Yodel invests in new sites to support continued growth in parcel volumes
With its parcel volumes increasing by 13% year-on-year, UK carrier Yodel has invested in four new sites in Alfreton, Selby, Northampton and Farnborough. The Alfreton service centre will be opening later this month, and the other three sites have all been opened over the past 12 months.
As a result of these investments, Yodel has created over 160 new jobs at the service centres for drivers, sorters, administrators and support workers.
The company said today (14 May) that it is planning to open further sites in 2015.
“The investment will enhance service levels throughout the UK with the new locations chosen for their proximity to major motorways and town centres,” said Yodel.
Yodel said that its new service centre strategy “also works towards removing the requirement for temporary additional satellite sites during peak times, such as Christmas, when parcel volumes increase dramatically”.
Fully operational by the end of July 2015, the site in Alfreton, Derbyshire will be able to handle 34,000 parcels per day, allowing for business and volume growth in the Midlands region.
Selby and Farnborough became operational in October 2014. The Selby site, which includes a 66,000 square foot distribution facility, currently handles 10,500 parcels per day and is undergoing investment to raise its capacity to 22,000 parcels per day.
The new service centre at Farnborough, which supports deliveries into Yodel’s South East network, is anticipated to deliver over 22,000 parcels a day in the run up to Christmas.
The Northampton service centre, which opened in September 2014, currently processes an average of 16,000 parcels daily and has capacity to handle up to 35,000 parcels per day.
As part of its investment programme, Yodel is also making “significant upgrades” to its IT and mechanical handling equipment.
Dick Stead, executive chairman of Yodel, said “These recent investments form part of a phased plan to increase the capacity and quality of Yodel’s service centre infrastructure, evidence of our long term aims within the UK parcel market.”
Yodel’s network of service centres receives trailers of parcels from Yodel’s three central sorts, strategically sited at Shaw, Wednesbury and Hatfield. Parcels are then processed and sent out for delivery.
