Yodel partners with Hexapole to deliver improved small parcel sortation

The partnership was brought about by increasing demand from e-commerce orders.

Hexapole has previously worked with Yodel and supplied the business with the first small parcel sorter (SPS) on site at its Hatfield sort centre.

As the number of online order continues to grow, Yodel decided to install a second SPS at its Shaw centre to keep up with the increased demand. Hexapole adapted and refined the sorter at their base in the Netherlands to meet Yodel’s specifications and was then transported and installed in Shaw.

The new operation sorts parcels into plastic sacks and when full, they are sealed, labelled and transported manually directly to dispatch.

Containerised parcels can be processed and tracked as a single unit, which increases efficiencies and reduces the requirement for manual processes such as individual scanning.

Carl Moore, Chief Operations Officer said: “This investment in equipment and tech will help deliver improvements in flow as well as reduce parcel handling by our colleagues. Since its installation, the operational benefits have been immediate.”

Bas Bloemink, Managing Director at Hexapole added: “At the Hatfield Distribution Centre, our sorting machine and software control have been used for more than 20 years. It is fantastic that Yodel has chosen to work with Hexapole to install a second SPS for their national distribution centre in Shaw. Our sorting system enables the company to manage all kinds of mixed flows of small and larger parcels.”