Market expansion

Exhibition booths were noticeably larger compared to last year, indicating that bigger buyers are in the market or entering. Western Europe, including the UK, is accelerating its locker network deployment.

Major delivery companies are now placing orders in volumes that match the entire network size of some smaller operators in Eastern Europe. This scale makes sense given the geographic size of these markets, ambitious network expansion targets, plus demand from e-commerce players and consumers for out-of-home delivery options.

Debate around off-grid lockers

Most manufacturers have shifted their focus to solar-powered lockers compared to last year. The industry is debating solar panels versus rechargeable batteries.

Off-grid lockers still aim to include all components found in standard lockers. While this was evident at last year’s expo, this year featured more stable and proven solutions.

Most solar-powered lockers run on standard operating systems like Linux, Windows, or Android. Some vendors use microcontrollers to power off-grid lockers with or without solar support, which achieve lower power consumption but require significantly more customization time for parcel locker software. With microcontrollers, you develop software for one specific hardware solution. Standard operating systems offer flexibility to switch hardware and run the same parcel locker software on both grid and off-grid lockers.

Solar-powered lockers work in European regions with sufficient daylight. However, vendors remain hesitant to guarantee performance in Nordic areas. While this may not represent a major market currently, locker usage in the region is strong and several notable delivery operators serve these markets and may need solutions that are more like traditional grid-powered lockers in the future.

Multiple parcel locker vendors in a single network

Parcel locker network operators increasingly recognize the need to work with multiple locker hardware vendors. This approach is necessary to meet ambitious expansion goals and mitigate vendor lock-in risks. Companies that previously relied on single suppliers are now looking to diversify their hardware partnerships. This trend validates CollabNet’s business model. 

Hardware agnostic parcel locker software is essential for operators who need to work with multiple locker manufacturers. Operators benefit most from working with specialized parcel locker software providers who bring both technical expertise and specific out-of-home business knowledge.

Hardware agnostic parcel locker platform from CollabNet

CollabNet provides a complete hardware agnostic software platform for operating an entire out-of-home delivery ecosystem. From locker technology providers to carriers, couriers to technicians, everything connects and operates through one parcel locker software platform.

The solution includes front-end software for courier and customer interactions with parcel lockers and PUDOs, plus backend software for network, capacity, and support management. The platform supports both open multi-carrier networks and closed single-carrier environments.

CollabNet’s hardware agnostic parcel locker software is backed by 15+ years of hands-on out-of-home delivery business expertise and is highly flexible in terms of implementation, building new use cases, and integrating multiple hardware solutions in a fast-paced manner.

If you have reached this far, we’d like to thank you for your attention.