Our strategic objective and goals

At PostNL, our strategic objective is to deliver a distinctive customer and consumer experience to be the leading e-commerce and postal service provider within, to, and from the Benelux region. This distinctive experience is embodied in our six customer and consumer promises, which are outlined in the box below.

These promises form the foundation of our commitment to delivering a best-in-class customer and consumer experience journey.

Our ambition is to maintain our leadership as the foremost provider of e-commerce and postal services, striving for the highest net promoter score (NPS) for both consumers and business customers within our markets.

We aim to consolidate our position as the market leader in e-commerce and postal services in the Netherlands, maintain our frontrunner status in the Benelux, and lead the way in sustainability. In addition, we will drive growth through Spring in both Asia and Europe, strengthening our international presence.

A critical part of this strategy is ensuring strong employee engagement, which we recognise as being vital to our success. Achieving these strategic goals will help us create sustainable financial value. How we measure our progress, along with the initiatives we implemented in 2024 and will further roll-out going forward to achieve these goals, are outlined in the Value chapters later in the report.

Strategic priorities to achieve our objective and goals

To achieve our strategic objective and goals, we have established a clear set of strategic priorities. These priorities form a comprehensive framework that guides all actions across our organisation, based on well-defined and focused plans. Each of our business units and departments plays a crucial role in delivering these actions, contributing to both our financial and non-financial goals.

Our strategic priorities, outlined in the infographic on the next page, encompass market strategies, driving strategies, and organisation strategies. These priorities address both the e-commerce and postal sectors, while also incorporating company-wide initiatives. As a response to our financial performance and changing market dynamics, we will adjust elements of our strategy. Together, these measures are designed to ensure the long-term sustainability and future success of PostNL.

The connection between these nine strategic priorities and their contribution to customer, social, and environmental value is detailed in the Value chapters later in this report.

The e-commerce market and our strategy

The e-commerce market is projected to continue growing in the coming years. As customer concentration increases, we see platforms expanding, including global e-commerce marketplaces, regional shipment platforms that connect retailers with delivery services, and the rise of consumer-to-consumer platforms facilitating direct parcel shipments. Through our businesses MyParcel, Shops United, and CheapCargo.com, along with our fulfilment services, we support a broad range of customers. However, we do not serve all types of intermediaries, such as consolidators that aggregate volumes from smaller shippers.

From an international perspective, PostNL is uniquely positioned as a ‘local hero’ for the Benelux, supported by our robust and extensive network, and we will continue our focus on growth in Belgium. Through our hybrid network—a seamless integration of physical and digital solutions—across Europe under Spring, our global e-commerce solutions provider, we provide high-quality delivery services to and from the Benelux, connecting efficiently to the majority of European destinations. Spring is scaling up fulfilment capabilities in Europe, particularly for large customers, targeting increased trade volume. Additionally, Spring will strengthen its network connections throughout the continent. Combined, these developments ensure the best delivery service for our customers, now and into the future.

Delivering a distinctive experience within e-commerce

We are committed to providing a distinctive customer and consumer experience within the e-commerce sector, and our current #1 position in NPS in relevant markets reflects our success in this area (source: Ipsos, 2024). During the peak period between Black Friday and New Year, we achieved strong NPS scores, further increasing the gap with our competitors. This performance underscores our ability to deliver outstanding service when it matters most, reinforcing trust among customers and consumers.

To solidify this position, we focus on enhancing the e-commerce journey from checkout to final delivery. Our goal is to turn every interaction into a positive experience, particularly addressing the moments that matter most. Consumers remain at the heart of what we do. PostNL connects businesses with their customers, and consumer satisfaction is key to the success of our business customers. By delivering a trusted, reliable and distinctive service, we ensure consumers return to the same webshops, strengthening relationships across the value chain. As the most recognised and trusted delivery partner in the Netherlands, our ambition is for consumers to consistently choose PostNL when they checkout because they know they can count on us. We strive to make interactions effortless, contributing to better daily lives.

Supporting business growth with tailored propositions

In addition to a distinctive consumer experience, we also offer our business customers both digital and logistical services that address their specific needs in the e-commerce market. With a refined proposition and pricing portfolio, we are best positioned to help our customers succeed. In the digital space, for example, we develop solutions in the checkout/order process that improve the consumer experience, thereby helping customers grow, such as ‘Check Out with PostNL’, which streamlines address input, and ‘Bekend bij PostNL’, a trustworthiness solution for webshops to reduce fraud by displaying our logistic data as proof. These innovations ensure we remain ahead of market trends, continuously adapting to consumer preferences.

Security in an evolving digital landscape

To maintain trust in this evolving digital landscape, we are investing in digital security and data solutions, such as eID and the central consumer picture (CCB), to offer personalised, secure, and convenient services for consumers while providing commercial benefits to our customers. Looking ahead, we are following the developments of the EU's eIDAS 2.0, an updated European regulation that introduces a European Digital Identity Wallet to enable secure and seamless cross-border digital identity and trusted services for individuals and businesses within the EU.

The future of delivery: Out-of-home

We see a growing shift towards out-of-home (OOH) delivery solutions, driven by evolving consumer preferences for greater convenience and flexibility. A key driver of this is the expansion of our OOH network, making parcel collection and returns more convenient for SMEs and consumers alike. Central to this transition is the acceleration of our multi-year roll-out plan for parcel lockers, ensuring a seamless and accessible experience that meets evolving delivery preferences. By prioritising consumer needs and enhancing service flexibility, we strengthen our position as the preferred delivery partner in an increasingly dynamic market. At the same time, by opening our parcel lockers to other logistics providers, we foster greater sector-wide collaboration, maximising the benefits of shared infrastructure. This approach not only enhances efficiency across the network but also supports our sustainability ambitions, as OOH delivery solutions help reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a more responsible and future-proof logistics ecosystem.

Expanding our service offering

The e-commerce sector continues to evolve, driven by shifting consumer behaviours and dynamic market forces. Among the most significant challenges is the accelerating trend of customer concentration, with the largest customers expanding their share of the market. This has resulted in fewer, larger players wielding increased influence, further contributing to declining margins in the e-commerce segment.

In response to these developments, PostNL is broadening its capabilities to meet the needs of an ever-changing marketplace. In the Benelux and across key European locations, we are extending our core logistics services to include fulfilment alongside delivery, enhancing our ability to offer end-to-end solutions. At the same time, our digital business services portfolio is expanding to cover earlier stages in the e-commerce value chain, enabling us to provide added value to customers.

Through our multi-carrier platforms—MyParcel, Shops United, and CheapCargo—we cater to specific customer segments, offering flexible and tailored solutions that address diverse market needs. By broadening our offering, PostNL is well-positioned to support the growth and success of our customers at every stage of their e-commerce journey.

Network performance, efficiency and reliability

We are continually streamlining our e-commerce operations, simplifying standard delivery offerings, and cutting operational complexities and costs. Through increased automation and digitalisation, we are improving logistics efficiency, enabling faster and more accurate parcel processing. One example is the introduction of a wave network, which is explained in more detail in the Customer value chapter later in the report.

The mail market and our strategy

The mail market is expected to experience continued volume decline as communication further digitises. Additionally, the shift from next-day delivery to within two day delivery places pressure on average prices.

While we believe the intrinsic value of physical mail will remain, the current business model is no longer sustainable. More information on this, including PostNL’s request for temporary government financial support under the Dutch General Administrative Law Act to cover net USO costs for 2025 and 2026, can be found in the Future of Mail box in the Our operating context chapter.

The migration of non-USO mail to a standard service level of within two days began on 1 January 2025, and since February 2025, we are introducing daytime emptying across 75% of mailboxes.

Investing in our people and society

At PostNL, we recognise that everything we aim to achieve hinges on the dedication and commitment of our people. Our employees are the driving force behind PostNL’s success, and together, form the foundation of this great company. Our ambition is to make every PostNL employee a proud contributor to our journey. To achieve this, we are committed to continued investment in our people across all levels of the organisation, ensuring that we listen and respond to their diverse needs. Through the development of an employee journey, we aim to address potential challenges, enhance engagement, and foster a stronger connection to the company. Further details can be found in the Social value chapter.

Our role in society

We take into account the world around us in everything we do, recognising the responsibility we have to society. Our deliverers visit every street, every day, and this extensive network allows us to contribute to stronger connections within communities. By leveraging this reach, we are able to foster more interaction, attention, and care for one another in society. We work closely with social organisations on meaningful projects, such as delivering gifts for the Jarige Job Foundation.

Commitment to sustainability

We are deeply conscious of our impact on the world and are determined to remain at the forefront of sustainability. Our approach is built on reducing emissions, caring for our people, fulfilling our broader social responsibilities, and maintaining trust and transparency with all stakeholders. Through these efforts, we aim to make a positive contribution to a better world.

With the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), we have sharpened our ESG strategy, placing greater emphasis on our material topics¹ and the value chain in which we operate. We remain committed to addressing these priorities, reinforcing our leadership in sustainability and driving progress across the industry.

How we performed on our strategic objective and goals in 2024 can be found in the Value chapters later in the report.

“We are deeply conscious of our impact on the world and are determined to remain at the forefront of sustainability”

Our Strategy

Our Strategy

Download

1. An overview of these material topics can be found in the Outcomes DMA box in the Our operating context chapter earlier in this report.