Post Office teams up with DPD on click & collect location deal
The Post Office has teamed up with DPD to enable it to provide click & collect locations across the UK.
The agreement means that DPD can deliver parcels directly to Post Office branches from where customers can collect their online purchases from retailers.
The service will initially be made available at around 250 Post Offices this month before being rolled out to around 1,500 branches ahead of the peak Christmas trading period. If customers making a purchase online choose their local Post Office as the collection point, DPD will deliver parcels directly to the Post Office and the postmaster will process customer collections at the counter.
Nick Read, chief executive at the Post Office, said: “Combining the biggest physical retail network with one of the Europe’s best-known logistical carriers provides greater customer convenience, footfall for Postmasters and helps people back to the High Street as Covid-19 restrictions ease. I’m delighted that through our partnership with DPD, customers can select their local Post Office to collect their parcels and know that they are often open longer hours, staffed by a knowledgeable Postmaster and located moments from where they live.”
The Post Office currently has 11,500 branches. It previously only had an agreement with Royal Mail Group for parcel collections directly at its branches, but has now opened up its network to external carriers for the first time in its 360-year history.
Elaine Kerr, DPD chief executive, said: “Having the option to deliver to Post Offices helps us achieve that. DPD will provide all-electric delivery to 10 major towns and cities by the end of this year and 25 locations by 2025. With that and recipients having the option to walk to their local Post Office to collect a missed parcel, the vision of a carbon-free ‘last mile’ is becoming a reality.”
