On May 21st, 2021, Arttu Hollmérus was the star guest at the Customer Value Club, discussing building customer value under pressure.
Arttu Hollmérus is responsible for Posti’s parcel and e-commerce business, a position he took up shortly before a major postal strike shook the company and eventually led to the resignation of the Prime Minister. Posti is under pressure from all directions: consumers, businesses, mega-trends, weak signals, competition, and global market developments. Every Finnish citizen has expectations for the beloved state-owned company.
What makes Posti unique is that we are part of our customer’s value chain. We are mostly a B2B2C and B2B2B company, and in all roles, we are building our customer’s value promise, Arttu explains.
So, it’s genuinely about building value for our customer’s customer. And during Arttu Hollmérus’ time at Posti, this building work has been ongoing. Arttu started the morning by presenting Posti’s new strategy at the club, and how every part of this vast organization is being aligned to serve the transparent flow of customer value.
Building Trust
For us, both the sender and the recipient are customers, and both are equally important. In the worst case, our customers – such as e-commerce entrepreneurs – could risk their business if they can’t trust our work in delivering the parcels, Arttu says. We deliver nearly 300,000 packages daily, and during peak times, the volume can even triple. The logistics chains are massive. During the pandemic, online shopping grew by 25%, with domestic e-commerce particularly rising – Finns started buying more from Finnish online stores. Losing a package is unacceptable. Although only about 50 packages are lost per million, every lost package is too many. Each of them belongs to a customer.
Trimming the Value Chain
What is customer value management? When I started at Posti in 2019, I asked an experienced account manager what we should do. He answered, “Let’s do what we have always promised, as that will take us far.” The answer was initially puzzling, but that’s how it is. So, let’s do what we have promised. This is also at the core of our strategy published this year. We focus on the essentials, trim the excess, and invest in the growing market for packages and goods.
Posti has a 100 million-euro investment program.
In the new strategy, Posti has distilled its purpose: “We deliver responsibly what matters, on your terms.” “On Your Terms” means operating on the customer’s terms. I constantly remind our people of this idea. Let’s put the customer first. Let’s think about what “on your terms” practically means, what actions need to be taken. The company is changed through actions, Arttu reminds.
Putting Strategy into Practice
Posti’s values include being reliable, progressive, and respectful. “On Your Terms” means that every shipment matters. Every package should be able to give and receive feedback. In a short time, our customer service has reduced the average waiting time from 7 to 2 minutes. In February, we removed the additional fee for calling customer service and extended its opening hours. We have to accept the costs resulting from these changes; we can’t charge an additional fee if we have made a mistake and the customer needs help.
The OmaPosti app has over a million users. OmaPosti creates customer value by giving the customer the opportunity to manage their own delivery. With the app, the recipient can, for example, change a home delivery to a pickup from a locker if they are not at home during the scheduled delivery time.
We have brighter lights on, a better view of our customers and the flow of value, Arttu describes the concretization of the strategy.
Transparent Flow of Customer Value through Actions
During the communication of the new strategy, we reminded everyone that there are phenomena, such as digitalization, which we cannot influence. Then there are things, like creating customer value, which we can influence. We focus on what we can influence, and every postal worker can build customer value in their own work. We received praise from our staff for being open about things as they are. We all have a burning desire to serve well, to fulfill our promises to customers.
We have also opened up the flow of customer feedback. Nowadays, in the parcel business, drivers receive customer feedback every day. This way, they hear and see customers’ genuine thoughts and experiences. I regularly ride with the drivers, listen to customer calls, talk directly about staff issues, and see the nuances. We need a transparent flow of customer value and connection throughout the organization, Arttu describes.
I don’t believe in hero leaders who come to save the day and make all the decisions. Leadership should be based on respect and values, giving people a goal and direction, and trusting that they will naturally move towards it. Staff need to be empowered and enabled to solve problems, make decisions, and take actions that bring smiles.
