The Christmas season begins for PPL. How prepared is it?

This year you should order your Christmas presents by 16 December at the latest. The company’s recommends that the best way of speeding up transport is by delivery to the pick-up points – PPL Parcelshops.

PPL estimates that this year in November and December it will dispatch a total of 10% more parcels than last year. It expects a year-on-year increase particularly of parcels ordered from e-shops. The popularity of buying Christmas presents via the internet continues to rise and the company expects to ship 20% more parcels in this B2C segment than last year.

“Last year we delivered a historical record number of parcels in one day on 19 December 2018. This was 202,038 parcels. This year we expect the busiest days on 17 and 18 December and we will probably come close to reaching this number again. This year we should be able to deliver parcels we receive by 16 December in time for Christmas. During Advent we want to make use of the first in-first out system, and deliver parcels that have been dispatched first. If a parcel does not get delivered by 23 December, the addressee can expect it by 30 December at the earliest. This year there will be a holiday on 27 December so we won’t be working,“ explains Petr Horák, Managing Director PPL CZ & DHL Parcel Slovensko.

This year the company has managed to maintain the quality of its service by making over 95% of next-day deliveries and would like to maintain this figure through the season. The trust placed by customers in the company is confirmation of its high quality. Recently this year we have again been awarded the Most Trustworthy Brand for 2019 in the Parcel Service category.

Ideally you should send your parcels to the PPL Parcelshops

PPL recommends that addressees have their parcels sent to the pick-up points - PPL Parcelshops where they can pick up their parcels at a time most convenient for them, perhaps even over the weekend. Delivery to the pick-up points is the quickest and most effective delivery option that customer will appreciate, particularly at this time. Currently more than 1,850 PPL Parcelshops are available.

“The popularity of sending parcels to the pick-up points is constantly increasing because we are constantly expanding as well as increasing capacities at existing partnership points. Recently we even opened the first PPL Parcelshop at the Bořislavka metro station, the main function of which is to process parcels. During the season we expect an increase of deliveries to the PPL Parcelshops as compared to the rest of the year by up to 50%. We also expect that this season we will deliver 15% more parcels through the PPL Parcelshops as compared to last year,” adds Horák.

The company is prepared for the season, it operates 7 says a week

This year the company invested in the expansion of roller, belt and telescopic conveyors which run into the delivery storage area and thereby speed up and make parcel processing more effective. But this is not all. “We are constantly working on updating and improving client and customer apps, piloting the online chat customer service and equipping drivers with scanners and payment terminals. Throughout the year we increase the number and stabilise the team of PPL staff and we work intensively to hire seasonal staff so that we have a sufficient workforce to handle the extreme volume of parcels. It is during the period around Christmas that seasonal workers present the core of our company’s success. This year we also have negotiated Sunday collections and deliveries with selected customers in order to spread out the load of our capacities to a maximum. So we work 7 days a week,” describes Horák.

The number of drivers increases during the season by up to 45%, seasonal workers increase by 60 %

The average number of drivers distributing parcels off season was about 1,100 this year. During the season PPL expects to increase the number of vans by 200 and by 400 on the busiest days. “Currently the situation is such that we still lack workers in several regions, but in a minimum number. We hope to manage this year’s season without any complications. We can secure enough seasonal operational workers especially from agencies that are well-prepared this year,” adds Kamila Šandová, PPL CZ s.r.o. HR Director.

How can e-shops contribute to timely parcel deliveries during the season?

PPL has been trying to educate its clients on how to prepare their parcels so they can be easily and quickly delivered. In a nutshell, this means sticking on quality printed labels on the front of a parcel and making sure that nothing prevents its scanning – film, sticky tape, plastic, smudged print, etc. We also recommend packing into quality cardboard boxes (not bags, etc.), providing the addressee’s contact details and also always sending the data by email. Moreover e-shops will find a complete guide on the best way of wrapping up a parcel on the website HERE. You should also, among other things, use plenty of filler materials.

Next year PPL celebrates 25 years and is planning a series of activities

Next year PPL can look forward to celebrating 25 years. This will be a big theme that will be accompanied by a series of activities and events for partners, clients and customers. So we continue to expect to open further company PPL Parcelshops. We also plan to improve the area of operational technology and male innovations in the field of communication with customers and addressees.