An often heard critique of our increasingly connected society is the claim that we are losing track of real human connections. While we are more connected to the rest of the world than ever before, we are all living more and more isolated lives. This problem has now also been recognized by the largest mail & delivery corporation in the Netherlands; Royal PostNL. Also according to them, the world is changing due to urbanization, increasing individualism and an aging population. Read on to learn more about their digital transformation towards a truly connected society.
PostNL is one of the largest employers in the Netherlands with over 44,000 employees and an average delivery volume of 675,000 parcels and 8 million letters per day! However, their traditional business model has been under a lot of pressure from global digitalization and other threats. This has moved PostNL to overthrow their distribution model and go beyond their traditional delivery operations, expanding into additional value-adding services for their business partners. This proved very successful and led to the implementation of cross-doorstep services such as kitchen and furniture assembly.
However, in recent years this transformation has taken a more humanitarian turn and PostNL now envisions their mailmen to become the eyes and ears of their local neighborhoods, offering so-called ‘smart city propositions’. The Smart Society division of the delivery company hired Deloitte Digital to imagine & deliver a new platform which can realize this vision. The new MyWork platform won a renowned silver Dutch Interactive Award (DIA) because it does not only connect their own employees, but also allows them to be connected to new (societal) assignments. The first trials included tasks such as monitoring the public space by recording trash and damages throughout the neighborhood, measuring water levels, and executing surveys to prevent loneliness among elders, but of course the possibilities with this initiative are endless. What a great example of digital transformation!
References
AD | Postbode 2.0 meet ook waterstanden
AD | Postbodes moeten ‘ogen en oren’ van wijk worden
Deloitte | How the MyWork app helped PostNL become more future-proof
DIA | Silver Award 2017 for PostNL
Emerce | E-Guide PostNL MijnWerk Case
PostNL | Who are we
PostNL | The connected society
note: some references are only available in Dutch unfortunately
In 2017, there were over 4,1 million citizens of over 55+ years. 0.7 million of them are over 80 years old. This number of 80+ elderly will grow to 2 million people in 2040. Of the 4.1 million 55+ citizens, 1 million of them feel lonely (Nationaal Ouderenfonds, n.d). The social isolation is a serious problem and therefore the contribution of the Royal PostNL to this problem is a valuable one. However, one could question as to how long the postmen job will stay around. According to a news article in NH Nieuws (2018), over half of the existing mailboxes will disappear in some cities. Even the “Postlaw”, stating how many mailboxes should be present per 5.000 residents within a specific radius, is changing based on the digitization of the post. This is similar to what happened to the yellow emergency telephones situated next to highways. Although the humanitarian turn of PostNL seems a valuable add-on to its current business model, one can question whether it will be sustainable in the near future.
– Nationaal Ouderenfonds. (n.d.). Feiten en cijfers. Retrieved from https://www.ouderenfonds.nl/onze-organisatie/feiten-en-cijfers/
– NH Nieuws. (2018, August). Oranje brievenbus verdwijnt uit straatbeeld: hier kan je nog wel terecht. Retrieved from https://www.nhnieuws.nl/nieuws/229709/Oranje-brievenbus-verdwijnt-uit-straatbeeld-hier-kan-je-nog-wel-terecht
I agree with you that the classic mailman will not be around for much longer, but that’s exactly why PostNL is expanding their service offering beyond regular post. Your data underlines the trend that the volume of regular letters will keep decreasing. It is therefore also not surprising that this is no longer a main strategic priority. Instead, as mentioned in my blog and its sources, the company has started focusing on parcel delivery – a market that is strongly expanding thanks to the continuous rise of e-commerce. The new service offerings mentioned in my article are an addition to these operations more than they are to the more classic operations of PostNL.