Deutsche Post expands outlet network for business customers
Deutsche Post today began testing special business mail drop-offs for letters and parcels at 38 locations. The company will be testing these additional posting offices for business customers at a total of 100 locations throughout Germany until late 2007. Since April, Deutsche Post has been conducting a pilot project with business mail drop-offs at five locations in Dortmund for those business customers who must otherwise make daily trips to retail outlets to post their items. Deutsche Post is thus responding to the desire expressed by this customer group for faster and easier handling of posting. The new drop-offs will also relieve some of the burden on retail outlets and further reduce waiting times at these locations.
Business mail drop-offs allow fast, easy posting of normal letter mail, Infopost and Infobrief products as well as Postwurf items. Self-labeled registered mail, items for the Franking service, items machine franked by the sender and COD items will also be accepted at these locations. Franked and unfranked DHL parcels and small packages as well as return parcels can also be posted. The acceptance process has been kept simple and the locations chosen to provide the most favorable parking and unloading conditions possible. Letter and parcel stamps are offered for sale as well.
The 100 new business mail drop-offs planned will augment the approximately 120 existing bulk mail acceptance offices throughout Germany which have for years now been accepting large quantities of letters and parcels from business customers. In June, Deutsche Post announced that it would be testing 600 new Postpoints to be opened by the end of the year with a focus on serving private customers. Starting in 2008, Deutsche Post will then be available for its customers at more than 13,700 locations in Germany. Added to this are the approximately 900 Packstations open for drop-off and pick-up of small packages and parcels around the clock. The number of these stations will grow to 2,400 by the end of 2009.
The pilot testing of the new drop-offs is part of the worldwide “First Choice” service campaign launched last year. As part of this campaign, the Group is seeking to become the first choice for all customers in search of a logistics service provider.
