DPDgroup


DPDgroup is an international parcel delivery service for sorter compatible parcels weighing under 30 kg that delivers 5.3 million parcels worldwide every day. Its brands are DPD, Chronopost, Seur and BRT. The company is based in France and operates mainly in the express road-based market.
DPDgroup services are available in Europe, Asia, South Africa, India, Brazil and several other countries in the world, either directly or through partnerships.
DPDgroup is owned by La Poste, the international delivery network operated by the French state-owned postal service.
In 2019, DPDgroup delivered 1.3 billion parcels worldwide and achieved revenues of €7.8 billion.

History

Le Groupe La Poste

In the 1980s, Le Groupe La Poste originated its express transport activities with the creation of Chronopost in 1985.
In 1999, Le Groupe La Poste created GeoPost to consolidate its express transport and parcel delivery businesses. In the 2000s, GeoPost carried out a series of acquisitions concerning transport operators in various European markets.
GeoPost bought the UK-based Parceline and Ireland's Interlink parcel service in November 2000, for around $277 million. In 2008 it was rebranded as Dynamic Parcel Distribution.
In 2001, GeoPost became the main shareholder of DPD, a company created in 1977 in Aschaffenburg, West Germany. In the same year, GeoPost acquired the British company Parceline which was rebranded DPD in March 2008.
GeoPost then made successive acquisitions:
In 2015, GeoPost combined its DPD, Chronopost and Seur brands under one umbrella: DPDgroup.
On this occasion, Exapaq became DPD France and the logo of Chronopost was modified to show it was part of DPDgroup.
In 2016, DPDgroup increased its equity investments within the DPD network - including taking 100% control of DPD in Germany - and acquired a 60% stake in JadLog.
In 2017, DPDgroup increased its stake in the Seur network to 87%, completed the acquisition of Stuart and took a 37.5% stake in BRT.
In 2018, the stake in the SEUR network was increased to 94% and DPDgroup acquired a minority stake in Ninja Van, a specialist in the last mile in South-East Asia.
In 2019, DPDgroup became the major shareholder in BRT by increasing its share in the capital to 85% and acquired a majority stake in Lenton, the Asian-based cross-border service provider.

Activities

Types of services

DPDgroup operates in the light-weight parcel delivery market, which is typically referred to as the “CEP” market.
The CEP market differs from courier services and from freight.
DPDgroup operates in the different sub-segments of the CEP market, which are defined according to the following criteria:
DPDgroup mainly operates in Europe, with a direct presence in 23 countries:
The company also operates through stakes in companies or commercial partnerships in other European countries.
Outside of Europe, DPDgroup operates:
Lastly, regarding international import and export flows, DPDgroup is positioning itself in the freight forwarding market through its Tigers subsidiary, an international freight forwarder that operates in Asia, in Australia, in the United States and in Europe.

Organization

Management

Since end of June 2020, the company has been chaired by Chairman-CEO Boris Winkelmann, who is also Executive Vice-President of Le Groupe La Poste.

Metrics

Financial data

DPDgroup's strategy is to develop its business in several lines:
In 2012, DPDgroup committed itself to carbon-neutral deliveries. CO2 emissions are gradually being reduced and offset, through support for renewable energy projects in India and Brazil. In 2019, DPDgroup reduced its CO2 emissions generated by road transport by 14% per parcel compared to 2013.
Offset of the remaining transport emissions is done by purchasing carbon credits. DPDgroup’s investment represents more than 1 % of the global voluntary carbon offset market in 2019.
For inner-city deliveries, DPDgroup has implemented smart urban delivery initiatives. Since October 2019, Chronopost France has been operating 100% green deliveries in Paris, thanks to low-emission vehicles and urban depots. In autumn 2018, DPD UK's first urban depot opened in London and now 700 electric vehicles are deployed in the United Kingdom, to form the largest UK green livery. The company's green fleet and urban depots are in line with London's Ultra Low Emission Zone standards. Deliveries by alternative vehicles are also operated in Dublin, Hamburg, Madrid, Tallinn and Warsow.
In February 2018, DPD faced widespread criticism in the UK due to the treatment of Don Lane, one of its couriers. Lane had previously been fined £150 by DPD UK for attending a medical appointment to treat his diabetes and ultimately collapsed and died of the condition. According to Lane's widow, he had missed appointments with specialists because he felt under pressure to cover his route. Frank Field MP, Chairman of the House of Commons' Work and Pensions Select Committee, said "DPD have been told time and again that their punitive regime is totally unjust, particularly as their workers are labelled ‘self-employed’. Such mistreatment of workers smacks of sweated labour from the Victorian era." In March 2018, DPD UK announced that they would be offering all of their UK workers the opportunity to be classed as employees, and that they would abolish the fines for missing work. Plans were announced in March 2018 to create a DPD Driver Code later in the year, and to introduce a "self-employed worker" contract, which will offer drivers an alternative to working as a direct employee of DPD UK or working with the company on a self-employed basis.
In November 2019, DPDgroup launched a Group-wide air quality monitoring programme measuring air quality with sensors on vans and Pickup points. Data are provided for free to cities & citizens.