Parcel delivery in Austria is back to normal operations

The Austrian Post has cleared its COVID-19-related backlog and is now operating nationwide in normal operations again. Conditions remain challenging, and employees are still under significant pressure. Since the lockdown, 40 million parcels have been delivered.

(Vienna) The COVID-19-related backlog in parcel logistics in Eastern Austria has been cleared, and the parcel delivery by the Post is thus back to regular operations across the country. This is despite challenging conditions and under maximum load of parcel volumes with a high proportion of bulky goods.

“The last 13 weeks have been an enormous challenge for all our employees, during which they have achieved extraordinary results. Nevertheless, we could not completely prevent backlogs and thus delays in parcel delivery. We would like to sincerely apologize to our customers for this,” said Post CEO DI Dr. Georg Pölzl. Since the beginning of the lockdown in mid-March, the Austrian Post has delivered a total of 40 million parcels despite the changed logistics processes, with corresponding additional effort.

The Austrian Post has been working under challenging conditions and with a massive increase in parcel volumes since the beginning of the Corona crisis. Due to the intensified precautionary measures in the logistics centers, such as the formation of fixed teams and the staggering of shift schedules, it was not always possible to achieve maximum productivity and utilization of the sorting machines. Additionally, the significantly increased proportion of bulky goods further complicated the work of the postal staff.

Even with the deployment of the federal army, which took over work in the logistics centers in Hagenbrunn and Inzersdorf for two weeks and provided great assistance, it was not possible to process the same volumes as with a well-rehearsed core team.

Thanks to helpers

A big thank you is owed to all soldiers and civilian employees. Thanks to their help and support, the Post was able to place the entire team at these two locations under voluntary quarantine for 14 days as a health precaution.

However, due to the active efforts of the employees, the increase in personnel, and the introduction of additional special shifts, regular operations have now been restored. Deliveries in the rest of Austria, as well as letters and advertising mail, were not affected by the delays. As part of the critical infrastructure, the Austrian Post ensured the provision of postal services even at the peak of the crisis – including in quarantine areas.

To be prepared for the growing parcel volumes in the future, the Austrian Post is investing around 150 million euros this year alone, a large part of which will flow into logistics infrastructure. For example, the new logistics center in Kalsdorf will go into operation this summer, the expansion in Wolfurt in Vorarlberg is underway, and the expansion in Allhaming in Upper Austria was approved two weeks ago. Additionally, there will be an increase in personnel in the parcel sector.

Photo: © Austrian Post

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