DPD has introduced new services and has expanded its network in key markets in Eastern Europe aswell as Russia.
In the Czech Republic, DPD has now expanded its international cash-on-delivery (COD) service toPoland and Hungary which it has been offering only to customers in Germany and Slovakia untilnow.
Daniel Mareš, CEO DPD CZ, explained that the company is responding to the demand from companiesoperating in the Czech market by extending the COD service to additional two countries. “We aresimplifying life for Czech exporters and we are opening new possibilities for internet sales.”
“COD is a very popular payment method in Central and Eastern Europe, and this way we differsignificantly from the most developed European markets. Customers do not have a great deal ofconfidence in paying by credit card directly over the internet, and therefore payment fortransported goods in cash is very common. By contrast, non-cash payment clearly dominates indeveloped countries,” he added.
The international COD service also enables Czech e-shops to ship goods to the four countriesmentioned. For customers, using COD for international shipments is similar to COD payments in theCzech Republic. The only difference is that the amount taken from the recipient in any of the fourcountries must be specified in their respective national currencies. In financial terms, theservice is also cheaper compared to bank charges for international payments.
Meanwhile, in Poland, DPD has been certified as a European Authorised Economic Operator (AEO)which simplifies administrative processes between businesses and customs procedures. To receive thecertification, the company has fulfilled a number of stringent requirements in areas such asquality management and safety. AEO is one of the most prestigious certifications awarded tocompanies in the European Union with the purpose to improve the safety of international trade andstreamline procedures.
In Russia, DPD has further expanded its regional network with two new branches in Saransk(Republic of Mordovia, south-east of Moscow) and Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, in southernRussia. Makhachkala and Saransk are the largest industrial centres in Dagestan and Mordovia withthe biggest economic potential in these regions. Both cities are developing rapidly and stand outthrough their favourable location as important transport hubs with rising shipping volumes, thecompany said.
Last month, DPD Russia’s central terminal located in Krasnogorsk near Moscow set a new record interms of shipping volumes handled at the facility in one day with 38,000 parcels or more than 800tons of cargo processed on 1 March surpassing the peak volumes in December last year by 25%. The1,600 sqm fully-automated sorting facility started operating in 2010 with the capacity to handle6,000 parcels per hour.
DPD Russia has also introduced a unified call centre with two locations in Moscow andNovosibirsk to handle customer calls toll-free from across Russia.
