DPD, Hermes and GLS team up for ParcelLock venture

DPD, GLS and Hermes have established a new joint venture company, ParcelLock GmbH, which will launch carrier-neutral parcel boxes for the home delivery market. Dirk Reiche, who has been named as the Managing Director of the new Frankfurt-based company, said ParcelLock aims to build an “open” system which all parcel delivery companies –  not just the DPD, GLS and Hermes –  will able to use. (This approach differentiates ParcelLock from DHL’s Paketkasten system.)

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday (1 September), the three companies said that “tests runs” with the new parcel boxes are “already underway”, and that the system will be publicly unveiled in October.

DPD, GLS and Hermes first announced their plans for a carrier-neutral parcel box system in June 2014. Earlier this year, DPD and GLS were reported to be participating in the trials of the ParcelHome system in Belgium.

Prior to joining ParcelLock, Reiche had been the Managing Director of the Munich-based same-day delivery player tiramizoo.