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Deutsche Post DHL has announced plans to expand its network of parcel locker terminals — called Packstations — outside of Germany for the first time.
The company, which has been offering alternative delivery points for parcels throughout Germany since 2001 through its Packstations, said its expansion will start with Italy and the Netherlands.
DHL Parcels currently has 2,650 of the Packstations operating across 1,600 towns and cities in Germany, or about 250,000 individual lockers.
The company said 90% of people in Germany live within 10 minutes of a DHL Packstation.
A further 300 Packstations are being added to the German network by the end of this year. But while it has in the past used parcel terminals provided by Austrian firm KEBA, and will continue to do so in future, it is sourcing the new Packstations from its own project with design agency Polygon.
The new design of Packstations supposedly offers a greater variety of compartment sizes, along with the “latest security standards”. Nine prototypes have already been installed in Leipzig, according to Polygon.
Jürgen Gerdes, Deutsche Post DHL’s board member for parcels and e-commerce, said: “We have decided to bundle the know-how we have acquired during our more than ten years in the market in Germany to an even greater degree and continuously refine and improve the lockers ourselves.
DHL has been developing its own parcel terminal with design partner Polygon
“The expansion of our network in Germany is an important part of our strategy to be the clear leader in terms of market share and innovation in the German parcel market.”
The next step will be for DHL Parcel to export its German business model to foreign parcel markets that offer “similar market structures and comparable growth rates”, the firm said.
Gerdes explained: “The Packstation is an important pillar in our market success in Germany. We will examine the use of these automats in European markets very closely and selectively use them to establish our B2C operations in other countries.”
The company confirmed that the Netherlands and Italy would be first in line for DHL Packstations “in the near future”.
GLS
High level of competition in the German parcel market, servicing Europe’s second largest e-commerce market, has been pushing parcel carriers to develop more and more convenience for German e-commerce consumers.
As DHL Parcel announced its intention to continue expanding its domestic Packstation network, rivals GLS announced plans to introduce new evening and Saturday delivery services for consumers.
The new offering builds on the company’s FlexDeliveryService, which notifies recipients of incoming parcels and allows them to re-arrange delivery.
The new Saturday and evening delivery services will begin in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf before begin rolled out to other cities and regions. The evening service will offer a 5pm to 8pm slot, while Saturdays will see deliveries made between 8am and 1pm.
Klaus Conrad, the GLS Germany managing director, said: “Private consumers want this kind of service, to get their goods bought online delivered as they want. With the expansion of FlexDeliveryService they get their wish: so recipients are satisfied and delivery drivers are rarely in front of closed doors.”