DPD recorded moderate parcel volume growth in Austria in 2015, boosted by the expansion of its B2C business and the Pickup parcel shop network as well as new services such as the “parcel navigator”.
Last year, DPD Austria increased its volumes by one million to over 41 million parcels, which represents an increase of over 2.5% compared to the previous year. If the Express service provided under the Primetime brand is added to the annual parcel volumes, the number of parcels rose by around two million in 2015.
On a daily basis, the company transported an average of 168,600 parcels last year, up from 162,500 in 2014, an increase of 3.8%. The majority of shipments were dispatched and delivered within Austria.
In terms of international destinations, Germany remains the most popular destination for Austrians with a share of 70%, ahead of Italy, Spain, Czech Republic and Switzerland. Shipping volumes to the UK and Poland strongly increased by 20% and 24% respectively, compared to 2014.
The majority (85%) of the recipients were business customers (B2B), down from 88% in 2014. The remaining 15% were private shippers and recipients as the company successfully started B2C deliveries in 2014 and has been continuously expanding in this segment since then.
"We started the year 2015 with great optimism and completed it successfully. In the last year, our staff transported more than 41 million packages – of which over six million packages were generated through private customers. In 2016, we will focus our activities on this area as well,” Rainer Schwarz, Managing Director DPD Austria, said.
“Flexibility and freedom are not just key words for us, we let our customers experience them,” he added, referring to the expanded Pickup parcel shop network in Austria now reaching 1,000 shops and ensuring nationwide coverage all over Austria. Every Austrian citizen can now reach a DPD parcel shop in maximum 15 minutes and use the DPD services there, including during the weekends.
Schwarz also mentioned the parcel navigator, an online tool enabling parcel recipients to re-direct their parcels via mobile devices or on desktop computers, with various options to receive their orders in the most convenient way. In December 2015 alone, around 40,000 customers used the service to get their parcels delivered to another address (30%) or on another day (28%). Around 25% of the recipients opted for delivery to a nearby parcel shop (25%). Around 15% chose the “desired neighbour” option introduced in November 2015.
“In 2016, we will further increase the number of Pickup parcel shops and expand the service for our customers both in the B2B and B2C segments through new offerings, especially in the online sector,” Schwarz concluded.
DPD Austria employs around 1,700 staff and operates 900 vehicles.
