DHL Plans to Expand Automated Post and Package Stations in Germany by 2030
The DHL Group intends to double the number of post and package stations in Germany by 2030, from the current 15,500 to around 30,000. To achieve this, the company is utilizing the opportunity to replace suburban branch offices with automated post stations, having already built 30 such stations, including four in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to Benjamin Rasch, the area manager for product management, branches and automation in the German post and package sector of the DHL Group, as reported by the Rheinische Post.
Automated post stations are already being heavily used, with over one million customers regularly utilizing the service, Rasch stated. The company aims to significantly increase the number of automated post stations, including video consultation and wants to make the expansion process more efficient and uncomplicated. DHL is interested in maintaining many of the 12,700 branch offices it operates in partnership with others. “Indirectly, it is likely that a number of our rural partners will continue to run their businesses because the postal business generates additional income for them” Rasch said.
However, the company is not willing to provide high subsidies to maintain a presence in rural areas, as this is not part of its statutory mandate, according to Rasch, who emphasized that the Deutsche Post’s primary responsibility is not to maintain social hubs in rural areas.