UPS to expand its Canadian network

UPS has announced its plans to expand its Canadian network by opening three new operation centres within British Colombia. The operation centres are due to be located in Kamloops, Nanaimo and Comox, with the additional expansion of the already existing centre in Kelowna.

Pick up and delivery services for UPS customers in Kamloops have already begun, with this replacing its current agent being used. The scheduled expansion will further enhance UPS's already strong Canadian network, whilst also increasing the brand's reputation further into BC.

Michael Tierney, UPS Canada President, has said: "Expanding our service in BC and across Canada is fueled by market opportunity and customer demand. UPS continues to invest in new capabilities and network capacity to secure customers' confidence and enable their long-term growth."

The expansion is expected to be complete by November of this year, with it representing a multi-million dollar investment. UPS will see its physical presence expand by 36,000 square feet across the four new centres, with approximately 80 jobs being introduced.

DHL to expand its Packstation system throughout Europe

Deutsche Post DHL has recently announced its plans for expansion of its network of parcel locker terminals, referred to as Packstations. The parcel delivery company has been offering an alternative delivery point for parcels throughout Germany since 2001 in the form of its Packstations. The company is now looking to expand its distributions of the delivery stations throughout Italy and the Netherlands.

DHL is currently using 2,650 of the Packstations which are in operation across a total of 1,600 town and cities within Germany, which equals to approximately 250,000 individual lockers. DHL has reported that 90% of German residents live within 10 minutes of a DHL Packstation.

DHL will be introducing a new look Packstation
in the near future

It is expected for a further 300 Packstations will be added to DHL's German network by the end of 2014. While Austrian firm, KEBA, has been responsible for providing the current parcel terminals, DHL is said to be sourcing new input from design agency Polygon. The new designs by Polygon will supposedly provide various compartment sizes, as well as the "latest security standards."

Deutsche Post DHL's Board Member for Parcels and E-Commerce, Jürgen Gerdes, has commented: "We have decided to bundle the know-how we have acquired during our more than 10 years in the market in Germany to an even greater degree and continuously refine and improve the lockers ourselves." Gerdes also added: "The expansion of our network in Germany is an important part of our strategy to be the clear leader in terms of market share and innovation in the German parcel market."

The firms sees its next step will be to export its German business model to foreign parcel markets that offer "similar market structures and comparable growth rates." Gerdes explained: "The Packstation is an important pillar in our market success in Germany. We will examine the use of these automats in European markets very closely and selectively use them to establish our..operations in other countries."

Expansion sees FedEx Express open four new stations in Spain

FedEx Express is due to open four new stations, three to be situated within the Basque region of Spain with the fourth being on the south-east coast in Alicante. The European expansion will increase movement within their Spanish network, creating approximately 32 new job roles throughout the additional stations. This growth will expand on the 90 new stations FedEx has already positioned within Europe.

The courier company has said the Basque country is depicted as one of the most constantly developing areas of Spain with regards to business interest. There are around 158,000 businesses positioned in this area, in places such as San Sebastian and Vitoria. The expanding network will give customers within this area the opportunity to ship worldwide with expected transit times of one or two working days.

FedEx Express are due to create job opportunities in their
expansion plans.

There is now a demand in the export market for local businesses since the Spanish economy has started to recover. FedEx can see this increasing demand, seeing that the Basque region reached 13.8 billion Euros last year, a 5.4% increase from the previous year. FedEx Express began operating with Spain back in 1989 and now has employed approximately 445 people there. With their local headquarters based in Madrid, FedEx has a gateway at Barajas Airport which links to its main European hub at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport.

FedEx will be creating 12 new jobs within their Alicante station where more than 129,000 businesses are currently based. Businesses based in this area are in industries such as textiles, shoe, marble and toy manufacturing. Within the first eight months of 2013, exports from this particular area were said to have been valued at a staggering three billion Euros.

Senior Manager of Operations for FedEx Express Spain, Ian Silverton, has spoken of how the company will be offering its expertise to local Spanish businesses: “Now we are even better placed to give our customers the local expertise they need to go grow their businesses globally.”

Silverton has also commented on the advantages in opening stations in the Basque region and Alicante: “The Basque business community has made a name for itself for driving research and innovation, creating a thriving business community with a strong entrepreneurial spirit.” He also described Alicante as being “known for its strong industrial research and development.”