InPost S.A., a rapidly growing Polish express delivery company, has signed a commercial agreement to deploy over 20,000 Bloq.it smart parcel lockers across Europe and made a small investment in the startup.
Bloq.it, headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, is working to advance the adoption of unattended parcel delivery equipment across Europe. The company announced this partnership on Monday.
Bloq.it's current clients include DHL eCommerce, Vinted Go (the logistics arm of online marketplace Vinted), Poste Italiane, and GLS Group, with InPost now joining this roster.
According to Bloq.it, the first batch of NEXT series parcel lockers was installed for InPost in France and the UK in July this year, with plans to expand operations to Italy, Portugal, and Spain by year-end. Over the next five years, locker deployment will accelerate further across InPost's core European markets.
Under the agreement, Bloq.it will manage and maintain InPost's automated parcel machine (APM) network.
Bloq.it's NEXT smart lockers are powered by replaceable rechargeable batteries and can operate without relying on the electrical grid or solar panels, enabling installation in thousands of previously inaccessible locations. The lockers feature 10-inch color displays and barcode/QR code readers for convenient parcel collection.
Founded in 2019, Bloq.it has also developed a cloud-based operating system that allows parcel lockers from multiple suppliers to operate on a unified digital platform.
Miha Jagodic, founder and CEO of Bloq.it, stated in a press release: "Bloq.it is focused on driving Europe's transition to an 'out-of-home collection' model. Through our partnership with InPost, our flagship product - the off-grid NEXT locker - will be able to reach every corner where people live and work, truly providing consumers with collection freedom."
InPost installed its first automated parcel locker in Krakow, Poland in 2009, and these lockers have since become an integral part of Poland's online shopping ecosystem, providing users with reliable delivery speeds and convenient collection experiences.
Currently, InPost Group operates over 88,000 outdoor service points across 9 countries, including Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, comprising more than 54,000 automated parcel machines (APMs) and over 34,000 collection and dispatch points. Additionally, InPost provides express delivery and fulfillment services to approximately 100,000 e-commerce merchants.
The company handled over 1 billion parcels last year. According to its disclosure, parcel volume in the first quarter of this year increased 12% year-over-year to 272 million packages.
In July this year, InPost announced the acquisition of Spanish express company Sending and stated plans to add 1,000 new lockers in Spain by the end of 2025. Earlier this year, InPost acquired UK express company Yodel for $144 million, becoming the third-largest independent express operator in the UK.