Competitor Watch
DPD has revealed its parcel volumes are at record levels as the covid-19 pandemic triggers a massive spike in home deliveries.
DPD marketing director, Tim Jones, said: ‘Easter was double what we did last Easter. We’ve been seeing up to a million parcels a day throughout the crisis. Volumes are surpassing the busiest days at Christmas and Black Friday. Lockdown is driving a huge demand for home delivery, it’s a very buoyant period.’
DPD food deliveries are now up to 300,000 a week, and the company is also doing ‘thousands more’ NHS deliveries and offering a collection and delivery service of 3D printers producing PPE for the Army.
Despite the record levels, DPD say they are not enjoying a profit boom: ‘When you get a surge in volume you get a surge in costs,’ added Mr Jones. ‘So, it isn’t a money-making thing for us. You have to have the drivers there, the extra vehicles, the extra line haul and hub labour. More volume doesn’t mean more profit.’
DPD Ireland has also reported an ‘absolute tsunami of parcels’ with the surge in demand for online shopping seeing volumes of parcels being delivered higher than Black Friday and Christmas.
Before the global pandemic, DPD Ireland's work was almost evenly split between business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) deliveries. The pandemic has turned all this on its head, with the company now averaging north of 700,000 packages a week. Business is only expected to increase even when the lockdown loosens.
Chief Executive DPD Ireland, Des Travers, said: ‘In the covid world, we are seeing 98 per cent B2C, and only two per cent business to business…As the Government relaxes the covid restrictions on different businesses, we'll see more volume coming through.
In order to cope with the surge in demand the company, which has been part of the French post office La Poste since 2000, recently announced plans to hire an additional 100 drivers, taking its workforce in Ireland close to 2,000.
UK courier specialist Parcelhero says the expansion of D2C services could be a ‘game-changer’ for online businesses and the coronavirus’ silver lining.
The coronavirus epidemic, in addition to the high street collapse that was already well underway even before the lockdown started, has meant many manufacturers have had to question the way they ensure their products reach their customers.
ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, said: ‘It’s no coincidence that D2C brands have, in many cases, thrived during the lockdown, even as many big retail names have struggled to get their products to consumers. E-commerce is infamous for its lack of customer loyalty, but D2C brands are a notable exception to this rule.’
SMEs across a range of sectors are currently flourishing as consumers look to online alternatives during the lockdown. Click here to see how we have been helping some of our own small business customers flourish during the current crisis.
