DPD: 1.3 billion parcels delivered in 2019

DPD released its 2019 results. It generated total revenue of €7.8 billion, an increase of 6.7% compared to 2018. During the year, a total of 1.3 billion parcels were delivered worldwide.

The delivery service provider DPD states that one of their busiest days was Cyber Monday (December 2nd, 2019). On this day, a total of 9.3 million parcels were delivered in Europe. Over the year, DPD saw a 9% volume increase in B2C Europe. The company aims to focus on the quality of service, despite new regulative restrictions such as environmental laws on delivery in city centres and an overall shortage of drivers.

Yves Delmas, Executive Vice President, COO Europe, at DPD comments: "We are not volume-obsessed. Our 2019 performance is driven by profitable growth. As a market leader, it is our responsibility to pave the way toward a better pricing policy. Covering the increasing operational costs throughout Europe while improving our service performance as a premium player can only be made possible by fair pricing that our customers understand."

The European market

Largely B2C-driven, the European market continues to grow. Despite a 9% increase in B2C volumes, DPD still holds a hybrid B2B and B2C network. The share of the B2B segment still accounts for 55% of all volumes. The largest B2C-growth markets are Poland (18%), the UK (5.7%), France (5.5% by DPD France and 6.6% by Chronopost) and Germany (4.5%).

Premium services

Delivery service provider DPD started to offer new services in 2019 in specific markets. In France, Spain, the UK and Germany, DPD started food-delivery. Another innovation is the Express urban delivery which is active in 142 European cities. Aside from that, smart urban depots and a Shop2Shop service are being rolled out.

New activities in the Asian market

DPD took a minority stake in Ninja Van in 2018, supporting the company in 2019. Ninja Van is now active in six markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The delivery service provider acquired a majority stake in another company, Lenton, too. This Asian-based company is a cross-border deliver service provider. This acquisition is aiming at enlarging the connection between the Chinese and European markets.