DPD rolls out upgraded B2C parcel service in Russia
DPD has been rolling out an updated delivery service for business-to-consumer parcels in Russia since the end of last month. The company, part of La Poste’s GeoPost Group, has now expanded its DPD Consumer service to 3,000 towns and cities in Russia.
The service in 2,600 of those areas includes the option of payment-on-delivery, important for distance selling where consumers do not have credit cards suitable for online payments, or distrust electronic payment channels.
DPD said its service also includes other features making parcel delivery more convenient for consumers, including a fixed date for deliveries, and notice of delivery given by text message or email – after which consumers can change the delivery date or time slot via the DPD Call Centre.
The new DPD Consumer service also allows consumers to take back returns at less than the cost of a normal delivery.
The delivery company said Russia’s distance-selling market is booming, with 70% of residents in major Russian cities now using online stores three or four times a month.
For ecommerce retailers, DPD provides integration for its IT systems with those of merchants, and a range of tracking and delivery cost calculation tools though its MyDPD service. Items can be tracked through the dpd.ru website.
“High quality sales channel”
Leonid Zondberg, the commercial director of DPD in Russia, said the DPD Consumer services would encourage more retailers to get into online selling.
“DPD Consumer is a product created in accordance with the requirements of leading online retailers and companies that are just entering the distance selling market,” he said.
“A large team worked for a number of months in order to help online stores increase sales and expand their presence in Russia and help offline sellers offer their clients a new and high quality sales channel.”
DPD has been operating in Russia for more than 15 years, and currently has a staff of more than 1,000, delivering around 6m parcels a year via a network of 60 terminals and branches.
The company has been expanding its presence in Russia in recent months to respond to the growth in e-commerce and distance selling. It has opened new offices in various regions of Russia, and is set to open a new call centre operation in Moscow and Novosibirsk by July.
Earlier this year, DPD formed a partnership with Germany’s Hermes Logistics Group to develop a network of parcel shops around Russia, with plans to establish 1,500 shops in 44 of the country’s biggest cities by 2014.
