DHL Express has moved its depot in Montpellier, southern France, to a larger site as part of its ongoing €30 million investment in the modernisation of 17 out of its 40 operational sites in France.
The company invested €1.5 million in the new facility at Baillargues, which responds to strong parcel volume growth of 11% at Montpellier depot between 2014 and 2015. The new state-of-the-art site in Baillargues is five times larger than the previous facility with a warehouse of 1,500 sqm, compared to 290 sqm before. It will handle nearly 2,000 parcels a day to and from all over the world.
The Baillargues 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. In particular, it benefits from direct loading/unloading of trucks next to the sorting system to optimise the handling process and time of parcels.
This loading 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 results in significant time savings of around 20 minutes for the drivers who can leave earlier for deliveries while offering later pick-up times for customers in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées.
The depot is also equipped with wifi scanning technology to identify parcels in real time offering instant tracking of shipments delivered to customers. It also benefits from a high performance security system to secure cargo and employees.
Michel Akavi, CEO of DHL Express France, said: "We have been present in Montpellier since 1997 and today we have to respond to the constant rise in parcel volumes by adapting our infrastructure. In 2016, we expect a further volume increase of 9% at this depot. Our investment of €1.5 million will enable us to improve the service quality we offer to our customers and ensure the wellbeing of our employees – the two key points for our company. This new investment also demonstrates the key role that France plays in developing DHL’s network."
