swissconnect has managed not to implement any price increases in the last 11 years. As of 1 July, 2024, swissconnect will be slightly changing its previous pricing system and increasing its prices. In the following interview, Christoph Masoner, the Chairman of the Management Board, explains the background of this change and how swissconnect has managed to ensure that prices never had to be increased over the past 11 years.
Lots of prices have risen in recent years, except swissconnect's. Why not?
The last time swissconnect raised prices was 11 years ago - that's truly extraordinary. We have always consistently focused on streamlined processes and digitisation. This is how we have managed to ensure that our customers didn't have to pay more, even though we were constantly optimising performance.
Lots of transport companies each increase prices at frequent intervals. Why is that?
Fuel prices have risen and congestion has increased sharply in recent years. All national courier services transport goods by road and require their customers to pay a surcharge for fuel and congestion – except for swissconnect. With our unique transport system, we use trains for long distances. This is faster, cheaper, more punctual, and more environmentally friendly than transport by road and we do not charge our customers any surcharges for fuel or congestion.
What changes have you made to the pricing system?
Previously, there was a fixed price for express transport between two cities, regardless of the distance between the cities. In the future, the price will increase slightly if the shipment is transported over a longer distance by train. Except for cities that are less than 35 km apart - there will still be a fixed price for those.
How much is the price increase?
I can't give you a blanket answer as a percentage, because from 1 July, we will be factoring in the distance covered by rail transport and thus taking the distance into account in the price calculation. However, we are talking about a price increase of 5% to 9% over the last 11 years - which is extremely low.
What are the reasons for the price increase?
We use trains for the longest distances. Public transport fares have increased since December 2023, which also affects our express shipments. In addition, SBB is investing heavily in maintaining and expanding its infrastructure so that the trains will continue to run safely and on time in the future. This means there are construction sites on the rail network, which creates a great deal of additional effort for us. We work very "digitally" thanks to our in-house logistics platform. We have not passed the costs of IT development and the constantly increasing IT security requirements on to our customers in the last few years, but we unfortunately have to do so now. Swissconnect functions as a network and pays all couriers involved a higher share for their good services. The working conditions of the couriers are important to us, which is why we were one of the first companies to sign the collective bargaining agreement for bicycle couriers and urban courier service providers in 2019. Last but not least, we are also affected by the "shortage of skilled workers" and continue to rely on good staff who can also work in the evenings and on weekends. We continue to provide faster, more punctually, more environmentally friendly, and even cheaper goods delivery when directly compared to transport by road.
swissconnect also offers very reliable overnight transport. Is anything changing with that?
In the case of overnight transport, everything will be staying the same as before. The change in the pricing system and the price increase only affect express shipments that are transported during the day.
What else will be staying the same at swissconnect?
We will continue to deliver the highest quality and provide faster and more environmentally friendly goods transport than any other courier service in Switzerland.
Do you have any questions?
Contact me - whether by phone, e-mail or during a personal visit - I am there for you.