Direct Parcel Distribution Austria (DPD Austria) is set to expand its depot and delivery network as well as add 50 e-vehicles to its fleet in response to rising demand for its services.
The parcel market has boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic, and to address operational challenges, DPD Austria is strengthening its position as a reliable, stable Austrian parcel service provider according to Managing Director, Rainer Schwarz.
The company expects to invest approx. €11 million into the expansion of its depot.
In the past four years, DPD Austria has invested around €40 million euros in buildings, cargo space, technology, security and the vehicle fleet.
“This year we are taking another eleven million euros into our hands for the expansion of the depot and the expansion of the conveyor technology in eight branches,” said Schwarz.
“This increases the sorting performance by around 30,000 parcels per hour.
“We are certain that with all these measures we will be able to cope well with the further growth in parcel volumes and thus be able to supply our customers’ sales markets again this year.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, parcel volumes have increased significantly – in the first quarter of 2021 DPD saw an increase of 34 per cent and there is no end to this growth in sight.”
Expansion plans also include increasing the company’s pickup network to 2,000 locations. An additional 200 locations will be added to the existing 1,800 parcel shops and stations in the space of a year.
“With this extensive network, we ensure that our customers can post, pick up or return a parcel within a maximum of 15 minutes,” said Schwarz – referring to the cooperation with small retailers, large supermarkets and Austrian technology providers. Providers who all act as pick-up partners.
DPD Austria has also experienced fluctuations in the quantities of parcels it has been expected to transport.
“At DPD, this challenge was cushioned by network-wide flexibility: shift models were adapted, additional workers were employed, liner transports were added at short notice, appropriate loading areas were provided and customer service teams were increased,” said Schwarz.
“We reacted immediately by expanding the tours and will expand them to a total of 1,500 over the course of the year – this means an increase of 25 per cent,” he said – referring to 45 additional tour supervisors who were specially hired to take care of one to take care of active quality monitoring.
In a move that promotes greater sustainability for the business, DPD Austria is investing in an additional 50 electric vehicles with solar PV systems installed on the rooftops of selected depots to generate energy.
As part of the DPDgroup, DPD Austria can fall back on this robust road network in Europe. It also has access to around 58,000 pickup locations throughout Europe and offers delivery to 230 countries / territories worldwide. 77,000 shipping experts work in this network to move more than 5.3 million parcels every day.