Birmingham 26th 2010 – In our fast-paced modern world, express delivery services are now integral to both private and corporate transactions in the UK and beyond. For ordinary consumers, they primarily facilitate the growing tendency toward home delivery inspired by the internet; for businesses, they enable the rapid transfer of original documents and the transportation of time-sensitive products, thus speeding up operations and reducing inventory costs. Being able to respond quickly to customer demand – for new products, spare parts, contracts and so on – is essential to winning and maintaining business. Without express delivery, corporate competitiveness would be significantly undermined.

As these services are such an important part of modern business, including the transport industry, the Institute of Transport Management (ITM) monitors the major players in the sector on an ongoing basis. In a bid to reward high performance and inform members of the best services on the market, the Institute issues annual Awards. Today, the Institute is delighted to announce that the ‘UK and European Express Delivery Company 2010’ title goes to DPD.

DPD is part of leading European parcel group GeoPost, which is owned by La Poste. DPD itself is represented in 42 locations across the UK, with a staff of over 4,000 people and a fleet of more than 1,700 vehicles – including the greatest number of fuel-efficient double decker trailers in the business. It also has 38 depots in the Republic of Ireland, where it operates the largest express delivery network. The company can boast four decades of experience in the express delivery business, having started life in 1970 as Courier Express, becoming Parceline in 1984 before acquiring its present identity in 2008, eight years after the takeover by La Poste. Since then, significant investment has been made to enhance DPD’s provision for customers, for example a new £56million superhub at Oldbury in the West Midlands which can process up to half a million parcels per night. From this solid operating platform, the company offers a wide range of services covering all aspects of domestic, European and international parcel delivery.

DPD can claim a number of industry firsts and top-rankings, such as the one-hour delivery target for home shoppers which was launched in February this year and which has boosted first-time delivery rates by 21.7 percent. The ‘Predict’ scheme involves a text or email advance warning of delivery time, enabling the customer to arrange to be at home during the planned hour of delivery – or else text or email back to reschedule. This service is available at no extra cost to the customer, and is handled by an automated system which ensures reliability and precision. DPD is fully committed to maximising the use of cutting edge technology which streamlines operations on the ground. For this reason, the company also uses the Universe data management system to connect the depots and driver and provide detailed tracking information.

Commenting on the Award to DPD and the express delivery business as a whole, Mr. Patrick Sheedy, Media and P.R. Director for the Institute, said: “Demand for express delivery services in the UK and further afield shows no sign of diminishing; as our world becomes ever more complex, interconnected and fast-action, we are relying increasingly on services which get us what we want, when we want it. Those services are express delivery. Companies providing these services are going to have to keeping innovating new methods of satisfying customers’ needs, both to keep up with client expectations and the offerings of competitors. DPD has really taken the fight to its rivals by introducing the ‘Predict’ scheme earlier this year.”

“Predict provides a superb, customer-orientated service which acknowledges the fact that we all live busy lives; there are few things more frustrating than waiting around for a delivery which doesn’t show up, or else popping out for five minutes and finding a ‘Sorry we missed you’ note on the doormat. The Predict scheme prevents such mishaps, and works around the needs of the customer – as every good service and business should. On top of the benefits to the customer, Predict reduces fuel consumption and emissions, thus providing economical and environmental advantages. This is exactly the kind of innovation we at the Institute like to see, and the kind we take into account when deciding on accreditations. Today it is my pleasure to announce the accreditation of DPD with the ‘UK and European Express Delivery Company 2010’ Award, which I very much hope to present in person at the Award Ceremony later this year.”