Each year, the postal and logistics service provider Deutsche Post DHL transports more than 19 billion letters and over one billion parcels and packages across the whole of Germany. That means a lot of movement on a daily basis to ensure that correspondence and goods deliveries reach their recipients on time. "Our parcel business is growing at a significant rate every year," reports Dr. Simon Deymann, Vice President Parcel Hub Operations, Deutsche Post DHL. One reason for this rapid growth is the booming e-commerce market. Professional express services and customer-specific logistics solutions also contribute to strong parcel growth. Parcels and packages are handled at 34 DHL package centres throughout Germany. Since 2013, 2,000 Wanzl roll containers have been in use here under licensed reproduction from Deutsche Post DHL. They proved their functionality at customers, in the post office partner branches and DHL branches. The successful test phase was followed by further orders for 50,000 roll containers. "Quality, high production capacity, short lead and production times were the decisive factors to use Wanzl as a supplier. Their delivery reliability and punctuality were exemplary. This is what good collaboration looks like," says Dr. Deymann.
Operation around the clock is what is required of the roll containers. They virtually never stand still. "Up to five containers can be coupled together for pulling manually or towing. The special, heavy-duty swivel castors can be quickly converted to fixed castors using a special mechanism, ensuring directional stability," says Markus Spengler, Head of the Wanzl Logistics + Industry division. A locking brake keeps the roll container stable. When empty, the roll containers can be folded and nested. The collective transfer of goods on the roll containers saves work, time and costs compared to pallet handling. Deutsche Post DHL therefore also makes these containers available to large customers from the industry and retail sectors.