Yodel invests in additional sites to handle peak volumes

Yodel has unveiled plans to open 13 additional sites in the run-up to Christmas as part of its winter delivery plans.

A spokesman for the carrier was unable to disclose the locations of the planned seven satellite sites, five standalone service centres and returns centre in the Midlands, but said they will “all be opened in strategic locations”.

In order to cope with the expected influx of parcels, both the new sites and its existing locations will introduce daytime sorting, while deliveries will take place seven days a week.

To ensure that all parcels are delivered in the order they enter the network, the company has developed a ‘first in, first out’ process, where all parcels will be date stamped upon entering the sites.

The carrier has also been training its temporary workers since September, boosting its total workforce to 16,000.

Chairman Dick Stead said: “We maintain a close partnership with our clients throughout the year and their accurate forecasting has enabled us to fine-tune our operation to ensure that we have the correct resource and are able to react quickly to spikes in parcel volume.”

In the case of snow, all service centres will have the capacity to hold two-days worth of parcels and, if this is full, a national holding facility will provide additional storage space.

Last Christmas, Yodel delivered over 14 million parcels.