Hermes Germany expects to deliver over 35 million shipments in the next three weeks which would account for almost a third of the 120 million parcels it expects during this year’s entire peak season (October-December).
The company said it is well prepared for the anticipated record volumes during the Black Friday week which started yesterday. “We assume that during the Black Friday week and around Cyber Monday alone we will transport 40% more shipments than last year,” Marco Schlüter, Chief Operations Officer of Hermes Germany, said.
"We are halfway through the Christmas season and we can draw a positive interim balance: the month of October and the first half of November have shown that our measures are taking effect," he explained.
In preparation for the peak season, Hermes has increased sorting capacities, staff and vehicle fleet and pressed ahead with digital solutions for the last mile in order to cope with the massive parcel volumes, with success.
“Despite consistently high shipment volumes, we deliver reliably. Over 90% of all shipments have so far been successfully delivered the next day during the first delivery attempt. With this in mind, we see ourselves well prepared for the sales events,” Schlüter emphasised.
More deliveries to parcel shops
Hermes underlined that its 16,000 parcel shops across Germany provide an important delivery alternative for customers, with significant advantages in terms of accessibility and opening times, especially in metropolitan areas where recipients are often not at home during the day.
In 2019, almost 19% more shipments were delivered to Hermes parcel shops in the ten largest German cities during the Black Week sales period than in the same period in 2018. A similarly high parcel shop delivery rate is expected this year as well.
There are now more than 300 new parcels shops in operation across Germany, compared to last year. Delivery to parcel shops is also a good choice from a sustainability point of view as it reduces CO2 emissions by an average of 25% compared to home delivery.
Digital solutions important for reliable service
Another important factor for reliable delivery is the ongoing digitisation of the delivery process from which both delivery staff (e.g. through digital route planning) and customers (e.g. through digital notification card) benefit, the company also pointed out.
Hermes introduced the digital notification card service in Germany in October last year informing parcel recipients per e-mail after the delivery attempt in case the delivery person missed them or if the shipment has been delivered to a neighbour.
One year later, the company has drawn a positive balance: every second notification card is now digital, continuously replacing printed cards. Over 38 tons of paper have already been saved within one year.
The paperless service also makes the work of Hermes delivery staff easier and faster as they can send the digital notification with just one click. This eliminates the need to fill out the paper card by hand and to put it into the recipient’s mailbox.
Expanded international service
Meanwhile, Hermes Germany has also expanded international shipping for private customers by adding five new countries outside the EU: the USA, Canada, Mexico, China and Australia. The shipping times vary between 7 and 16 days depending on the country.
