Pauliina Murtola

from People by PostNord 2_2021 English

by postnord

Tuomo Seppänen

The Guide TRENDSPOTTER

What Arne Andersson doesn’t know about e-commerce isn’t worth knowing. He's always on the look out for future trends. Here are three of them.

TEXT: MALIN DAHLBERG PHOTO: MAGNUS GLANS

A

ANY SWEDISH

e-retailers who haven’t heard of Arne Andersson have probably been living under a rock for the past few years. Everyone knows who Arne is. He is the father of the E-barometer consumer survey, which has become a Swedish industry mainstay. He has been involved in most aspects of online shopping since its first tentative steps were taken in the late 1990s.

“I’ve been involved since the first home computers and saw the internet’s potential early on. But I could never have imagined the enormous impact it would have on PostNord”, says Arne when talking about e-commerce's explosive growth in the Nordics in recent years.

Today, he knows everything about e-commerce. We asked Arne for examples of trends that will affect it in the future.

1Second hand is here to stay Sustainability is the new black. We recycle, patch up and mend and grow produce on our balconies. Teamed with digitalization, this has paved the way for a new popular movement. Second-hand goods are sold online like never before. Either through classic second-hand sites like Blocket and Tradera, upstarts like Sellpy, Trendsales and Reshopper, or buy and sell groups on Facebook. In Sweden, PostNord’s parcel service for individuals “Skicka lätt” soared by 80 percent in 2020. “This will continue to grow and PostNord is an important part of the development by making it easy for people to send and receive parcels.”

2Directly to consumers without

passing Go

Companies that previously sold their products via traditional retailers have discovered that setting up your own webshop and selling directly to the end consumers works just as well. It’s not just about saving time and money, but also about control. “Consum“I’ve been involved ers are becoming more and more selective and since the first home demand relevant computers and information. If the products go through a saw the internet’s retailer, the company loses some of the control. potential early on.” It’s simply a question of who has the power over customer communications. Anyone who wants to make relevant offers and build loyalty needs to communicate directly with their customers.”

3Crucial logistics When e-commerce was in its infancy, people didn’t think much about logistics. Transporting from A to B was required and it could take weeks to get a parcel delivered. Today, logistics are crucial to the customer experience and consumers demand fast, seamless deliveries with plenty of choice. “This has made the world a complex place for both retailers and logistics companies. We need to provide home deliveries, partner outlet deliveries and parcel boxes and we need to maintain incredibly high quality. Every mistake risks turning into a grumpy comment on social media. We have simply become the most important competitive tool for e-retailers.”

Pauliina is bringing Finland its very own parcel network

Amid increasing competition, PostNord Finland is investing in its own distribution points. Pauliina Murtola is the person making this happen.

PAULIINA HAS WORKED at PostNord in Finland since 2015. Her latest assignment: to create a service-oriented network of distribution points in Turku and Tampere. Work began in April and is due to be completed by Black Friday.

“The world is changing and we need to be flexible enough to change with it.” Pauliina says. “Competition in the parcel market is fierce and to be a significant future player in Finland, we need to have our own network.”

ALTHOUGH SHE SHOULDERS the responsibility for the network, cooperation with colleagues is one of the keys to success.

“It has meant a lot to me to realize that I can count on support, even in difficult situations”, she says. “I believe that a compassionate atmosphere is conducive to change and development.”

PAULIINA ALSO COLLABORATES

with various corporate partners, but focuses on the end users of the service.

“It's easy to identify with consumers because we all have the experience of online shopping and parcel delivery and what works well and what doesn't”, she says. “The most rewarding aspect is to be able to make a difference.”

TEXT: LAURA IISALO