Australia Post opens parcel hubs and offers delivery choice

Australia Post is this week opening enlarged parcel sorting facilities in Sydney and Melbourneunder an A$2 billion capacity expansion programme and is offering consumers more delivery choice

The company yesterday officially opened its upgraded Sydney Parcel Facility, located at Chulloraon the edge of Australia’s largest metropolis. The upgrade to the facility includesstate-of-the-art equipment and technology that will double processing capacity, improvereliability, provide greater tracking and bolster employee safety.

A similar makeover at Australia Post’s Melbourne Parcel Facility at Sunshine West will beunveiled later this week, meaning businesses and consumers will benefit from a doubling of capacityand significant capability uplift in Australia’s two biggest markets.

Australia Post Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Fahour, said theworld-class expansion of Sydney Parcel Facility was one of several key proof-points demonstratingAustralia Post’s commitment to meeting the changing needs of customers.

“In 2012 we announced a $2 billion investment to transform our operations so that Australianbusinesses and consumers could benefit from a rapidly growing e-commerce industry that now accountsfor more than $15 billion a year being spent online,” Fahour said. “Our expansion programme has notonly delivered major safety, productivity and cost improvements to our parcel service, it has morethan doubled our capacity at our two largest facilities. We can now handle around 1.3 million itemsthrough these facilities per day, up from 520,000.”

Fahour stressed that the investment programme was designed to offer customers “access to anunrivalled delivery and retail network in Australia” and would allow the postal group to deliversignificant improvements to the customer experience, with improved reliability and visibility ofeach parcel’s journey through the network and more delivery choice and control.

The Sydney Parcel Facility is one of a number of sites Australia Post has upgraded as part ofits $2 billion investment, which also included the full acquisition of StarTrack, extending therange of convenient delivery options, such as Australia Post’s free, 24/7 parcel lockers in over180 locations nationally, and the introduction of Saturday deliveries in 2015.

Meanwhile, Australia Post has launched MyPost Deliveries, a new free service that givescustomers choice over exactly where their parcels get delivered. By registering for MyPost account,customers can choose their closest or most convenient delivery point, whether to their home, a postoffice close to work or a Parcel Locker, with the flexibility to change it every time theyshop.

Australia Post is already making Christmas easier for customers with extended Post Officeopening hours and weekend parcel deliveries commencing this month. The new MyPost Deliveriesservice means keen online shoppers can have their parcels securely and conveniently delivered to aPost Office or 24/7 Parcel Locker during the busy festive season and beyond.

Fahour said MyPost Deliveries gives customers unprecedented access and control over how theyreceive their parcels. “As people’s shopping habits have changed, so have their delivery demands.Australia Post is giving its customers more choices than ever with the launch of MyPostDeliveries.”

The CEO added that the company is very pleased with customers’ response to the new 24/7 ParcelLockers. “The latest Australia Post research shows 84% of Parcel Locker customers are extremelylikely to use the service again and 41% said they have been shopping online more since using aParcel Locker.”