Beumer, T-Systems secure big Deutsche Post DHL contracts

Deutsche Post DHL has awarded Beumer Group a major contract for new sorting technology for small parcels and renewed a triple-digit million euro IT contract with T-Systems.

The logistics group and the intralogistics solutions provider announced jointly today (March 17) that they have signed an agreement on the use of a new and innovative sorting technology in selected parcel centres in Germany.

Beumer’s newly-developed medium-format sorter is specially designed for processing small and medium-sized shipments measuring up to shoe box size (45 cm x 35 cm x 25 cm) and with a maximum four kilograms in weight. The new sorting system ensures even more efficient sorting in that it separates formats and significantly boosts sorting capacities at the respective sites.

€250m investment

Overall, Deutsche Post DHL is investing some €250 million in the sorting capacity expansion at nine parcel centres across Germany, which will enable an additional 126,000 shipments to be sorted per hour across its parcel network by 2023.

The new sorting system will be piloted at the DHL parcel centre in Greven, North Rhine-Westphalia. The building will receive a 35-meter-wide and 126-meter-long extension measuring some 4,400 square meters which connects the two wings of the existing U-shaped building.

Installation of the new sorting system will start in May. This will increase sorting capacity at the parcel centre by more than 40%, making for an additional 14,000 items and an overall total of 45,000 shipments per hour. The new sorter will be ready for use at the Greven parcel centre in time for the pre-Christmas peak season this year.

The Beumer system will then be installed in eight additional parcel centres by 2023, starting with Regensburg, Speyer, Neuwied and Neumünster from 2022. Four additional sites are planned for 2023.

Additional capacity for small shipments

“With the continued strong growth in the e-commerce market, we need to generate new sorting capacity in our parcel network so we can meet additional demand in the regions we serve. We’re seeing a strong increase in small to medium-sized shipments. The new medium-format sorter developed by BEUMER Group is specifically designed for use in processing these kinds of shipments, giving us additional capacity and boosting efficiency in the respective parcel centres,” explained Thomas Schneider, Chief Production Officer Post & Parcel Germany at Deutsche Post DHL Group.

“We’re both pleased and proud that we were able to convince Deutsche Post DHL Group of the merits of our innovative medium-format sorting system,” says Thomas Wiesman, Director Sales Logistic Systems at BEUMER Group. “We look forward to continued successful cooperation and thank them for their confidence and trust.”

Framework agreement with T-Systems

Meanwhile, German IT services provider T-Systems announced that Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL) has renewed its framework agreement with the company ahead of time. The framework agreement is in the high three-digit million range and will run through 2027.

The Deutsche Telekom subsidiary will continue to supervise large parts of the ICT technology in the world’s largest logistics company. This covers operating IT as well as voice and data networks, including mobile communications and the Internet of Things. T-Systems also supports the group with its digital transformation.

Both companies will also continue to work together closely developing, maintaining, and operating mission-critical applications, such as the parcel stations and applications on the delivery agents’ handheld scanners.

Bernd Gemein, CIO Post & Parcel Germany, said: “This agreement reflects our commitment to continuing cooperation with T-Systems as a core partner in our digitalization. Renewing our agreement with T-Systems guarantees continuity. Among other things, we intend to work together to migrate the bulk of our IT to the cloud by 2024.”

Adel Al-Saleh, T-Systems’ CEO, said: “We’re delighted we can continue supporting DPDHL on its journey into the cloud. Our partnerships especially with providers like Microsoft are an important factor. We can offer the right cloud solution for each customer – from the public cloud, our own private cloud, or the hybrid cloud.”