The annual Parcel and Postal Technology International Awards has celebrated its 12th year of recognizing the most innovative developments in the postal and parcel industry. The award ceremony took place at Parcel+Post Expo Virtual Live on Tuesday, October 13, at 4:00pm CET.
No less than eight winners were announced, rewarding exceptional performance and innovation across all areas of the postal sector, including new business development, sorting and fulfilment, last mile, final mile, service provision, supply, environmental achievement and retail and customer service. This year, DPD UK was the standout performer, scooping the top prize of Service Provider of the Year.
According to DPD UK, the parcel delivery company has more than doubled its turnover since 2013 and has established itself as the go-to carrier for retailers who value a personalized home delivery experience. The award win also acknowledged DPD UK’s Design Space, an in-app forum that consumers can join if they want to suggest, share and vote in polls on new ideas to improve the DPD experience.
In the Supplier of the Year category, global provider of automated parcel and postal distribution systems Beumer Group took the top spot. Beumer had an extremely busy 2019 and 2020 launching new products and winning major contracts. In July, for example, the company was chosen by Royal Mail to design the technology for its new fully automated parcel super-hub in Warrington, UK. In terms of product development, Beumer has recently launched its BG Sorter Compact CB crossbelt sorter, which according to the company promises more flexibility in a tight footprint.
Another success story from the awards was bpost group, which scooped the Environmental Achievement of the Year and the New Business Development of the Year awards. By 2030 bpost aims to have reduced its CO2 emissions by at least 20% and boast a fleet that comprises at least 50% electric vehicles. The group also innovated during the Covid-19 pandemic and launched an exclusive online growth platform for SMEs in Belgium called ‘touslesmagasinsenligne.be’. It enables SMEs to build their own webshop in a just few clicks.
There were many other worthy winners on the night, with a wide range of organizations collecting well-earned awards for exceptional performance. The Sorting and Fulfilment Technology of the Year category was won by Quadient for its CVP Everest automated packaging technology; the Last Mile Delivery Innovation of the Year award was won by Doddle and Australia Post for the introduction of Australia’s largest pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) network, Australia Post Collect and Return; the Final Mile Innovation of the Year award was won by Posti for its Box final-mile delivery solution; and the Retail/Customer Service Innovation of the Year award was won by Swiss Post for its Home Delivery Service Order Pen.
Nominations for the Parcel and Postal Technology International Awards can be put forward by anyone working in the postal sector. A shortlist is then drawn up and the winners are chosen by a respected judging panel made up of leading executives from around the world.
Speaking about this year’s awards, judge Andreja Bekavac, executive director for strategy and business development, Croatian Post, said, “The nominees presented various interesting ideas, innovative solutions and strategic approaches, which proved that the postal industry can successfully galvanize innovation and increase its digital economy to the next level. In some categories there were three or more potential winners and whoever I had chosen to reward with top position would had been a good decision. This made me proud of being a part of this industry and this awards process.”
Judge Khalil Daoud, chairman and managing director, LibanPost, said, “The projects and entries this year were almost all responsive to the Covid-19 crisis and exponential growth in e-commerce. The transformation revolved around digital platforms but also focused on convenience. The winning entries were judged on their flexible offer and the accommodation of clients’ preferences at every stage of the transaction in a seamless way, creating a smart synergy to leverage the retail network.”
“It’s always great to see such diversity in both projects submitted for the awards and in the range of companies entering. Making the industry greener and customer-focused through technological innovation is an underlying theme. The awards process is a valuable initiative to give wide recognition to the advances in logistics,” judge Elmar Toime, director of E Toime Consulting, added.
HE Abdulla Mohammed Al Ashram, group CEO of Emirates Post Group Company, concluded, “The award entries were a true testament to the innovation taking place in the industry today. All the entries were creative, ambitious and pragmatic with a focus on long-term gains and development. I can definitely see some of these initiatives paving the way for the industry best practices of the future. It was definitely a challenge to pick a winner as they were all deserving in one way or another.”
For the full results of the awards, click here.