The processes of purchasing IT systems as part of the centralization of Poczta Polska have begun; the new system will be called Poczta+ – said the company's president Sebastian Mikosz. He emphasized that for 20 years there had been no investments in postal systems, so replacing them will be a “giant challenge”.
“We have a huge change ahead of us concerning the centralization of the postal system, the so-called 'one-window'. This system is called Poczta+, and within its framework we will have to invest in IT systems, including financial and accounting, HR and logistics,” said Sebastian Mikosz, president of Poczta Polska, in an interview with PAP.
He noted that the biggest changes will take place in a year and a half, when the purchase and implementation of systems will begin. “About half of the tenders or purchasing processes are already underway,” he added.
“Unfortunately, with regret and frustration, I have to say that the last 20 years have been a time of complete lack of investment in postal systems,” Mikosz emphasized. He added that the newest system dates back to 2007, so replacing them is a “giant challenge.”
When asked if training for employees on the safe use of new systems is planned, he said that it is taking place “on an ongoing basis”. “Our cybersecurity department has one of the highest budgets for this and next year. We are constantly following the same path: compliance with the provisions of the EU NIS 2 directive (cybersecurity directive – PAP), which is what our customers, suppliers and business partners expect,” the president of Poczta emphasized.
In May this year, Poczta Polska informed PAP that in 2024 the company recorded a net loss of PLN 213 million. The loss was PLN 408 million lower than in 2023. “It may sound paradoxical that we are bragging about the loss, but it is really much smaller than a year ago. We have certainly also improved liquidity,” commented Mikosz. He added that Poczta managed to reduce operating costs, which is not yet “fully visible” from the customer's point of view.
The President of the Post Office indicated that a team has already been partially built to transform the company. “We should not have ambitions to grow, but to be profitable. And to be profitable, we have to operate with a margin in mind. It is also about finding our place in the market and investing in services that will ultimately make us independent from the universal service, because it will be fading away,” said the president.
Universal services include sorting, transporting and delivering letters up to 2 kg, parcels within Poland up to 10 kg and international parcels up to 20 kg. By virtue of the decision of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications in 2015, Poczta Polska is the postal operator designated to provide universal services until 31 December 2025. The company was also the only one to submit a bid in the competition for the designated operator, which will provide universal services in the years 2026-2035.
Mikosz said that in the near future, Poczta Polska will “accelerate on a large scale” the sale of financial products and “intensively develop” the pallet service. “We are also in the process of intensive work on increasing our role as a cash operator,” he added.
Poczta Polska is a company of the State Treasury, the largest postal operator on the domestic market. Its network includes 7.6 thousand branches, branches and postal agencies throughout Poland. According to the company, over 90 percent of Poles use its services.
The company's management is currently implementing a transformation plan, which according to its president is to transform the operator “into a modern courier-retail-financial-digital company” and is needed due to the difficult situation of Poczta. The transformation plan covers eight areas: sales, logistics, human resources, IT, organization and management, real estate, finance and the capital group. Around PLN 500 million has been allocated for it.
Poczta recently informed PAP that it plans to increase investments in 2025, “especially in the IT area, to increase the security and automation of business processes, which is aimed at further transformation and building the value of the organization.”
Mikosz has served as acting president of the company since mid-February last year, and on March 25, 2024, the supervisory board appointed him president.
Monika Blandyna Lewkowicz (PAP)
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