How can you align on a shared vision if nobody can see the path ahead?

The PostNord Group’s strategic themes were set in the summer of 2019 with two overall priorities: Win in Parcel and Sustainable Mail Business. To establish a common direction for the Win in Parcels priority and to more clearly articulate the strategy, Implement helped PostNord through a highly involved six-month, fact-based co-creation process, establishing an aligned Shared Vision 2025 addressing commercial, operational and primarily network elements.

The challenge

PostNord’s parcel business was facing tremendous change. Parcel volumes were up and put a strain on the organisation and network – something that was further exacerbated by COVID-19. Customers were changing fast with the emergence of many new e-tailing powerhouses shifting volume flows, including the entry of Amazon into the Scandinavian market. New delivery competitors with new-to-the-world business models were challenging the incumbents, especially in the last mile. Consumers were rapidly changing their expectations with a completely new customer service paradigm required.

At the same time, PostNord also had to manage the implications of rapidly declining national mail businesses in Sweden and Denmark.

The solution

Implement helped PostNord to define an engaging winning aspiration for 2025 and to better define their core business that is and will be the basis for their competitiveness going towards 2025 in parcels.

A critical insight provided by the project was the current cost gap to competition and the shifting consumer needs and preferences towards a touchless/unattended, close-to-home/at-home delivery of parcels. At a strategic level, four themes related to cost and market leadership became the heart of the SV 2025, where directional approval from the board of directors was gained in September 2020. These were:

• A. Close the cost gap – establish the cost leader position by driving down cost per parcel by improving efficiency and productivity in the current network.
• B. Revisit the approach to the last mile business model – orchestration excellence across a combination of own and partner delivery organisations.
• C. Define a new convenience strategy for the parcel business – shifting delivery point focus to unattended home options.
• D. Future-proof the network – ensure market-leading capacity by further sweating the assets and reconfiguring the network, debottlenecking and investing in additional terminals for the medium and long term.

The impact

The transformation roadmap to “cost and market leader” is currently being executed. Many of the initiatives or ideas identified are or will be, planned and executed in the business plans for each country. To continue to have cross-country alignment and to continuously update the roadmap, including network optimisation, it is envisioned that the Shared Vision +5 years is updated yearly to provide input to the countries’ business planning.