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DPD is absolutely delighted to announce that its call centre has been independently judged to be one of the Top 50 in the UK, for the second consecutive year.

Call Centre Focus magazine awarded DPD this prestigious accolade after a rigorous assessment was carried out by an independent panel of judges, who recognise the best UK-based customer service providers on an annual basis.

The award is recognition of DPD’s strong customer focus and sends out a positive message that when current and potential customers call-up, they will receive exceptional service levels.

DPD CEO, Dwain McDonald, said: “This is a really outstanding achievement. We have only entered this programme twice (in 2009 and 2010), and on both occasions we’ve soared straight into the Top 50.”

DPD’s actual ranking within the Top 50 will be announced at a gala dinner on October 12, 2010, in London.

Employees at DPD are celebrating this week after the company notched up a hat-trick of trophies at the prestigious Motor Transport Awards. 

Held at The Grosvenor Hotel in Park Lane and attended by 1,500 guests, the Awards are widely acknowledged as the ‘Oscars’ of the road haulage industry. DPD beat off stiff competition to collect the Innovation of the Year, Best Use of Technology and Fleet Van Operator of the Year awards.

All three of the company’s winning entries focused on different aspects of its ‘Predict’ service, a £2m technological investment that gives home shoppers a one hour window for their deliveries.

Launched in February this year, Predict has already increased ‘right first time’ deliveries by 21.7%, with a corresponding decrease in ‘Sorry we missed you’ cards. So far more than 2,500 online retailers have signed up to use Predict and the service has also produced environmental benefits, with CO2 emissions down and diesel consumption reduced.

The award judges said: “Predict has produced outstanding results. It is an excellent innovation and provides great customer benefits. All delivery networks should be aspiring to this technology.”

DPD CEO Dwain McDonald said: "I am delighted with these three awards which provide independent endorsement that our technology really does deliver benefits for our customers. My thanks to all employees who contributed to this fantastic achievement which further differentiates us in an extremely competitive market."

DPD has been awarded ‘UK and European Express Delivery Company 2010’ by the Institute of Transport Management (ITM) for our one hour delivery service, Predict.

The Institute of Transport Management is a non-profit organisation founded in the UK in 1977 to help monitor and improve standards in the transport industry. The Institute works in unison with government, regulatory and academic bodies, to encourage and promote professionalism in the transport arena through research and communications programmes.

The ITM monitors the major players in the transport sector on an ongoing basis in a bid to reward high performance and inform its members of the best services on the market,

The Institute commented; “DPD has really taken the fight to its rivals by introducing ‘Predict’ earlier this year. Predict provides a superb, customer-orientated service, and on top of the benefits to the customer, Predict helps reduce fuel consumption and emissions, thus providing economical and environmental advantages.

This is exactly the kind of innovation we at the Institute like to see, and the kind we take into account when deciding on accreditations.  We are therefore pleased to announce the accreditation of DPD with the ‘UK and European Express Delivery Company 2010’ Award”.

DPD CEO Mr. Dwain McDonald commented on the announcement: “We are thrilled to have won the ITM's prestigious award for the UK and European Express Delivery Company 2010.  Each year DPD strives to be a leader in the field, and it’s good to know that our hard work and commitment has been recognised by the industry.  This award is a great achievement for everyone at DPD.”

For further information, contact Delyth Hughes in the DPD press office; delyth.hughes@geopostuk.com

Note to editors

DPD is a subsidiary of GeoPost UK, a division of French postal group, La Poste. It employs 5,000 people in the UK and operates more than 1,700 vehicles from over 40 locations. Its head office and national sortation hubs are based in Smethwick, Birmingham and the company provides a wide range of express delivery services in the UK and abroad.

Hundreds of thousands of Brits can now look forward to a better home shopping experience thanks to DPD, who’ve become the first parcels company to provide customers with a one hour window for their home deliveries.

Launched today across the UK, home shoppers who buy from retailers shipping with DPD can receive a free SMS or email giving them a precise one hour window in which the driver will arrive. Big name retailers among the 1,500 companies who’ve already signed up for the service include:

• mobile phones giant Three
• online gift company iwantoneofthose.com
• DSGi plc, whose brands include Dixons and The TechGuys

The new service means an end to ‘Sorry we missed you’ cards and to taking time off work to wait at home for a parcel. If the recipient of the SMS knows that they won’t be in to sign for the package, they can text back and arrange for DPD to deliver on a more convenient date.

The scale of home delivery hassles experienced by UK householders was highlighted in a recent survey by pollsters Opinion Matters which found that of 1,369 adults:

• 87% have waited in all day for a delivery without knowing when it would arrive and 23% of us have done it four times a year or more
• 82% find it ‘frustrating’ or ‘very frustrating’ to wait at home for a delivery, not knowing when it will arrive
• 10.2% have fabricated an excuse to stay off work and wait for a delivery. Excuses included: ‘my gerbil has died’, ‘my budgie is dying’, plus less imaginative porkies such as ‘migraines’, ‘waiting for a plumber’, and ‘a dodgy prawn sandwich’. 
• 80% have had to go to a parcel depot or Royal Mail office in the last 12 months to collect a parcel. And 27.5% have made five visits or more.

In a move designed to make these frustrations a thing of the past, DPD has invested £2m over the last two years developing the technology needed for its one hour delivery window. As the company makes around 20 million deliveries a year to home addresses, it’s expected that the new service will lead to far fewer 'Sorry we missed you' cards and also mean that consumers have to make fewer journeys to collect packages from parcel depots. 

The Opinion Matters survey shows that 82% of people would find a one hour delivery window ‘very useful’ and that a further 14.2% would find it ‘useful’.

DPD CEO Dwain McDonald said: “Most online shoppers are busy people who love the ease of buying on the internet at any time of day or night but resent the inconvenience of waiting in all day for a delivery. That’s why we’re confident that our one hour service is the solution that shippers and shoppers alike have been waiting for.

“Consumers who value their time are more likely to re-order from retailers who proactively communicate with them to make the delivery experience as convenient as possible.”

David Smith, Director of Operations at IMRG, the membership community for the e-retail industry says: “Our own research shows that 62% of online shoppers have experienced a failed delivery due to nobody being at home and a further 38% are put off purchasing because delivery times are too vague. That’s why we think that the new DPD offering will be welcomed by retailers and by their customers.”

Consumer Focus, the statutory body campaigning for a fair deal for consumers, recently called for courier companies to: "keep up with the world around them and develop more suitable ways of delivering parcels."

Dwain McDonald adds: “Our new service means more ‘right first time’ deliveries which will also produce environmental benefits in the shape of fewer return journeys to attempt delivery, reduced fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions.”

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DPD has picked up the top award for Customer Focus at the National Business Awards, dubbed the “Business Oscars”.

This is official recognition that DPD has been judged the best of British companies for putting customers at the heart of everything it does.

DPD won the central region of this prestigious award scheme in the Summer and were awarded a place in the national finals. The judges commended DPD for its “service-first ethic which is returning all the right results for DPD”.
Guest speaker, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, described the National Business Awards as “the pinnacle of business awards ceremonies and where Britain’s best, from across the private and public sectors, get the recognition they deserve”.

DPD’s award entry was entitled “Delivering the total package” and described how every depot, every department and our hub is totally focussed on continually providing the best service to customers and investing in solutions that add value for customers.

Dwain McDonald CEO of DPD said “This is a fantastic accolade for the hard-work, passion and enthusiasm of our team in providing the best service for our customers. Our company mantra is ‘It starts and ends with the customer’ and I am delighted that this has been recognised."

Leading parcel carrier DPD has won the top award for Innovation in Delivery for its home delivery solutions.

This prestigious accolade is given by the e-Commerce Awards for Excellence in association with the IMRG (the Interactive Media in Retail Group) the voice of e-Retail.  This award confirms DPD’s position at the cutting edge of delivery solutions through its innovative use of technology and strong customer focus.

The award is given to the company who can demonstrate, through service improvements, product innovation and technological enhancements, a measured improvement in service and customer satisfaction.

DPD was applauded for offering major new services to provide the level of home delivery that customers have been waiting for. Services include the ability to proactively notify the recipient of parcel delivery, the ability to change delivery to another date if required, and an optional deliver to neighbour service if the recipient cannot be at home to accept delivery.

“The home delivery market is of huge importance and it is a great accolade that we are recognised as leading the way for the parcels sectors” says DPD CEO Dwain McDonald. “This award confirms that we put the customer at the centre of everything we do”.

These new DPD services not only offer great customer service but also have environmental benefits. More ‘right first time’ deliveries mean fewer return journeys to re-attempt delivery, so fewer vehicles on the road, reduced fuel used and lower carbon emissions.

DPD is delighted to announce that its call centre has been independently judged to be one of the Top 50 in the UK.

As a DPD customer, you will be pleased to know that when your customers and colleagues contact our Call Centre, they will be dealing with one of the UK’s best customer service providers.

DPD CEO Dwain McDonald says “this is a particularly impressive achievement as it’s the first time we’ve entered this programme, and we’ve gone straight into the top 50”.

DPD won this prestigious award after being rigorously assessed by an independent panel of judges who on an annual basis recognise the best customer service providers in the UK.

We're in good company

Leading parcel carrier DPD has just been accredited with the internationally-recognised environmental management standard ISO14001, and is one of the first parcel carriers to achieve this right across their business, in all depots, hub and transport and all central departments.

“ISO14001 is the international measure of environmental management and having this independent assessment is a powerful statement of our environmental credentials” says CEO Dwain McDonald. “We know our employees want us to be environmentally responsible and this is also of increasing importance to our customers, so it’s a win-win situation.”

DPD has a strong focus on the environment, including a robust Corporate Social Responsibility programme “Outside the Box”, focussed on energy and fuel reduction. His contributed to the company winning a top award for environmental improvement presented by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

DPD is also known for its environmental credentials through its investment in double-decker vehicles carrying 1/3^rd more parcels than their single-decker counterparts, so fewer vehicles on the road and reduced emissions. The company constantly invests in innovative services such as interactive advance text notification of delivery, so that more customers are available to receive their parcel, meaning less return journeys to re-attempt delivery, fewer miles travelled with less fuel used and fewer emissions.

For customers sending parcels across Europe, DPD offers the most comprehensive by road service available on the market, giving customers the advantage of saving up to 5 times the cost of air freight and volume of greenhouse gases created is up to 8 times lower. For further information visit www.whyflyparcels.com.

DPD has won a National Business award for its customer focus.

Referred to as the “business Oscars” by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, these awards are contested by blue chip companies from every business sector.

The Customer Focus award for the UK central region is awarded to “the organisation who best demonstrates it has the customer at the heart of its business”. The judges’ decision was unanimous in favour of DPD.

DPD showed how it goes beyond delivering a parcel to delivering exceptional service and providing added value. It highlighted its company-wide commitment to focusing on customers and demonstrated that for us customer service is not just a department it is also an attitude across the business. DPD also scored highly on its innovative services – from being the first carrier to offer advance text notification of deliveries, to effective use of route optimisation, our swapit service and being the first carrier to offer a degradable delivery bag.

“It starts and ends with the customer.”