Deutsche Post to introduce up to 650 new ‘pack stations’ in Germany

Deutsche Post, the German postal service, is planning to introduce up to 650 new collection sites in 13 cities in Germany by the end of the year. These collection sites, which will be known as ‘pack stations’, will operate in a similar way to safe-deposit boxes, allowing customers to collect and dispatch packages around the clock, seven days a week. Pilot schemes have already been operated in Frankfurt, Mainz and Dortmund, and have been successful. Customers will be able to select a conveniently located collection point after registering for the services, and will be informed by SMS or e-mail when a package arrives for them.

This new service is expected to solve the problem of private customers who work long hours and are unable to receive packages at home during the day. Until now, many of these customers have arranged to have parcels delivered to their work address; however, the volume of packages delivered to businesses has become so great that some companies have banned employees from receiving personal deliveries at work.