DPD UK is ready to cope with any hard Brexit, is launching new digital services and will continue to expand network capacity and zero-emission deliveries this year, according to a senior manager.
The parcels company has completed its planning for the UK’s scheduled exit from the EU on March 29, including contingency planning, long-serving marketing director Tim Jones told CEP-Research in an interview at The Delivery Conference in London on Tuesday. He had stepped in for CEO Dwain McDonald who was taken ill shortly before the event.
“It’s been a huge amount of time and effort invested into something that still may not come to pass,” Jones said. But he underlined: “We know what we will do on March 29. We will be able to keep shipping and importing, and will continue to offer our customers the services that we do today.”
Should there be a no-deal ‘hard’ Brexit, operations could be “less seamless” as customers will need to provide more data than in the past, he pointed out. “So we’re confident we have everything we need to move stuff in the event of a hard Brexit, assuming our customers give us the information we need. We might have to hold a few items while we are awaiting the data, but we have made arrangements for that.”
Dover will remain the main departure and entry point for DPD UK’s international shipments, Jones confirmed. “But we now have contingencies should Dover get overly congested. We are Brexit-ready.”
The marketing chief emphasised that both DPDgroup in Paris and DPD UK had lobbied hard over the past two years for a Brexit deal that includes a transition phase until the end of 2020. “We remain hopeful that a deal will be done, even if it is at the 11th hour. Anything that allows things to continue as they are, hopefully up to December 2020, is what we are hoping for as the best possible outcome available now.”
DPD UK, which delivered more than 230 million parcels in 2017, maintained its strong growth last year. Parent company DPDgroup disclosed in its 2018 results that UK revenues grew by 9% with volumes up by 7.7% last year.
Jones said DPD UK had had a good year operationally, including peak season, but commented: “It’s very difficult now to forecast peak. Is Black Friday the peak? Is week 51 the peak? Will there be twin peaks? Will there be less of a peak? Will there be a huge surge like last year?”
“So we spent a huge amount of effort planning and working with customers to really ensure that we have everything perfect to shine at peak. It was about making promises to our customers and delivering on them.”
This year digital innovations remain a top priority. DPD UK has relaunched its app, which had 1.2 million active users in December, with new features including ‘richer’ push notifications with more delivery options and Siri voice control. In addition, the company has launched a ‘Design Space’ where app ‘power users’ can contribute ideas and feedback before the company starts to develop and test new functions.
In terms of the operational network, DPD will start construction of its fifth hub in the UK during 2019. The company is investing £150 million in the facility in Hinckley, Leicestershire, that is due to become operational by October 2020 and create 750 jobs. The 26,000 sqm Hub 5 will have the capacity to handle 71,000 parcels an hour, increasing DPD's total overnight parcel sorting capacity by 60%. It lies about 2 miles from the firm's Hub 4 and International Gateway in Sketchley, which both opened in 2015.
Several new depots are also scheduled to open during the year.
Another priority is to extend the company’s zero-emission urban logistics network in London, ready for the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone scheme that goes into operation in April with new emissions limits and additional vehicle charges.
After opening its first all-electric parcel depot in the heart of Westminster last October, a second depot has gone into operation in Shoreditch and a third one will open in Bayswater in March. Overall DPD UK plans to create a network of eight such depots across the British capital, operating a fleet of Nissan eNV200 vans and Paxster local delivery vehicles.
