Since 2005, letter service providers have been able to use the downstream access of Deutsche Post AG (DP AG) for the final delivery of items. As a result, competition has developed at the level of letter consolidation services. The service comprises the consolidation of letters from different senders, their pre-sorting and subsequent handover at DP AG's mail centres. With its subsidiary Deutsche Post Inhaus GmbH (DP IHS), DP AG is in direct competition with independent providers of consolidation services. The fees of DP IHS will be regularly submitted to the BNetzA. The authority examines whether the price difference between the access services and retail services is sufficiently large to enable efficient competitors who offer their own retail services to achieve an appropriate margin on their own share of the value added. In addition to refining the margin squeeze concept, the study and an Excel tool created in this context aimed to simplify and therefore speed up these regular reviews. Findings that were gathered during the work on the study have already been used in recent proceedings of ex-post price controls (BK5-23/020-031) against Deutsche Post InHaus Services GmbH (DP IHS).
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WIK supports the Federal Network Agency in the ex-post control of letter consolidation fees
The Federal Network Agency published the WIK study on the refinement of the margin squeeze concept. The study addresses both the question of the appropriate efficiency benchmark and a description of the methodology for determining unit costs for consolidation and franking services.
