For DPD to have won the Home Delivery Operator of the Year award for the fourth year running is no mean feat but according to the judges, DPD’s ‘X factor’ lay in its ability to communicate with customers, consumers and its supply chain and its commitment to use this to improve its services. DPD’s campaign to make its delivery service more personal, launched last year after feedback from customers and consumers, is a key example.
Dubbed ‘tiny noticeable things’ the campaign was inspired by regular customer feedback sessions and involved DPD using its DPD customer app to create a 45,000-strong focus group with which it worked to formulate and launch six new consumer offerings.
The six solutions include Message the Driver, which allows consumers to send drivers useful information such as accessibility or precise location; You’re Next, which alerts consumers when the driver is five minutes away; In-flight, which allows recipients to make changes to their delivery once it’s out on the road; and Rate My Driver, which customers can use to give doorstep experience feedback.
The results were rapid, with DPD achieving its best ever service level for on-time delivery of 98.95% in 2019, with 2.75m more parcels delivered right first-time than in 2018.
DPD has also made great progress in cutting its carbon footprint. Since 2017 it has grown its electric vehicle fleet from just five to 622. It has also created the first network of all-electric micro depots in London, producing an emissions reduction of 95.8 tonnes of CO2 per annum, and invented its own zero emissions e-cargo bike in partnership with British start-up EAV, dubbed the P1. Suitable for pedestrian zones, roads and cycle lanes, this will save DPD 30 tonnes of CO2 a year and also lower costs, once fully deployed.
Our judges were blown away by DPD’s “outstanding customer service levels and innovative introduction of electric vehicles”, one commenting: “DPD displayed significant innovation in two key areas. First, improved end recipient engagement, and second, innovating in its vehicle fleet, not just through procuring cleaner vehicles but by working with the supply chain to develop new products.”
"For us to win the home delivery award is a very proud moment for us because although we have a significant business to business arm we’re seeing the vast majority of our growth in B2C.
"We see ourselves as a crucial part of the e-commerce sector so for us to be recognised as the best at home delivery is something we can be very proud of. We’re delighted to share it with our customers and the consumers we deliver to. We’ve made the doorstep experience as good as it can be and are continually looking for ways to make it even better.
"This award recognises that commitment."
Dwain McDonald