DPDgroup Reports Record Year 2020 and Five-Year Strategy

The international DPDgroup, Europe’s largest parcel delivery network, presents the best results in its history and outlines its strategy for the coming years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DPDgroup has become an indispensable partner in delivering essential goods for consumers and businesses. This is reflected in a revenue growth of 42 percent compared to the previous year. By 2025, DPDgroup aims to further expand its core activities, accelerate initiatives, and explore new horizons as part of its strategy ‘Together and Beyond.’

(Paris/Aschaffenburg) COVID-19 led to a significant increase in parcel volume for DPD. Lockdowns, social distancing, and preventive measures resulted in a surge in orders. In 2020 alone, DPDgroup delivered half a billion more parcels than in the previous year.

Record volumes were also achieved in Germany in 2020, driven by the corona-related boom in e-commerce and B2C business. Revenue in Germany increased by 14 percent from 2019 to 2020, while parcel volumes rose by 13 percent year-on-year. Eric Malitzke, CEO of DPD Germany, emphasizes the societal importance of the company during the exceptional year 2020: ‘DPD Germany has proven to be an indispensable basic supplier for society and the economy during the crisis. With up to 2.5 million parcels per day, we not only supplied millions of households last year but also filled shelves and kept productions running. All of this was achieved with adapted processes such as mobile working or contactless delivery to ensure the safety of our employees as well as our customers and recipients at all times.’

The pandemic also means a significant acceleration of customer trends expected by 2024 for the entire international DPDgroup, such as an increased demand for urban logistics and a higher environmental awareness. Additionally, there was a clear shift towards B2C. In 2020, 55 percent of the order volume in the international group was attributed to the B2C sector. Significant growth was also recorded in specific delivery categories such as food or medical supplies. For example, Chronofresh in France more than doubled its volume (+115 percent). In the health sector, the subsidiaries of DPDgroup are particularly engaged. In France, several thousand vaccine doses have already been delivered by Chronopost, in Spain by Tipsa, and in South Africa by Biocair. Stuart, the technological platform for express delivery in cities, recorded 19.7 million deliveries in France, Poland, Spain, and the UK. This corresponds to an increase of 75 percent compared to 2019.

Boris Winkelmann, CEO and Chairman of DPDgroup, explains: ‘DPDgroup has demonstrated the resilience, flexibility, and agility expected of a company of our size. Thanks to these qualities, we were able to act quickly and efficiently even in the face of a global pandemic, developing new practices to manage the increased volumes and connect the world. These strengths will continue to be key to seizing new opportunities in the future.’

The Key Achievements

In addition to the emerging consumer trends, volumes also increased significantly. Resilience and flexibility were crucial factors in meeting these challenges. As the first delivery company, DPDgroup introduced contactless parcel delivery. At the same time, the service within the DPDgroup’s parcel shop network was seamlessly maintained. More than 100 new hubs and depots were also opened. The network now comprises 1,200 locations.

Additionally, more than 20,000 workers are strengthening DPDgroup to meet the growing parcel volumes. In light of the high demand, DPDgroup’s volume grew by 24 percent, and organic revenue increased by 23 percent. Particularly strong volume growth was recorded in countries where the B2C sector already accounts for the largest share of activities: Ireland (+47 percent), the UK (+39 percent), Poland (+24 percent), and Spain (+23 percent). In countries with a higher B2B share, economic disruptions led to a smaller increase. France recorded +9 percent for DPD and +13 percent for Chronopost, while DPD Germany saw +13 percent.

2020 also marked several important developments, such as the acquisition of BRT (85 percent), Italy’s leading parcel service provider, as well as Geis Parcel, a significant logistics company in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and a capital increase to 98 percent in Brazil’s leading parcel service provider Jadlog.

For 2030, DPDgroup has a clear goal in mind: the company aims to become the international benchmark for sustainable parcel delivery and a leading enabler of growing e-commerce. Additionally, DPDgroup aims to double its revenue from 2020 to 21 billion euros by 2025. The group focuses on three pillars:

Expanding Core Activities

With a volume share of around 25 percent of the European road network, DPDgroup is currently the leading B2B player in Europe. The intra-European network of DPDgroup includes multidimensional solutions to connect customers and services. This also includes various services for the so-called last mile in all European countries. DPDgroup aims to further expand its position as a market leader in both business areas in light of intensified competition. Additionally, the group intends to leverage its acquired expertise for the migration from B2B to B2C, particularly by becoming a European ‘one-stop-shop’ for B2B and B2C, especially in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. The cross-border strategy within the EU aims to further optimize the service offering and strengthen cross-border capacity management.

Accelerating Initiatives

DPDgroup plans to further expand its current position and become the most innovative premium X2C player in Europe with an annual growth rate of 15 percent by 2025. DPDgroup also aims for an intelligent, selective, and country-specific strategy for the broad market. Initiatives such as Out-of-Home (OOH) will be promoted by densifying the parcel shop and parcel station network (pickup network) and expanding the presence in the developing C2C segment. DPDgroup expects to double its network to ensure European coverage of 90 percent, meaning that 90 percent of the European population should be able to reach a pickup point in less than ten minutes. Plans include 100,000 pickup points, of which 70,000 will be parcel shops and 30,000 parcel stations, to achieve the densest coverage across Europe.

Furthermore, DPDgroup intends to continue focusing on health and food sectors and further expand its expertise in temperature-controlled delivery and its highly developed urban logistics network. DPDgroup already holds a significant share in urban logistics. In the future, development in this segment should be accelerated to establish itself as an industry leader in five service areas: same-day delivery, urban hub-to-home delivery, delivery within a specified time window in the evening, delivery directly from the store, ‘proximity points’ in food delivery as infrastructure for urban services, and micro-fulfillment capabilities to enable h+-delivery in urban areas.

Exploring New Horizons

The future of logistics is determined by the international market. In particular, the Asian, South American, and African markets, as well as the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, show significant growth potential. DPDgroup aims to strengthen its existing intercontinental presence and further expand its position in East Asia, India, Turkey, and Brazil.

Asendia, the joint venture between Le Groupe La Poste and Swiss Post, has joined GeoPost/DPDgroup to accelerate the development of Le Groupe La Poste in light of the significant growth of e-commerce in global parcel logistics and parcel services. With substantial investments and the utilization of international synergies, DPDgroup aims to increase the share of intercontinental business to 20 percent of total revenue by 2025. To achieve this, DPDgroup relies on data-driven strategies and a data-driven customer focus. One of the dominant trends in the parcel industry is the use of data intelligence to enhance customer experience and revenue management. As part of several projects, DPDgroup aims to build a framework of real-time data to further optimize and personalize customer service and expand the services offered. To meet the growing customer demands for more flexibility in delivery, DPDgroup is also working on developing new options. Additionally, DPDgroup plans to pool resources. For this, DPDgroup relies on decentralized management and partnerships, such as with PostNord for Scandinavia or with Japan Post (co-shareholder of Lenton).

A Clear Commitment to Sustainability

Sustainability is a central concern for DPDgroup. Each of the set goals is therefore supported by green technologies and environmental commitment, such as reducing CO2 emissions per parcel by 30 percent by 2025 compared to 2013. 30 percent of urban pollution is caused by logistics processes. DPDgroup therefore sees itself as responsible for contributing to air improvement in urban areas. In October 2020, DPDgroup presented a plan for low-emission delivery in 225 European cities by 2025, benefiting 80 million Europeans. The core aim is to reduce carbon emissions in the relevant cities by 89 percent and pollutant levels by 80 percent.

Boris Winkelmann summarizes DPDgroup’s ambitions and goals: ‘The year 2020 had a profound and lasting impact on the e-commerce and logistics industry. I am proud of the resilience and success of my team and am convinced that we are better positioned than ever to become the international benchmark for sustainable delivery and a leading enabler of e-commerce. If we seize the opportunities and fully leverage our innovative strength, we can definitely achieve our ambitious goals by 2025 and beyond.’

Photo: © DPD

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