Post CH expects record package volumes due to Corona and Cyber Week

Swiss Post AG expects a 20% increase in shipment volumes due to the upcoming Cyber Week and ongoing e-commerce developments resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. This poses greater challenges for the Post than in previous years.

(Bern) – Packages as far as the eye can see. Sorting machines running at full speed day and night. The busiest time of the year in terms of package volume is approaching from Black Friday on November 27 until Christmas. But this year, much is different. Online shopping has surged since the lockdown. The Post expects at least 20 percent more packages than last year. To handle this, the Post has implemented a series of measures.

Online shopping experienced a sudden spike in demand during the lockdown – after all, people in Switzerland were urged to stay home. The consequence for the Post: a similarly sudden increase in package numbers. From March onwards, the package volume grew daily and at times explosively. April brought the Post an average of 850,000 packages per day, setting a monthly record in its 170-year history. These volumes have put the Post’s logistics to a tough test. And this was notably with fewer employees, as many belonged to risk groups, were sick, had to care for children, or simply had to maintain distance from one another. Suddenly, employees had to load their vehicles alone instead of in pairs. And heavy packages and items like sofas or garden sheds could no longer be lifted by two people. This volume of packages could only be managed because everyone pulled together: The mail centers began sorting smaller packages to relieve the package centers. Postal workers not only delivered letters but also small packages with their electric tricycles. Major customers sorted packages in their warehouses in advance. Although the volume of packages has since decreased somewhat, it remains significantly higher than normal.

Corona meets Singles Day and Cyber Week

Image: Year-on-year comparison of package volumes 2019/2020. – © Swiss Post AG

And now it is approaching – the busiest time of the year for couriers, sorting center employees, and logistics staff, even without Corona – the traditional peak season in the pre-Christmas period. Since early October, package volumes have been rising again. Currently, the Post is recording about 24 percent more packages than last year – about 15 percent of this can be attributed to the Corona effect. This now coincides with the package peak season around Black Friday and the Christmas business. Dieter Bambauer, head of PostLogistics and member of the Post’s executive board, knows how much work is involved: “I am proud that we can show year after year what extraordinary achievements we are capable of.” Due to the many online orders since the Corona lockdown, the Post is starting with an additional volume of about 20 percent compared to last year. The calculation is simple: “The Corona effect and the holiday volumes will culminate in a significant package record by the end of the year,” says Bambauer. “An all-time record.”

However, the situation is currently very difficult to predict, as the pandemic has once again firmly grasped Switzerland. Some cantons are already back in lockdown, stores are closed, and people are increasingly shopping online again. More cantons could follow – even in the coming weeks – which would strongly influence the package volumes. Weather also has an impact. Rainy weekends lead to more packages. People in Switzerland are spending their time shopping online.

Planning has been underway since summer

The situation remains unpredictable. Therefore, the Post has already implemented a series of measures to manage the volumes and continue delivering packages punctually to doorsteps. The Post has learned from the sudden increase in package volume during the lockdown and has reactivated processes and measures that proved useful in the spring.

• We will increase personnel resources in the package centers and in package delivery by up to 30 percent in the coming weeks. Additionally, we have reactivated our internal job exchange, which was created during the lockdown. The goal is for employees to support their colleagues in other Post areas.
• Employees in the letter sorting centers are making an important contribution to managing the fluctuations in package volumes in the coming weeks. As during the lockdown, they sort around 130,000 small packages daily.
• Up to 400 additional delivery routes daily with around 300 additional delivery vans that we will rent. Furthermore, we will deliver all packages on all Saturdays during this time – not just priority packages.
• Our employees are working in special shifts and also on Saturdays. The sorting facilities only stop for a few hours at night for maintenance. In the three large package sorting centers (Frauenfeld, Härkingen, and Daillens), we sort packages for about 20 to 22 hours continuously.
• As during the lockdown, we are also maintaining close communication with our largest customers. They know best what additional volumes will arise due to their discount promotions and share these expectations with us so that we can prepare as best as possible.

www.post.ch

Image: © Swiss Post AG