DPD aims to increase volumes by 6% in Germany this year after a strong first quarter and thusmore than compensate for a 3.5% drop in 2009.
In the first quarter of 2010, DPD recorded a 6.6% increase in overall volumes and double-digitgrowth rates in international parcel shipping. These figures indicate that the international parceland express service provider is performing well above the level forecast for the market and hasreturned to the peak volumes it achieved in the year 2008, the parcel operator said.
“We aim to maintain this healthy growth rate of over 6% throughout 2010,” commented DPD CEOArnold Schroven. With 6.6% more parcels in Q1, DPD said it has decisively taken the lead once morein the development of courier, express and parcel (CEP) services in Germany, at the same timeconfirming its market leadership in parcel shipping for business customers. This segment continuesto account for the largest section of the entire CEP market.
“A prominent feature of this trend is the strength of our international network, which we haveconsistently extended in recent years,” Schroven added. With a 13.7% rise, there was a double-digitrise in the number of international shipments transported by DPD during the first three months ofthe year. Above-average growth is also expected for the months to come. “With a market share of 31%we now also lead the German market when it comes to cross-border parcel shipping,” he added.
Even in the crisis year 2009 DPD’s German volumes fell by only 3.5%, which means the companyperformed considerably better than the market as a whole, which shrank by around 7% according tothe German Federal Network Agency. For 2010 the regulatory authority expects ‘moderate growth’,with the latest figures published by the Federal Logistics Association (BVL) forecasting anincrease of around 2% for the overall logistics market in Germany.
“Our growth figures are more than twice the average for the market because we are on the onehand benefiting from long-term trends, and at the same time launching innovative products andservices which enable us to take advantage of a business environment which is favourable to us,”stated CEO Schroven.
These long-term trends include the switch from air freight to road transport, together with amove away from express parcels to standard parcels and from large shipments of freight to small butmore frequent deliveries of parcels. “In the course of the crisis year 2009 these trends becameeven more pronounced because they enable companies to cut their shipping and inventory costs,”Schroven pointed out. At the same time the switch from air freight to road transport cuts by afactor of eight the emissions of environmentally harmful gases like CO2 which are caused bytransport operations.
“DPD is the service provider with the largest and densest road network for parcels in Europe. Asa result we were in recent days able to guarantee unchanged delivery times for our parcelsthroughout Europe, in spite of the continent-wide problems experienced by air transport,” thelong-serving CEO pointed out.
A further market trend from which DPD is benefiting is the increased demand for procurementlogistics solutions. “In particular in retailing, where DPD is well established, companies arelooking to exploit new optimisation potential by taking control of the logistics involved in thesupply of goods.” DPD is, for example, the leading service provider when it comes to theprocurement logistics of Germany’s DIY stores. In addition, thanks to an express portfolio whichhas been expanded considerably in recent years, the company can also provide one-stop shopping whenit comes to meeting the demand for shipments with guaranteed delivery times.
“In order to simplify and optimise the services we provide even further we are planning for2010 to launch, in the form of MyDPD, an internet-based customer platform which will, as apioneering solution, enable us once more to strengthen our position at the head of thecompetition,” Schroven disclosed. “At the same time we are, from 2010 onwards, going to investheavily in the long-term expansion of our network, backed up by plans to increase capacity on thebasis of some major building projects over the coming years.”
