The Polish Post Office's debt is enormous. They've given themselves a year to think about saving it.

• Poczta Polska has signed an agreement with the Polish New Mobility Association, which will test and implement innovative solutions within the company for a year.
• The company, which employs over 50,000 people and has 7,000 locations, still struggles with technological delays and the lack of a comprehensive IT system for fleet management.
• The aim of the cooperation is to improve the efficiency of transport, on which the Polish Post spends PLN 1.1 billion annually, and to make better use of investment funds.

The State Treasury company currently employs over 50,000 people, has over 7,000 branches and delivers 800 million letters annually.

However, the company's technological development is not matched by the scale of its operations, which reduces its competitiveness on the domestic market.

"Until recently, we used horses to deliver letters in the Bieszczady Mountains. Now we should take a broader look at the possibilities offered by drones in this regard," said Sebastian Mikosz, president of Poczta Polska.

The giant's president admitted that innovative solutions in the company he manages are rare.

" Poczta Polska is a logistics company, and mobility is everything for us . We are known for traditional services, but they are already moving into the digital sphere. We are digitizing letters. Our systems will be entirely digital. Poczta Polska will require a new kind of mobility," added Mikosz.

A living laboratory at the Post Office. The study will last a year.

The Polish New Mobility Association is helping the company transform itself. Experts working on its behalf will now have a year to propose, test, and partially implement new solutions at the post office. The agreement was signed during the New Mobility Congress in Katowice .

"Poczta Polska faces many challenges, but also has potential. Poczta Polska can become a leader in the new mobility landscape. These aren't just driving changes, but also profound, comprehensive changes across the entire structure of the company ," said Maciej Mazur, president of the Association.

How much will all this cost? "I'll avoid giving specific numbers."

During the signing of the agreement between the two entities, the WNP portal inquired about the costs of the one-year pilot project and the economic effects that Poczta Polska will achieve when the innovation implementation program developed by the Association is implemented.

"I'll avoid giving specific numbers. If we already knew the answers to these questions, we wouldn't need the agreement signed today. Currently, my company spends PLN 1.1 billion on transportation. It's the second most important expense item in the company, after salaries. For us, productivity will be the most important factor, meaning how many kilometers we can travel for the money spent, how many parcels we can deliver, and how this will reduce the cost of the last mile. Together with the Association, we will be looking for answers to the question: how to better utilize the money we allocate for investments in the company," replied Sebastian Mikosz, CEO of Poczta Polska.

Mikosz also admitted that Poczta Polska does not have a comprehensive IT system that would optimally manage the company's fleet .

"We need a year to answer the question of which solutions are best to implement here. This will be the time for a living laboratory . However, this won't be the time to develop new technological solutions, but rather to test those already available on the market. We've already done this on a small scale. But I won't deny that we don't want to build new, powerful competency teams. We want to leverage the Association's experience. To put it bluntly, outsource. I'm not afraid to make decisions. However, they must be well-thought-out," concluded the president of Poczta Polska.