DPD Belux has posted strong annual volume growth exceeding 10% at its depot in Courcelles, aWalloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, during the last few years, with
the number of employees tripling as the result of expanding business.DPD said it had been growing its operations constantly at the Courcelles depot. During the lastthree years, the depot’s capacity has grown from 8,750 to 10,100 parcels per day. Apart from thedepot in Courcelles, DPD Belux operates three other depots in Belgium (Mechelen, Aalter andFlémalle) and one in Luxemburg (Bettembourg).
Giuseppina Bruno, depot manager at DPD in Courcelles, said: “At the beginning, our team counteda dozen people. Today, we are about 35. Last year, our staff grew by 15%. This remarkable growth isespecially due to the excellent geographic location of the depot and the development ofe-commerce.
“We are situated in an area which is dedicated, to a great extent, to logistics and transport,and in close proximity to the E42 highway. This ideally positions us with regard to Brussels,France and the Flémalle depot. The latter depot will take over some 600 parcels and five deliveryrounds from Courcelles, daily.”
DPD Belux explained that it was necessary to adjust the depot in response to growing volumes. “We decided to proceed with developing the accommodation of the building and our offices, which nowoccupy 600 sqm, spread over two levels. These changes will help ensure the efficient handling ofsubstantial parcel volumes in the future and offer our employees good working conditions in orderto continue offering our customers the service they deserve,” Bruno added.
Driven by increasing success, the DPD depot in Courcelles was the first in the country to expandits working times. “The first workers start each day well before sunrise and the last shift endslate in the evening,” said Bruno.
“With the new organisation and the design of our offices, we are ready to absorb the volumegrowth of 10-12% we have seen in the last few years. Moreover, the popularity of e-commerce enablesthe DPD depot in Courcelles to face the future in a positive way: it should result in increasingvolumes, the number of customers and the number of employees,” Bruno concluded.
In 2013, DPD Belux increased volumes by 13% to nearly 9.5 million parcels, generating revenuesof €89.5 million, and expects this year’s turnover to grow 15% to exceed €100 million. It employs287 staff and works with 414 independent drivers. Across the Benelux, DPD operates 1,300 parcelsshops.
