Planning parcel locker networks: Key Challenges and how to solve them
E-commerce accounts for over 20% of global retail sales, generating billions of parcels annually, and traditional delivery infrastructure is breaking under the strain.
Volumes keep growing, parcel shapes and sizes are more diverse than ever, and consumers expect faster, more flexible delivery. With tight delivery timelines, rising costs, and mounting environmental concerns, it’s clear that traditional door-to-door delivery simply doesn't scale.
Parcel lockers have become one of the most promising answers to these challenges. They allow couriers to drop multiple parcels at a single stop and give recipients the freedom to pick them up whenever it suits them.
But planning a parcel locker network is a complex optimization problem. You need to decide:
- How many parcel lockers to deploy
- Which configurations and compartment structures to choose
- Where to place them so they are used efficiently
- How to stay within budget while doing all of the above
This guide walks through the main challenges and key decisions involved in designing a parcel locker network.
Why parcel locker networks matter
Parcel lockers are unattended self-service collection and drop-off points, often available 24/7. They provide a convenient location for recipients to collect or return their parcels at a time suitable for them.
Compared with traditional home delivery, parcel lockers change both the operational model and the customer experience:
But, parcel lockers become truly efficient when they’re a part of a well-planned network. Poor decisions on capacity, configuration, and location can lead to underused lockers, frustrated customers, and higher-than-expected costs.
Challenge 1: Total cost of ownership
Launching a parcel locker network requires a serious investment, with average purchase costs ranging from €6,000 on the low end to €20,000 per locker.
But hardware price is just one part of the total cost. Other expenses following the initial purchase are:
- Infrastructure costs: Includes site preparation and installation (concrete flooring and additional construction), location rent and permit fees, and ongoing electricity and connectivity costs for lockers that are not battery-powered and require internet connection.
- Software costs: Covers the firmware and management software, carrier and e-commerce integrations, consumer-facing mobile applications, and capacity real-time tracking or usage analytics tools.
- Optional feature costs: Can include payment terminals, label printers for returns, and other features that allow carriers and network owners to offer multiple services at one location.
- Operating costs: Includes maintenance, insurance, added security features, support, etc.
Using open parcel locker networks shortens the list of costs. Instead of investing heavily in infrastructure and maintenance services, you pay a fee per locker or a subscription fee to the network operator.
Challenge 2: Determining the optimal network size
You’ll often hear “density is key,” but it still must be justified. Not enough lockers create capacity bottlenecks. Too many lockers (and in the wrong places) increase operational costs and tie capital in unused locations.
To determine the optimal size of a parcel locker network, consider:
- Forecasted demand: Use data such as shipment distribution and delivery frequency by area, seasonal peak patterns, and other owned data to project demand for delivery services.
- Consumer adoption: Not all consumers want to use parcel lockers. Higher-income consumers, who frequently shop online, show a strong preference for out-of-home delivery. Understanding how many people fit this profile and where will also help determine demand.
- Existing capacity: Consider the number of available delivery drivers, their workload distribution, and the operational process of delivering to and loading parcel lockers. Hundreds of lockers without adequate courier coverage create bigger capacity issues, rather than solving them.
With this data, you can determine the number of parcel lockers you need to service the growing demand, while also increasing the number of parcels your company can deliver.
Challenge 3: Deciding on parcel locker configurations
Parcel locker configuration includes the number and size of compartments, as well as the station size, which is the number of columns that form a complete locker.
Modular lockers
Many locker providers offer modular systems consisting of a control unit and additional modules with compartments of different sizes (usually S, M, L, and XL) and features (e.g., temperature settings).
With modular lockers, you can adapt station size to demand, adding modules to increase capacity at busy locations or removing them at underused locations.
Non-modular lockers
Non-modular lockers come with a fixed number and mix of compartments that cannot be expanded by adding extra modules. In this case, the decision comes to choosing the best combination of the number and sizes of compartments per station.
Locker configuration influences:
- How many lockers you need
- Where you can place them (space constraints)
- Courier operations (time to load/unload)
This means that configuration of lockers and the size of the network go hand in hand, and should be a joint decision.
To decide on the configuration, apart from demand and working capacity, think of the sizes and weight of parcels your company handles daily, which are usually registered during the sorting process.
Challenge 4: Choosing the best locations for parcel lockers
Location impacts if a parcel locker is used or not, and as a result, the profitability of the whole network.
But not all locations have equal potential. Each one has different reach, foot traffic, and operating conditions, so you need data, not just intuition, to pick the best ones.
To choose the best locations you need spatial analytics to:
- Map demand: Analyze population density, demographics, historical shipment distribution, and movement data to spot areas with the highest potential.
- Map competition: Identify existing competitor parcel lockers and service points to find underserved areas and match competitor coverage.
- Map partners: Use points of interest data to evaluate retail locations, gas stations, transit hubs, and open network opportunities where you can take advantage of existing foot traffic instead of starting from scratch.
Once you have a shortlist of potential locations, verify each candidate meets the basic requirements:
- Availability: Will consumers be able to access parcel lockers 24/7 or at least for extended working hours?
- Accessibility: Is the location easy to reach on foot, by bike, or by car? Is there adequate space for delivery vans to park safely during loading?
- Safety: Is it well-lit, visible, and does it feel secure, especially during evening hours, if consumers decide to collect parcels after work?
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