased by nearly 50 percent over the past six years. This growth rate is affecting both delivery companies, but also client expectations. The worst part of it is that the last mile problem usually has a negative impact on the retailer's image. Even though the order is completed correctly and sent swiftly, if the client does not receive the parcel, their anger is directed at the store, and not towards the delivery company, which is responsible in these situations. Meanwhile, the delivery firm is doing its best to meet the demands of the job.

What about same-day deliveries? They are already a standard service in many countries, but in Poland we have yet to implement them.

Same-day delivery, which first appeared in the West, has also come to the Polish market. Many companies have been trying to introduce this possibility, but delivering an order on the same day in some places is not an easy feat. Undoubtedly, it’s attractive for customers but very difficult logistically, and during the Christmas period it’s hard to imagine it being possible. Naturally, it’s easier to implement same-day delivery locally and there are many companies that do it. In Warsaw, for instance, their number is growing. They deliver parcels and documents within hours, but such a service comes at a price, and the quicker the delivery, the more costly it gets.

PizzaPortal and itaxi, in which you were involved, were both huge successes. Why did you decide to invest in these start-ups? Is Uber and UberEats their direct competition?

I am a co-founder of PizzaPortal, which we initiated in Sweden back in 2006, long before Uber was even created, let alone UberEats. We wanted to digitize restaurant menus. Back then restaurants did not always have a website. In 2012, when Delivery Hero bought our company for PLN 120 million, I started meeting with entrepreneurs and investors in Poland. That is when I met Stefan Batory, the founder of iTaxi, and Łukasz Wejchert, who was the first to invest in that company. As I had the experience of creating a “marketplace” type business, they invited me to join them. That’s how I became a Business Angel at iTaxi.
Both companies existed before Uber did. Naturally, every company that operates in the same market is part of the competition.

You are now involved in Collectomate. The start-up has already received a PLN 1.4 million investment from Kogito Ventures and Younick Mint funds. How is it different from InPost parcel lockers or e.g. Pocztex services?

Collectomate is a tech company that builds infrastructure-supporting logistics by creating a multi-locker storage and delivery product, which makes it the only such solution in the Polish market. Collectomate lockers are an original idea dedicated to both companies and real estate managers. You can place a Collectomate locker in either an office reception or in a residential building, allowing couriers, regardless of the company, to deliver or collect a parcel. They will no longer need to meet the recipient face-to-face, which is often problematic. Moreover, Collectomate can also be used by individuals, not only by couriers. They can use it to leave e.g. documents using one of the lockers.
Collectomate lockers allow you to pick up your parcel at any given time by a dedicated app – Collectomate App, which serves as an assistant for parcel delivery and receipt.

Do you think that the e-commerce market is growing quickly enough to make room for multiple players in the segment?

It is true that the e-commerce market is growing at a staggering rate, but it still lacks a solution such as Collectomate. That’s why I’ve been supporting it from the very beginning.

What are the benefits of Collectomate parcels and who pays for the service?

Collectomate parcels are an added value for office employees and an additional service offered to tenants. The entire cost of Collectomate cloud 24/7 service is a monthly subscription fee paid by the owner or building manager. The office employee, the resident or any other person using the service pays nothing whatsoever.