Speedaf in Switzerland: 50,000 packages per day

Context

In brief

• Speedaf lands in Switzerland to compete with Posta, Planzer, DPD and DHL.
• The Chinese group aims to handle up to 50,000 shipments per day.
• Swiss subsidiary founded in April and already operational, headquartered in Fribourg.
• 60% is Posta's market share in the parcel sector in 2025.

Key facts

• What: Entry of Chinese logistics giant Speedaf into the Swiss parcel market.
• When: Subsidiary founded last April, operational within one or two years.
• Where: Legal headquarters in Fribourg, distribution centres planned in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne.
• Who: Speedaf, with the support of founding shareholders including ZTO Express.
• Amount: Internal model estimated at 1.80 francs per parcel, with a profit threshold of 1.20 francs.

Competition looming in Switzerland for Posta and other established carriers such as Planzer, DPD and DHL: Chinese logistics giant Speedaf is building a network across the country. It could capture a market share quickly, within one or two years. The group, already active in over thirty countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, wants to open a sorting centre to manage a volume of up to 50,000 shipments per day and regional distribution centres in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne. Speedaf's Swiss subsidiary was founded only in April and is already operational, having indicated a staff representative to the Awp agency. Parcels with the conspicuous orange brand are already visible in front of house doors. Considerable quantities are already being moved, the source says, without providing concrete figures. The company has its legal headquarters in Fribourg and is recruiting staff. The central sorting centre should cover about 4,000 square metres, while the regional distribution centres should each measure about 500 square metres. For the larger structure, according to rumours Speedaf has set its sights on the Härkingen region (SO), where Posta already operates. In the delivery area the group wants to build a network that also relies on fleet operators and independent partners. The goal is a capillary last‑mile delivery. The company apparently aims to win over Swiss online retailers, brick‑and‑mortar traders, as well as small and medium‑sized enterprises, thereby directly impacting the business of established operators. Speedaf arrives in the Confederation with an important advantage: access to large volumes of parcels from Chinese e‑commerce. The group, founded in 2019, also has ties to a heavyweight of the Chinese sector: among its founding shareholders is ZTO Express, one of China’s largest parcel services. ZTO is likewise pushing its international activities: last April its air‑cargo division inaugurated the first freight link directly to Europe, linking Hong Kong to Budapest.

Organisational and logistics structure

The expansion details outline a capillary strategy across Swiss territory. The creation of regional distribution centres in strategic hubs such as Zurich, Bern and Lausanne shows the intention to quickly cover the country’s main urban agglomerations. The recruitment drive is already underway and the choice of the Härkingen region in the canton of Solothurn for the central sorting hub of four thousand square metres mirrors the logistics map already exploited by historic competitors. The use of third‑party fleets and independent partners allows Speedaf to lighten initial fixed costs, aiming for a flexible network focused on final‑door delivery. Direct involvement of ZTO Express provides a significant financial and operational backbone internationally, capable of sustaining the initial market‑penetration phase in Switzerland.

Operational details

How much Speedaf is aggressively calculating for entry into the Swiss market is shown by an internal planning template posted on LinkedIn by a company manager. For a selected delivery area Speedaf is assumed to receive CHF 1.80 per parcel. The profit threshold is just under 1.20 francs. There would therefore be just over 60 cents of profit left per submission. These are numbers that raise the ears of the sector: the calculated profit threshold would be very low and rather unrealistic, says a representative of the branch in statements made to AWP. In his opinion, however, the new competitor should not be underestimated. Chinese competition needs to be taken seriously, especially if you look at what is currently happening in the European automotive industry. It is also remarkable that a foreign supplier with direct access to large quantities of shipments from China builds its own Swiss network. In this way, it is not excluded that Speedaf will grow rapidly: within one or two years the company could rise among the large suppliers of the Swiss parcel market. Decisive will be to see how much financial wind the company has. Success will also depend on the quality of delivery. The Post Office, as the dominant operator, carefully observes the new competitor, but is sure of itself. The company has successfully faced intense competition in the parcel market for many years, a spokesperson said.

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Key points

The evolution of the logistics market in Switzerland fits into an economic and regulatory context in constant ferment, where the entry of new non-European players forces traditional companies to review their operational and service strategies. Sector authorities, including PostCom, monitor market share trends and the impact of new flows on national competitive dynamics. The structure of operating costs and the ability to maintain high delivery standards will be the discriminating factors for assessing the viability of Speedaf's business model in the medium and long term. To delve deeper into the trends of the labor market, operating costs, and the regulations applied to companies active in Swiss territory, you can consult the various economic analysis and comparison tools available at salary calculator.

Future scenarios for Swiss logistics

The next steps in Speedaf's development will depend on how quickly the company can complete the infrastructure on the ground, establishing agreements with local partners and independent fleets to cover the last mile. Attention remains high also on the union and regulatory front, where the request for a sector-wide collective contract is invoked by historic market leaders to avoid competitive distortions based solely on lowering management and labor costs. Swiss users and companies thus find themselves facing a logistics landscape in rapid evolution, characterized by increased pressure on prices and a diversification of shipping channels tightly linked to the flows of global e-commerce originating from Asian markets.

Source: swissinfo.ch