My carrier is my supplier. But has he now also become my competitor?

In my previous blog post, I asked who is actually in charge of the parcel market.

My conclusion was that carriers and fulfillment companies should view each other less as negotiating parties and more as strategic partners. Carriers have a great deal of knowledge about delivery, consumer behavior, and the growth of e-commerce. We should share that knowledge with each other more.

But how equal is that partnership when, at the same time, a carrier is moving further and further into the fulfillment market?

The carrier is no longer just a carrier

After all, knowledge doesn't just flow from the carrier to the fulfillment company.

A fulfillment company shares information daily about volumes, destinations, package profiles, peak times, and growth. This makes sense and is essential for effective collaboration.

At the same time, major carriers no longer limit themselves exclusively to transportation.

PostNL offers its own fulfillment services. DHL also offers fulfillment services and has been the sole owner of Monta since 2025. bpostgroup has been the sole owner of Active Ants since 2023.

A carrier can simultaneously be a supplier, the owner of a competitor, and a fulfillment provider itself.

When Your Supplier Also Becomes Your Competitor

An independent fulfillment company outsources a key component of its services to a carrier: transportation.

We negotiate rates, volumes, surcharges, and terms. But that same organization can then sit down with an online store to offer warehousing, order processing, pick-and-pack, returns, and transportation services.

How level is the playing field when you depend on a supplier who can compete with you for the same customer at the same time?

Under what conditions does the carrier itself compete?

Shipping costs are a key component of any fulfillment offering. An independent fulfillment company purchases those shipping services on commercial terms.

When a carrier offers its own fulfillment services, it is therefore reasonable to ask: under what shipping terms is the carrier’s own fulfillment organization competing?

I’m not claiming that carriers favor their own operations. I don’t have any information on that. But precisely because the same organization can be on both sides of the table, we must have the courage to have this discussion.

A level playing field must not only exist; the market must also be able to rely on its existence.

Who benefits from this knowledge?

This brings me back to my previous blog post. In it, I asked carriers to share their market knowledge more with fulfillment companies.

But let's also turn that question around: How much knowledge do fulfillment companies themselves provide to their carriers?

Our shipments provide insight into volumes, growth, destinations, peaks, and package profiles. That’s all part of transportation.

But when that same organization also provides fulfillment services or owns a fulfillment company, that information takes on a different dimension.

Again, I'm not claiming that this information is used to gain a competitive advantage. But it does make the discussion about equality more important.

Vertical growth is allowed. But the playing field must remain level.

I have no problem with carriers wanting to grow. Vertical integration can lead to economies of scale, better technology, and more efficient logistics chains.

But as you move further up the supply chain, you also take on different responsibilities. You can’t view independent fulfillment companies solely as customers and strategic partners while simultaneously entering the same market yourself without raising questions.

Vertical growth is entrepreneurship. As far as I’m concerned, ensuring a level playing field is part of that.

Independence may actually become more valuable

For independent fulfillment companies, this trend can also help them stand out from the competition.

Our strength lies precisely in our ability to freely choose among carriers, routes, and solutions. The focus is not on a single carrier’s network, but on the logistics solution that best suits the online store.

Vertical integration can make carriers stronger. Independence, on the other hand, can make fulfillment companies more valuable.

Strategic partner or strategic competitor?

In my previous blog post, I advocated for more strategic collaboration with transportation providers. I still stand by that.

But a strategic partnership requires trust, transparency, and equality.

Can you really be strategic partners when you're competing with each other for the same customer at the same time?