DHL Express has expanded and modernised its depot near Orléans, in north-central France, as part of the company’s ongoing €30 million investment in the modernisation of 17 out of its 40 operational sites in the country.
With this expansion move, DHL Express is responding to its continuous growth in France resulting in a 10% volume increase last year, compared to 2013.
Since 2013, DHL registered volume growth of 14% at the site in Saran, a commune located close to Orleans, which is the capital of the Loiret department and the strategic Centre-Val de Loire region. In response to this double-digit growth, the company has nearly doubled the total area of the site from 3,900 sqm to 7,100 sqm.
The Orléans depot features advanced technology like all the other DHL France depots that are being either expanded or replaced with larger ones, to optimise parcel handling. The site benefits from a completely automated parcel sorting system and direct loading/unloading of trucks, the so-called ‘finger’, next to the sorting system to optimise the handling process and time of parcels.
This finger equipment consists of several removable modules which allow staff to load the vehicles directly without having to bring them back to the warehouse. Each module has a door on each side. The driver thus picks up the parcels at the end of the sorting chain and then returns to the vehicle on the way back. This way, up to 1,500 parcels can be handled via the sorting chain per hour. The main advantages of this equipment are time savings of 15 minutes per route for import shipments, fewer parcel handling steps, more working space etc.
The depot near Orléans employs 27 staff handling an average of 2,800 parcels every day with 25 delivery routes being made on a daily basis. The customer base consists mainly of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the industrial, bio-medical and new technology sectors.
“This move is part of our overall plan for 2014-2015 to support our growth in France. It represents a total of €30 million reflecting our commitment in the country. This extensive modernisation plan conducted through site expansions or relocations affects ten sites in 2015,” DHL Express France CEO Michel Akavi said.
“We are adapting our processes and infrastructure to the changing flows we handle: increasingly heavier and bulky parcels but also a strong increase in deliveries in France to individuals. With these improvements, we are supporting the growing volumes, simplifying parcel handling and improving the service quality by gaining time on the processes while offering better working conditions to our employees,” he added.
