Competitor Watch
A new €40 million, 10-year European Investment Bank (EIB) loan to An Post has been formally announced in Dublin.
The investment will enable more than 750 fully electric vehicles to be used for local deliveries across the country and digital customer services to be upgraded across the retail network, including 950 modernised post offices.
Andrew McDowell, European Investment Bank Vice President responsible for Ireland said: ‘As a leading European postal services provider, An Post is demonstrating how support for local communities and climate action can be at the core of a sustainable business.
‘For that reason, I am very pleased to confirm a new €40 million loan from the European Investment Bank – the EU Bank – to finance its greener delivery fleet and to accelerate use of innovation and digitalisation to enhance access to financial services and improve mail, parcels and e-commerce services for customers.’
David McRedmond, An Post CEO said: ‘This ground-breaking contract demonstrates confidence in An Post’s transformation and digital strategy for the Irish economy, business of all sizes and local communities. It enables us to move faster and be smarter in changing from the old world of letters and cash to the new digital world of e-Commerce and financial services.
‘The strategy being implemented at An Post has brought a turnaround from losses of €12.4m in 2016 to profit of €41.2m in 2018. The transformation is continuing. We will achieve a similar or better performance in 2019, exceeding our targets for the year and delivering continued growth in e-Commerce fulfilment and financial services. Sustainable plans are in place for 2020.’
Investing in state of the art digital technology
An Post customers will benefit from high-performance automated parcel sorting and replacement of paper forms with app-based technology as part of broader digitalisation and innovation investment to cater for the growing e-commerce parcel business.
At the heart of our own refreshed five-year strategy is a ‘turnaround and grow’ programme in the UK, which will focus on improved service, efficiency and productivity supported by a range of new, digitally enabled work tools and targeted investments.
As part of a range of new initiatives to enhance the customer experience, we will collect returns from customers at their home, including both consumers making returns and small marketplace sellers fulfilling sales. A range of in-flight redirection options will also provide customers with more flexibility when their parcel is scheduled to arrive while they are out.
