DHL launches its first packing station in Vienna
1 million parcels delivered: DHL Parcel draws a positive interim balance after operating in the Austrian market for three months
Since November 23, the first DHL packing station at the address Julius-Ficker-Str. 91 in the 21st district of Vienna, located on the premises of the Merkur supermarket, is officially part of the network.
Its 83 boxes offer parcel customers in Vienna an attractive option to receive their parcels, and ship returns or parcels. We are proud of having implemented the first DHL packing station in Vienna, only three months after our official market launch. In total, we plan to install about 25 of these sending and reception stations in the capital city. Consumer markets like Merkur are ideal therefore, as people are passing by there anyway when doing their errands, so they have no extra way to pick up or send their parcel”, said Günter Birnstingl, Managing Director DHL Paket Austria.
Several hundred DHL packing stations shall be installed throughout Austria on the long term, all of them at public points like supermarkets, railway stations or fuel stations, accessible 24/7. Today, recipients who were not met at the point of delivery, can pick up their parcel from a nearby packing station. They can access the respective box by scanning a code on their notice card.
At the start of next year, also recipients in Austria will be able to have their parcel directly delivered to a packing station. During the booking process the recipient only has to fill in the selected DHL packing station on the address line, and his or her phone number. As soon as the parcel is delivered to the selected packing station, a text message is automatically sent to the indicated phone number, also containing a mTAN to access the box. Once this mTAN is entered at the machine, the respective box opens and the parcel can be picked up.
The DHL packing station allows picking up parcels or sending returns and prepaid packages around the clock, independent of opening times. There are no further costs. In Germany, already more than eight million customers are using the network of 2,750 packing stations in more than1,600 cities and municipalities.
Three months after the official launch DHL Paket Austria thus can draw a first successful and promising interim balance: “We could start setting up our packing station network in Vienna this year according to schedule. Our Parcel Shop network currently covers 1,000 stores throughout Austria – more than the ones of GLS and DPD – and in October we delivered the 1 millionth parcel. This brings us one step closer to our goal of becoming a second major player in the Austrian B2C business”, says Günter Birnstingl.
www.dpdhl.com