DHL Parcel turns Berlin into the parcel capital in a unique pilot project

• DHL Parcel is markedly expanding its service offer for parcel recipients in Berlin
• Customers benefit from even better availability thanks to more automated solutions
• By 2016: 500 Packstations and several thousand parcel box units for apartment buildings in Berlin alone

BONN, 25-5-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — In a unique pilot project DHL Parcel is turning Germany’s capital city of Berlin into the parcel capital. By the end of 2016, the densest network of alternative delivery options in Germany and even across Europe will be found in Berlin. Half of today’s parcel volumes in the capital will be handled via automated solutions such as DHL Packstations, DHL parcel boxes and DHL Parcel Shops. As a result, DHL Parcel will be able to meet online shopper demands for mobility and flexibility even better and make the experience of online shopping ‘un-bear-lievable’ in the Germany’s capital city of Berlin, where a bear stands as the city symbol and mascot, and appears on its flag.

“E-Commerce is growing around the world and is especially popular in Berlin,” says Jürgen Gerdes, Board Member for Post – eCommerce – Parcel at Deutsche Post DHL Group. “People today are more mobile than ever, and that means that traditional forms of delivery like home delivery or delivery to a neighbor of your choice are reaching their limits with increasing frequency. That is why we as the innovation leader in the parcel industry have been developing alternative types of delivery for years now that are closely aligned with the lives and needs of online shoppers.  With this one-of-a kind project in Berlin, we are laying a foundation for even greater flexibility, provided by an unprecedented number of permanently available automated collection points and acceptance counters.”

According to a recent consumer behavior study, more than 60 percent of residents regularly shop online in Germany’s capital, and the trend is increasing. At the same time, these consumers are more frequently on-the-go and living in one-person households, meaning that most of the time no one is at home during the day when the parcel deliverer rings the doorbell. That is why DHL Parcel has fused familiar and new types of solutions into an innovative grand concept for Berlin: The DHL Packstation delivery network, popular with 8 million customers across Germany, will be significantly expanded in the capital – from its current number of 180 units to 500 by the end of 2016. By that time, it will be possible to process up to 50,000 parcels per day in this way alone.

Moreover, many inner courtyards in Berlin set aside space for the recently developed parcel box for rental apartments and apartment buildings, such as those that DHL Paket recently installed in the buildings of professional housing provider Deutsche Annington in Berlin-Lichtenberg. By 2016, several thousand parcel box units could be in place across the entire urban region of Berlin.

The third key element of the Berlin innovation project comes in the form of the DHL Parcel Shops. With nearly 900 Parcel Shops and Deutsche Post retail outlets, Berlin has the densest collection network in Germany. Residents of Berlin today only have to go an average 360 meters to reach the closest DHL Parcel Shops. In the near future DHL Parcel will make these shops into places where customers can both send and pick up parcels.

But even that’s not all – DHL Parcel will deliver shipments in the German capital even more frequently on the preferred day and expand the selection of available time windows. In addition to the current evening delivery options, additional time windows will be made available this year for delivery throughout the day.

What’s more, DHL Parcel is pursuing completely new crowdsourcing options as part of this pilot project and is testing its own smartphone app for the first time in Germany. These approaches will make it possible to draw upon other transport options such as taxi drivers and delivery services so that parcels can reach their recipients as quickly as possible.

“In the mid-term, thanks to these measures, we will be in a position to process more than half of all shipments in Berlin using these innovative delivery concepts and thus to offer parcel recipients in Berlin a one-of-a-kind service,” says Jürgen Gerdes.

CONTACT PERSON

Dunja Kuhlmann

Spokesperson: DHL Parcel,
Parcel Europe, Express Germany
Deutsche Post DHL Group
Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 20
53113 Bonn
Germany

(0) 228 182 9944
Fax: +49 (0) 228 182 9880

@dpdhl_kuhlmann

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By the end of 2016, the densest network of alternative delivery options in Germany and even across Europe will be found in Berlin.