Deutsche Post DHL deploys unique sorting technology for smaller parcels

Deutsche Post DHL Group will invest €250 million to deploy new BEUMER sorting technology for smaller parcels at eight locations in Germany within the next two years.

The first system has gone into operation at the group’s parcel centre in Greven, North Rhine-Westphalia, to increase parcel sorting capacity in order to cope with rising volumes while creating around 100 new jobs on site.

The medium format sorter developed by the intralogistics provider BEUMER Group is specially designed for processing small and medium-sized shipments.

The new distribution system is the first of its kind and enables even more efficient sorting by handling the growing number of small and medium-sized parcels separately in the new extension of the parcel centre. This provides an additional sorting capacity of 14,000 parcels per hour. As a result, around 46,000 parcels per hour can now be processed at the Greven parcel centre in total, instead of the previous 32,000.

€250 million investment by 2023

Apart from the first pilot location in Greven, DHL plans to deploy the new sorting technology in eight other parcel centres, including Regensburg, Speyer, Neuwied and Neumünster, among others, by 2023. In total, the group is investing around €250 million in the installation of the new technology.

Tobias Meyer, head of the Post and Parcel Germany division, said: "We want to process our customers' parcels reliably and quickly, even when shipment volumes rise rapidly. That is why we are expanding our sorting capacity throughout Germany. The new sorting technology at the Greven parcel centre is an essential part of this expansion. The new medium-format sorter will also be an important addition to our parcel network in this year's pre-Christmas operations with traditionally high parcel volumes.”

Focus on sustainability

As with all of the company's new buildings, sustainability also plays an essential role at the Greven facility. In the first quarter of 2022, a photovoltaic system with an output of around 267 kWp, which is currently under construction, will go into operation contributing to a climate-friendly energy supply at the site.

"We will continue to expand our parcel network in the future as shipment volumes grow. We will place particular emphasis on making our processes even more digital and sustainable to offer our customers the best possible service," Meyer said.

This year alone, Deutsche Post DHL Group will process an additional 160,000 parcels per hour in its nationwide parcel network, compared to the previous year. In addition to the medium format sorter in Greven, this will be possible through the use of the new sorting technology in some letter centres and the trial operation of the new DHL parcel centre in Ludwigsfelde near Berlin.

The Greven parcel centre has been operating since August 1994. Deutsche Post DHL’s parcel network currently consists of 37 DHL parcel centres nationwide.