PostNL Modernizes Parcel Notifications with Real-Time Kafka Platform

The Challenge

PostNL is the largest postal and logistics provider in the Netherlands, delivering over 1.75 billion items annually and employing more than 35,000 people. While historically a government-run organization, PostNL is now a publicly traded company on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange, with over €3 billion in annual revenue.

In 2023, PostNL was still relying on a stack of legacy applications to track parcel statuses. While these systems ensured delivery, they lacked the ability to send real-time notifications to customers or stakeholders like delivery personnel. Additionally, the fragmented system was difficult to maintain and scale.

To address these limitations, PostNL partnered with integration consultancy AppyThings to explore a modern, scalable, real-time platform that could act as the logistical brain behind parcel tracking and notifications.

The Solution

Together with AppyThings, PostNL evaluated solutions that would:

• Centralize parcel tracking and notification services
• Provide real-time processing of updates
• Be scalable, fault-tolerant, and secure
• Support future migration to their private AWS cloud infrastructure

AppyThings identified Axual as the ideal partner, having seen success in similar enterprise-scale implementations such as Rabobank’s Real-Time Financial Alerts. Based on PostNL’s requirements, Axual proposed a reference architecture built on:

• Axual Cloud: A cloud-native, open-source-based Apache Kafka platform designed for high-volume, mission-critical applications. It supports both no-code self-service interfaces and API-based integration, aligning perfectly with PostNL’s automation goals.
• KSML (Kafka Streams Markup Language): A low-code Python-based framework for processing and transforming Kafka streams. KSML handles transformation logic for parcel status events and enables real-time notifications to be sent to customers and delivery personnel.

This combination provided PostNL with a modern, event-driven architecture that could scale with growing parcel volumes and evolving operational needs.

The Results

The collaboration between AppyThings and Axual led to a successful proof of concept implementation at PostNL. Results were immediate and impactful:

• 100+ million messages processed daily with no performance degradation
• Seamless real-time notifications triggered by parcel status changes
• Rapid implementation timeline, enabling faster time-to-value
• Confidence in scalability and reliability of Axual Cloud and KSML

Thanks to the successful POC and Axual’s customer-centric approach, PostNL is now in the process of migrating their Kafka platform to a private AWS cloud environment, ensuring long-term control and compliance.

What’s Next

PostNL is actively progressing toward a full-scale migration of the Axual Cloud instance to their private AWS cloud. With the foundation in place, the organization plans to:

• Expand real-time capabilities across additional logistical workflows
• Integrate more operational systems into the Kafka backbone
• Leverage low-code stream processing (KSML) to rapidly develop new use cases
• Deliver even more personalized customer experiences through real-time data

By working with AppyThings and Axual, PostNL has taken a major step toward becoming a fully event-driven logistics provider, modernizing its infrastructure to meet the real-time expectations of today’s customers.

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