Ivan Čulo: One of the major changes in postal history has occurred – we will no longer tie recipients to their residential address

Written by: Ivan Čulo, CEO of Croatian Post

Croatian Post has not stopped its operations for a single day during the crisis. Of course, we have also not been spared from a decline in revenue, as well as numerous challenges that we have been addressing literally on a daily basis. From procuring equipment, to extremely rapid adjustments of operations in accordance with the instructions of the relevant authorities, to adapting our business plans for this year due to the current decline in revenue since March. Our biggest challenge is that the trends we expect have actually accelerated, such as the even faster growth of the parcel business, for which it is essential that we realize the investments we had already planned in the shortest possible time.

The challenges I can highlight today are those in international traffic. Postal services are tied to civil aviation routes, so until the normalization of air traffic is achieved, there are continuous interruptions in international traffic. This is, of course, resolved on a daily basis.

The expected trends in the growth of the parcel business, which are directly linked to the growth of e-commerce, overlap with our plans, and this is the reality of the postal business globally. In addition, as a mediator in communication, we are accelerating our digitalization processes and the range of services we will offer to users. The pandemic has confirmed that the development strategy we set out almost three years ago is not only aligned with the demands of users we are aware of but is also visionary.

In our business, we can say that we focus on digitalization, efficiency, and user orientation, who is the recipient/consumer of our service. One of the major changes in postal history is that we will no longer tie recipients to their residential address, but the shipment must be accessible to them wherever they are. The shipment will be tied to the person, not to their address.

In addition to the economic consequences that are inevitable when the flow and traffic of goods and people are interrupted, I am sure we will witness numerous changes in habits that have been formed or intensified precisely during the world’s confrontation with such a crisis. What history has taught us is that we are adaptable. All the emotions and drives that move us are present in us regardless of the conditions in which we live. Of course, they manifest differently and to varying degrees. If you ask me how long the economic recovery will last – until balance is restored.

If you ask me how it will look from the perspective of people – we will certainly have a collective memory like the generations before us who faced pandemics. The fact is that we are the first generation to encounter such a pandemic, while simultaneously having the internet, e-commerce, courier deliveries… We had the opportunity to maintain physical distance while having social connectivity. I tend to believe that those who are usually the drivers will be so again.

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