InPost S.A.

InPost is a logistics company from Kraków, listed on Euronext Amsterdam under the symbol INPST. It was founded in 2006 by Rafał Brzoska, and its predecessor was Grupa Integer.pl, active since 1999. It is known in Poland above all for its parcel lockers, the machines used to collect shipments. It appears in robotics because of the Robomat, introduced in August 2022. It is a single-compartment parcel locker built around a Cartesian robot mechanism, meaning a system in which a head moves along straight axes. Unlike a classic locker with many compartments, the Robomat hands out parcels from one window. It is not a robot in the everyday sense, because it neither drives nor grasps objects outside its own compartment. Even so, a robotic mechanism drives its operation, which is enough to include the device in our coverage. The company does not give figures for the number of Robomats in the field, so we cite none.

InPost is represented by InPost Robomat, a device from the specialist-machines group that we discuss alongside specialist robots, on sale since August 2022. The Robomat is a compact parcel locker with a single dispensing compartment, intended for places with limited space. An example is Żabka stores, where a classic multi-compartment unit will not fit. Collection works by scanning a QR code on the device’s touchscreen. The purchase price is not public, because the Robomat is part of InPost’s infrastructure and is neither a product for the end customer nor sold separately. That is an important distinction: you cannot buy it the way you buy a cobot or an educational robot like those described in “What Is a Cobot and How Does It Differ from an Industrial Robot”. The device makes sense as an element of a logistics network, not as a separate product. We write more about retail and logistics in the retail and warehouses sections. The dimensions and payload of the device are not described in our material in a way that would allow comparing it with industrial machines, so we give no such figures. For the customer, fast collection and simple operation matter, and for the company the ability to set up a pickup point where a classic locker will not fit.

The Robomat does not compete with warehouse robots such as machines from Mobile Industrial Robots or Agility Robotics, described in “AMR Robots in the Warehouse” and “Agility Digit in Warehouses”. Those move goods inside a warehouse, while the Robomat is the last link in the chain, a device where the customer collects a parcel. Its advantage over ordinary parcel machines is the ability to work in tight spaces. For InPost it is a tool for densifying the network of pickup points where space is lacking. We have no data on the number of installed units or market share, so we do not judge its scale. The company as a whole is a significant player in logistics in Poland, and the Robomat is its more niche contribution to robotisation. The concept of a single-compartment device does not replace the classic network, it supplements it.

The Robomat is available in Poland, and its first Polish context is Żabka stores, where it is meant to save space. For the end customer it means being able to collect a parcel with a QR code in an ordinary neighbourhood shop. The company does not, however, sell it to other entities, so a business owner cannot order one for their own shop on market terms. We do not know the exact number or a list of locations. The broader background of Polish robotics companies is in “Polish Robotics Companies”.

The Robomat is an interesting example of robotics hidden in everyday infrastructure: it is not a robot in the classic sense, and you cannot buy it. For the customer it is convenient parcel collection, for the industry proof that robotic mechanisms are reaching retail. For a reader looking for a robot to buy this is an illustrative topic, not an offer. It is still worth knowing, because it shows that robotics in Poland is developing in last-mile logistics too.