GLS has further expanded its parcel shop network in Austria with 50 new shops last year as moreand more private customers use them as alternative delivery points with around one third of the
parcels being sent abroad to European destinations.Around 600 parcel shops spread across Austria are available as drop-off and delivery points forparcels used both by individuals and companies. “We are seeing a steady growth in the number ofparcels transferred from the parcel shops into our system,” Klaus Schädle, Managing Director EuropeSouth at GLS, said. This is, among other things, due to the organic development of the GLS parcelshop network.
Apart from the increasing demand for parcel shops in general, parcel volumes of GLS Austria areboosted by international items for other European countries with 30% of the shipments destinedmainly for Germany, Italy and the UK.
“The pan-European network of GLS also convinces private persons,” Schädle explained. “Via ourparcel shops, everyone can ship to 24 European countries. The decisive point is that that weachieve short delivery times at a cross-border level – very reliably and with high quality.”
In many regions of the neighbouring countries, GLS parcels usually arrive within 24-48 hourswhile domestic and international tracking options enable the customers to monitor the shippingprocess all the way from dispatch to final delivery.
As part of the service, GLS focuses on customer-friendly opening hours and good accessibilitywith parcel shops being integrated within other shops operating in different industries. “We placehigh value on training and ongoing support of our parcel shop partners. This is the only way tomaintain a long-term cooperation that everyone can profit from,” Schädle concluded.
