DHL Doubles Packstations in Germany to 12,000 Units

Deutsche Post DHL will double the number of Packstations in Germany from 6,000 to 12,000 by 2023. Almost every second household in Germany can already reach a Packstation within one kilometer. By the end of 2022, 1 million parcel lockers will be available. There is a high customer demand.

(Bonn) – Deutsche Post DHL will install around 6,000 additional Packstations for its customers by 2023. This will double the number of machines from currently over 6,000 to around 12,000 Packstations. “More and more customers are using the Packstation, and existing customers are using it more frequently. Especially during the Corona crisis, many new customers discovered the advantages of the Packstation, as they can send and receive their packages contactlessly at any time,” says Tobias Meyer, Board Member for Post & Parcel Germany at Deutsche Post DHL Group. “We also see a great interest from our partners, such as those in retail, public transport, and real estate companies, to set up Packstations at their locations. In collaboration with public transport companies, an environmentally friendly and traffic-relieving system for parcel supply can emerge. Therefore, we are pleased to make this popular service even more widely available to a growing number of users in the future.”

Every second household reaches a Packstation within 1 km

Deutsche Post DHL will offer the free service at additional locations in both urban and rural areas. Almost every second household in Germany can already reach a Packstation within one kilometer. About 80 percent of households have a partner branch of Deutsche Post, a DHL parcel shop, or a Packstation nearby within this distance. With the upcoming expansion, these distances will further decrease, and the number of users will continue to rise. By the end of 2021, DHL customers will have around 8,500 Packstations available, and a year later, there will already be about 10,500 Packstations with a total of over one million lockers. For 2023, the company expects further growth to at least 12,000 machines.

App-controlled variant

From now on, Deutsche Post DHL will also set up the purely app-controlled variant of the Packstation at around 200 locations initially. This new type of machine does not require a display, as the customer operates it exclusively with their smartphone. DHL customers will be able to use both types of machines in the future – the classic Packstation with a screen and scanner and the app-controlled variant. “Since the beginning of the year, we have been intensively testing 20 app-controlled Packstations in Cologne and Koblenz, and customer feedback has been very positive. The vast majority of Packstation customers are very familiar with using apps on their smartphones. We currently expect that of the 12,000 Packstations in 2023, about one in three will be app-controlled,” says Tobias Meyer. A large portion of these machines is equipped with solar panels on the roof, allowing the new Packstation type to be completely self-sufficient with renewable energy. “Since we no longer need an external power source, we can now also set up the Packstation in locations where it was previously not possible. This will bring our service even closer to our customers and make it more climate-friendly,” explains Tobias Meyer.

Rapid expansion

The rapid expansion of the Packstation network is part of a multi-year digitization program that Deutsche Post DHL Group presented in March of this year. The company is investing in new digital services and substantial improvements to existing solutions in the letter and parcel sector. DHL introduced the Packstation service as the first company in the German market back in 2003. The number of machines has increased significantly, especially in recent years: While there were only 2,800 Packstations installed nationwide at the end of 2014, there were about 4,400 machines by the end of 2019. By the end of this year, there will already be 6,500 DHL Packstations – an increase of almost 50 percent compared to the previous year. The Packstation is particularly popular because it is easy to use and available around the clock for sending and receiving packages. Additionally, it is often located in central places of daily life, allowing customers to conveniently combine package pickup and drop-off with their commute to work or grocery shopping.
Photo/Graphic: © DHL
www.dhl.de/packstation