DPD records biggest ever Cyber Weekend

DPD UK has recorded its biggest ever Cyber Weekend, with parcel volumes up 13 percent on last year.

The company has revealed it experienced record volumes of parcels in its four automated sorting hubs each night in the week running up to Black Friday and right through the weekend.

Even though parcel volumes are expected to fall slightly this week, the firm is expecting them to build to a second peak on December 16, following the last major weekend of online Christmas shopping.

Dwain McDonald, DPD UK's chief executive, said in a statement: "It has been an incredible weekend. We have maintained our very high service standard, despite record volumes and that is something everyone should be very proud of. We start planning for Peak in January and we look at every single aspect of the whole process, but when it all comes together it is still a great achievement for everyone involved.

"Black Friday and Cyber Weekend are here to stay, and we fully accept that. We have had to adapt our plans significantly in recent years, but we work incredibly hard with our retail customers to ensure we can give them the same great service in November and December as we do over the rest of the year."

To prepare for the increase in parcels, DPD added that it had a record number of delivery vans on the road over the weekend having recruited a “significant number” of new permanent drivers, and the company's growing fleet of electric vehicles made a “significant contribution”.

Image: courtesy of DPD