By Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent

Deutsche Post DHL Group (DHL) and Poste Italiane S.p.A. (Poste Italiane) ink a strategic partnership in the Italian and international parcel markets. The agreement is based on four key points:

• DHL eCommerce Solutions will manage the road delivery of Poste Italiane parcels to European destinations.
• DHL Express and Poste Italiane will provide greater choice and flexibility to Italian customers for premium worldwide express service through their networks.
• Poste Italiane will deliver parcels from DHL eCommerce Solutions and DHL Parcel Germany shipped to Italy.
• Poste Italiane and DHL eCommerce Solutions will establish a Joint Venture to create a modern and sustainable network of parcel lockers in Italy.

“By combining Poste Italiane’s extraordinary national infrastructure and potential on international markets with our global network and expertise in international trade, we will be able to leverage our strengths in a truly effective partnership. E-commerce is not only one of the four megatrends identified in our Group strategy, but it is also one of the biggest growth drivers of our business. We believe our partnership will offer the highest quality to customers and meet growing demand for efficient and sustainable solutions,” says Tobias Meyer, CEO-designate of Deutsche Post DHL Group.

Poste Italiane CEO and General Manager, Matteo Del Fante commented: “This important agreement is another building block in our strategic transformation into a fully-fledged logistics operator, offering our customers a range of products dedicated to international markets. Our leadership is placed at Italy’s service, whose economy has a historical vocation towards international trade. DHL is the ideal partner to best connect our customers to international markets, with inbound and outbound delivery options as well as an advanced automated locker network, further to existing e-commerce solutions.”

Poste Italiane and DHL will bring their individual strengths and experience to the partnership. Thanks to Poste Italiane’s large service point network, Italian customers will be able to send urgent shipments via the global DHL Express network by dropping them off at Poste Italiane service points. Moreover, DHL eCommerce Solutions, together with Poste Italiane, will be installing modern and sustainable parcel lockers with user-friendly interfaces at key locations across Italy. In addition, DHL eCommerce Solutions will support Poste Italiane by delivering parcels through its European network and Poste Italiane will support DHL eCommerce Solutions by delivering parcels in Italy.