DHL Express has expanded in the Czech Republic with a new regional distribution hub and islaunching a new same-day product in the Swiss market.
In the Czech Republic, DHL and its domestic subsidiary PPL CZ have opened a majordistribution terminal in Krupka near Teplice. The ultra-modern centre, which joins terminals inPlzen and Ceské Budejovice, will act as a hub for the distribution of shipments in the Ústí nadLabem and Liberec regions and parts of Central Bohemia.
The new facility replaces several smaller depots in the region, bringing Deutsche Post WorldNet services under one roof. DHL will use one section to handle its air and road express andfreight shipments while PPL CZ will carry out parcel sorting in the second section.
The construction of terminals forms part of a EUR 36 million project to integrate the DHL andPPL CZ terminal and distribution networks in the Czech Republic. The goal is to create a network often main terminals over the coming three years that will form the backbone of a modern distributionsystem.
“The opening of the Teplice terminal will significantly help us to expand our capacity andallow us to raise service standards across all our products. Given the hub’s strategic position wealso plan to leverage its great location and upgrade our transport links not only with our westernneighbours, but worldwide, as DHL is building a new intercontinental hub in Leipzig, Germany,” saidRadek Odstrcil, DHL Express Operations Manager for the Czech Republic.
More terminals are to open in the next few years in Hradec Králové, Ostrava, Olomouc andPrague. DHL and PPL CZ expect the project to boost their competitiveness by streamlining shipmentdistribution. The range of products and services offered to customers will expand, and facilitieswill be modernised.
“Despite its unquestionable benefits for our operations and processes, the new terminal isprimarily a major regional investment by our two companies in the highly competitive field ofexpress logistics. It’s a state-of-the-art, high-tech terminal with huge significance for thedevelopment of express logistics in this region. It gives all DHL and PPL’s current and potentialcustomers access to a superb facility that offers them scope and support to grow their businesseson the same level as in the EU countries,” says Jirí Hondl, Executive Director of PPL CZ.
In Switzerland, DHL Express and Swiss Railways (SBB) are extending their next-day parceldelivery service to same-day deliveries to key economic centres. Since this summer the twocompanies have offered a next-day domestic parcel delivery service called “A-Pac” where consumerscan hand in their parcels at 71 DHL Servicepoints located at railway stations.
Under the DHL Rail Pac trial service launched on September 24, customers can now hand inletters and parcels at the Servicepoints in Zurich and Bern railway stations for same-daytransportation to SBB stations in Basle, Biel, Lucerne and Geneva, with optional to-door finaldelivery by DHL. Items delivered to Lausanne, St. Gallen and Bellinzona have to be collected at therailway station. Pick-up customers are informed by phone when their items have arrived.
The pilot project will run for three months, and the two companies will then decide whetherto extend it.
