DPD is launching a cross-border parcel shop network in the Benelux countries, with the number ofshops to increase from the current 1,000 to 1,400 by the end of the year and another 100 shops to
be added by April 2014 as the company responds to the growth in cross-border e-commerce.DPD said it is the first company to offer customers such an integrated cross-border parcel shopnetwork in the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg). This latest investment alsocreates jobs, with the company having hired 20 new employees since July this year and new jobs tobe added in 2014. The majority of the stores include book shops, convenience stores andflorists.
Next year, DPD plans to integrate its Benelux network with the 5,000 parcel shops in Germany andthe 6,500 in France as well as similar outlets in the UK. This will enable Dutch, Belgian andLuxembourgian customers to ship parcels to the two countries and vice versa.
Marc Morioux, Managing Director of DPD Belux, said: “This is an important step which, parallelto the B2B market, also allows us to increasingly focus on the growing B2C market.”
According to a recent survey by the research company Comeos and Insites, 3 out of 10 consumersprefer a service point both for picking up and handing in their parcels for shipping.
“At DPD, we observe that consumer needs are constantly evolving and we innovate at the same paceto meet these needs. We know that a parcel is more than just shipping. This is something that therecipient looks forward to receiving and which he wants to have as soon as possible. With thisparcel shop network, customers can pick up and soon also hand in their parcel at a time mostconvenient for them. It also simplifies online shopping abroad,” Morioux continued.
“The accessibility of the shops is also an important point for consumers,” he added. “Weselected the location of the DPD parcel shops based on a rigorous geo-marketing analysis. So thereis always a store nearby.”
In June, DPD launched a new online shipping tool called DPD Web Parcel for private customers andsmall businesses in Belgium to send parcels in a simple way without signing a shipping contract.Under the slogan “E@sy to send”, customers just need to indicate the respective postal codes of theshipper and the recipient and the parcel features (size and weight). Based on these data, theonline tool calculates the shipping price and the delivery time so the shipper only needs to enterpersonal information, pay and print the shipping label.
