Omniva: taking parcel locker delivery to the next level

Parcel lockers — self-service kiosks where you can pick up your online orders or drop off packages for delivery or return — have become a key part of daily life in the Baltic region.

Even before the pandemic, people across Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia appreciated the efficiency and convenience of parcel lockers, especially in rural areas where postal service is limited. Their use surged during COVID-19 when safe, no-contact deliveries became essential. As consumers have grown more accustomed to using lockers and drop-off points, over half of the people in the Baltic region now use parcel lockers at least once a month — and even more frequently as the holidays approach.

“During peak shopping seasons such as Christmas, Black Friday and Easter, the demand for parcel lockers really get a workout,” Kastydis Valantinas, Chief Operating Officer at Omniva told HERE360.

Tracing its roots back to the 17^th century when its predecessor started Estonia’s postal service, international logistics company Omniva is now the biggest parcel locker player in the Baltic market with 1240 parcel machines and 1000 daily routes, and couriers dispatched in four shifts nearly all day long.

As their network continues to expand and gain momentum, they reached out to HERE partner Kardinal to help them develop a dynamic solution to enhance and optimize their routes.

“We approached the challenge in two steps,” said Cédric Hervet, co-founder of Kardinal. “The first is tactical, sizing up Omniva’s historical data to better understand their future needs, such as anticipating the amount of resources and where to place them on the field. The second aspect is operational, focusing on the daily volume of parcels to deliver, determining the optimal delivery sequence and selecting the most efficient locker locations.

“Teaming up with HERE made a lot of sense because Kardinal has a lot of experience on the tactical side, whereas HERE has really strong tour planning capabilities. Merging both solutions has created a unique offering on the market.”

Joining forces

The tactical solution, known as Kardinal TAO (Territory Analytics and Optimization), analyzed Omniva’s historical data to determine the optimal fleet size required. Kardinal TAO is not only designed to divide the map into sectors managed by individual drivers or subcontractors, but it also optimizes these sectors to ensure each area is both productive and resilient to change.

“Organizations in the postal and parcel industry can't afford to change their delivery sorting methods daily,” said Hervet. “By consistently assigning drivers to the same zip code, they become highly familiar with the area, enhancing their speed and efficiency.”

But sectors do change — if there is a spike in volume at 9am, drivers could be faced with overcrowded trucks. To prevent this chaos, Kardinal TAO examines past patterns to identify variations in the field.

For instance, if two neighboring zip codes experience sudden fluctuations in delivery volumes, merging them could lead to drivers being either overwhelmed or underutilized. Instead, Kardinal TAO strategically combines areas with complementary patterns, ensuring more stable workloads for drivers.

For an added layer of risk management, Kardinal TAO integrates HERE Matrix Routing API, which plans routes based on historical traffic patterns.

“We’re delivering around 300,000 different kinds of parcels per day, to more or less an equal number of addresses,” said Valantinas. “When you’re faced with that volume of complexity, you need the proper tools.”

Tallinn-ho

To start, the solution has been launched from Omniva’s hub in Tallinn, marking the beginning of an exciting new phase. 

“At the moment, we’re currently managing an ever-increasing flow of products from big players from China to the Baltic region such as Temu and Ali Express,” said Valantinas. “Employing dynamic solutions will allow us to have better planning, better utilization and ultimately more visibility to control costs.”

In the coming months, Kardinal will closely monitor three vital metrics: effectiveness, productivity and user satisfaction. Effectiveness will be assessed by the reduction in emergency driver requirements, while productivity aims to rise through an increased number of parcels per route. These initiatives are essential for boosting overall user satisfaction.

Omniva's operations have been a tremendous success, prompting the company to explore further expansion into Central Asian markets such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where they already hold a significant presence and appetite for Chinese goods is also high.

"Once we fully integrate dynamic route planning with sector optimization, we'll be better equipped to tailor our services to each country," said Valantinas. “The demand for products from China will continue to rise — and we’ll be ready.”