DPD is growing at high double-digit rates in Russia this year on the back of strong e-commerce growth driven by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and big international online sales events.
The company has delivered a record number of parcels in Russia during the first nine months of this year with a 35% increase. Parcel volumes increased even further by 43% last month, especially thanks to the Singles Day and Black Friday sales events in November.
The company said that this year’s record growth was the most unusual in the history of Russian logistics as Black Friday and Christmas sales this year coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
“The results of the first nine months of 2020 indicate a change in consumer behaviour, a volume increase in a number of business segments and a transition to modern payment methods for orders and communication with customers – online,” DPD Russia explained.
During peak periods in the first three quarters of this year, DPD delivered up to 200,000 parcels per day which is 35% more than in the same period last year. A record 200% growth was recorded in online retail – DPD delivered almost 19 million parcels in this segment during the nine months.
The total weight of delivered items increased by 22%, while the average weight of a parcel decreased by 20% due to the delivery of goods from online stores and from individuals. The growth of online payments in the B2C and C2C segments was 87%.
The average price per parcel delivery was down 14% at DPD while the company's revenues in Russia were up 29% year-on-year.
Deliveries from online shops up 78% in November
The Singles Day and Black Friday sales boosted the increase in shipment volumes in 2020, DPD stressed. The sales events took place online so shoppers could profit from the discounts for another week. Thus, DPD made 78% more deliveries from online stores in November than a year earlier. The top 3 most popular products included cosmetics and perfumery, clothing and footwear, and healthcare products. Deliveries in the cosmetics and perfumery segments increased by 53%, and clothes and shoes delivery by 36%. Deliveries of health care products increased by 21% compared to November last year. At the same time, jewelry delivery was only ordered half as often as in November 2019.
“At DPD, we are preparing in advance to the increase in parcel volumes at the beginning of the peak season. 2020 exceeded our wildest expectations. The peculiarity of this peak season is the need to comply with increased security measures at all stages of production – to disinfect the terminal premises every day, wear masks. The first wave of the lockdown taught us how to cope with new challenges and fulfill our obligations to customers in any circumstances,” Anna Matveyeva, Director Operations, DPD Russia, said.
The surge in activity in early November was preceded by a decline in demand: thanks to a massive advertising campaign, shoppers preferred to postpone purchases until the sales started. The average amount per purchase on Singles Day was down 18% compared to a typical day and rose 5% on Black Friday. At the same time, parcels in November were 15% heavier compared to 2019. This is due to the new habit of Russians to buy literally everything online – from jewelry to car tires, DPD explained.
New IT solutions
Meanwhile, DPD Russia has accelerated investments in digitalisation and IT solutions this year.
“Due to the versatility of operations and processes developed over 28 years in all segments, DPD is at a fundamentally different stage of growth and development, we are slightly ahead of the market. Production volumes are accelerating the implementation of IT solutions,” Matveyeva said.
“All the projects that we have been preparing for two years to increase productivity and automate processes, the implementation of IT solutions, have now become very relevant. These include Smart Delivery, interactive courier tracking capabilities, secure delivery using a PIN code. All modern technologies allow us to be online. As a result, we process orders more efficiently, which was immediately appreciated by our customers and recipients.”
To optimise the working efficiency of its delivery staff, DPD in Russia implemented an IT solution that makes it possible to automatically distribute and plan courier routes, know exactly the location of each delivery worker and help plan a route taking into account the situation on the road. It also allows the delivery person to communicate with the recipient via a smartphone app.
Chatbot for customer service calls
According to the company's forecasts, the peak season, combined with the restrictions of the second wave of COVID-19, will ensure an increase in the number of calls to the DPD contact center in Russia by 25-30% due to online shoppers.
In 2020, recipients have become more willing to use digital communication channels. DPD Russia uses artificial intelligence to work with requests. The robot Julia independently answers 35% of e-mails, takes over about 40% of incoming traffic and about 80% of outgoing traffic. DPD solves up to a quarter of all incoming customer inquiries in Russia without voice communication. For the peak season, 25% more employees were hired for the contact center.
