Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

Paul Graham says he expects this year to be one of the most challenging ever for recruitment.Credit:

“I think the merchants are in much better shape than they have been the past couple of years. But if we get a similar sales surge[as] we have got the past couple of years,there will be some challenges,” he said.

Businesses across the country have been getting ready for Christmas early and building up inventory to prepare for the possibility that they won’t have enough stock,he said.

The impact of rising interest rates on household spending is also a big unknown in the lead-up to festive spending,he said.

“If people keep their money in their pocket because of interest rates,then I think we are going to be in good shape.”

Australia Post is feeling the impact of labour shortages across its network. Graham said earlier in the month that the recruitment process for seasonal workers had been particularly challenging.

“Against that backdrop of labour issues and cost issues,we have seen exponential growth in ecommerce,” he said on Thursday.

Australians have kept up their e-commerce shopping habits from the pandemic,with $62.3 billion worth of goods bought online in 2021,according to Australia Post.

The carrier is expecting to handle 1 billion parcels a year by 2032,compared with 526 million in 2021.

That jump in volume will mean retailers,logistics companies have to reckon with sustainability challenges,he said.

“If we double the size of the business we have today,we as an industry need to have a solution for that. Going[to] electric[vehicles] is also part of that solution,but how do we as Australia Post,as the largest player,use technology to synchronise our networks?”

Better use of digital systems and data could help the logistics sector deliver parcels more efficiently - avoiding situations where different parcels ordered a couple of hours apart arrive as separate deliveries,Graham said.

“I think we need to look at the economics of[product] returns,and we need to look at the sustainability of materials.”

He said consumers were increasingly considering minimising the environmental impact of deliveries.

“Behaviour is changing and people are thinking about sustainability much more.”

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