Parcelforce

Last updated

Parcelforce Worldwide
Company type Trading name
Industry Postal Service
Founded1990
Headquarters Milton Keynes, England, UK
Key people
Aaron Barnes (Managing Director)
Number of employees
6,500
Parent Royal Mail
Website parcelforce.com
A Parcelforce delivery vehicle in 2009 Parcel Force MX58HFB.jpg
A Parcelforce delivery vehicle in 2009
Loading a Parcelforce van in Chipping Barnet, 2015 Parcel Force vehicle in Chipping Barnet (3).JPG
Loading a Parcelforce van in Chipping Barnet, 2015
Nose of a Vickers Viscount 806 G-OPAS formerly used for Parcelforce International Vickers Viscount 806 G-OPAS (6888814215).jpg
Nose of a Vickers Viscount 806 G-OPAS formerly used for Parcelforce International

Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of Royal Mail, which is a subsidiary of International Distribution Services, [1] and is organised within the UK Parcels, International and Letters division of the group. [2] The company delivers to destinations worldwide, using an international partner network. Parcelforce Worldwide is a provider of express delivery services covering 99.6% of the world's population, with over 6,500 employees. [3]

Contents

Its European delivery partner, General Logistics Systems (GLS), is also a subsidiary of International Distribution Services and delivers more than one million parcels a day across 34 countries in Europe. [4] Parcelforce Worldwide is a direct competitor of other worldwide delivery brands, such as DHL, DX Group, FedEx and UPS.

Parcelforce Limited operates a "hub and spoke" collection and delivery system with two hubs in the West Midlands, south of Coventry. One hub is for parcels for the United Kingdom, and the other for international parcels. The hub for the United Kingdom, one of the country's largest buildings, is a highly automated tracking and sorting centre covering 24,000 square metres (5.9 acres) and can handle up to 58,500 parcels an hour. [5]

History

The Parcel Post service of Royal Mail was started in 1883, [6] though parcel services operated by the railway companies, later Red Star Parcels and British Road Services, were also heavily used for many decades. Royal Mail was split into three divisions in 1986 [6] and in August 1990, Royal Mail Parcels was rebranded as Parcelforce.

In July 1992, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Michael Heseltine, proposed a privatisation of the Parcelforce business. He argued that the company provided most of its services to businesses rather than individuals, and that the competitive market it operated in meant there was no need for it to remain a publicly owned company. [7]

In March 2002, the universal parcels service was transferred to Royal Mail, leaving Parcelforce to concentrate on time-guaranteed, next-day and two-day express deliveries. [8]

In January 2007, Parcelforce Worldwide became the first express carrier in the United Kingdom to give its customers the option to offset the carbon emissions associated with the delivery of their parcels. The company allowed customers to donate 5p for a delivery for the United Kingdom, or 10p for an international delivery to the Woodland Trust. Parcelforce would then match the donation. [9]

In October 2012, Royal Mail announced an investment of £75 million in Parcelforce Worldwide planned over four years, which would involve the opening of new processing centres in Chorley, Lancashire and depots in Basingstoke, Hampshire and Bodmin, Cornwall. [10]

In September 2021, Aaron Barnes took over as Managing Director of Parcelforce Worldwide. [11]

Depot network

Parcelforce Worldwide operates its collection and delivery services via a network of 54 local depots. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FedEx</span> American freight and package delivery company

FedEx Corporation, originally Federal Express Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "FedEx" is a syllabic abbreviation of the name of the company's original air division, Federal Express, which was used from 1973 until 2000. FedEx today is best known for its air delivery service, FedEx Express, which was one of the first major shipping companies to offer overnight delivery as a flagship service. Since then, FedEx also started FedEx Ground, FedEx Office, FedEx Supply Chain, FedEx Freight, and various other services across multiple subsidiaries, often meant to respond to its main competitor, UPS. FedEx assists in the transport of some United States Postal Service packages through their Air Cargo Network contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Parcel Service</span> American package delivery company

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has expanded to become a Fortune 500 company and one of the world's largest shipping couriers. UPS today is primarily known for its ground shipping services as well as the UPS Store, a retail chain which assists UPS shipments and provides tools for small businesses. UPS offers air shipping on an overnight or two-day basis and delivers to post office boxes through UPS Mail Innovations and UPS SurePost, two services that pass on packages to the United States Postal Service for last-mile delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Package delivery</span> Type of delivery service

Package delivery or parcel delivery is the delivery of shipping containers, parcels, or high-value mail as single shipments. The service is provided by most postal systems, express mail, private courier companies, and less-than-truckload shipping carriers. Package delivery is different in each country, and how packages are delivered is closely connected with the cost for delivering to that country as well as population. In 2019, China, The United States, and Japan were the leaders in package delivery while Latvia, Macau, and Iceland were the bottom three. The population of the bottom three barely totals 2 million while the population of the top three tops totals more than 2 billion. Package delivery is an every day occurrence in the US while many other countries do not have this luxury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Mail</span> Postal service company in the United Kingdom

The Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels). The company used the name Consignia for a brief period in the early 2000s but changed it afterwards.

DHL is a German logistics company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery and express mail service, delivering over 1.7 billion parcels per year. A subsidiary of the German logistics firm DHL Group, its express mail service DHL Express is one of the market leaders for parcel services in Europe. DHL Express is Germany's main international courier and parcel service. DHL also operates a separate parcel service targeting the German consumer market in conjunction with Deutsche Post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DHL Group</span> German logistics company

Deutsche Post AG, trading as DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. The postal division, Deutsche Post, delivers 61 million letters each day in Germany, making it Europe's largest such company. The parcel division DHL is a wholly owned subsidiary claimed to be present in over 220 countries and territories. DHL Group was the largest logistics company worldwide in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courier</span> Person or company delivering items

A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are government or state agency employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FedEx Express</span> Cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States

FedEx Express is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2023, it is the world's largest cargo airline in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the namesake and leading subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, delivering freight and packages to more than 375 destinations over 220 countries across six continents each day. FedEx Express is also the world's largest express transportation company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geopost</span> International parcel delivery service

Geopost is an international parcel delivery service for sorter compatible parcels based in Issy les Moulineaux, France. Until 2015 DPD stood for Dynamic Parcel Distribution. Its brands are DPD, Chronopost, Seur and BRT. The company is based in France and operates mainly in the express road-based market.

UK Mail, a trading name of DHL Parcel UK Limited, is a postal service company operating in the United Kingdom, which has competed with Royal Mail in collection and distribution of mail, since the deregulation of the postal service in January 2006. Its distribution network delivers mail to local Royal Mail sorting offices for last mile delivery through downstream access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Poste (France)</span> Postal service company in France

La Poste is a postal service company in France, operating in Metropolitan France, the five French overseas departments and regions and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Under bilateral agreements, La Poste also has responsibility for mail services in Monaco through La Poste Monaco and in Andorra alongside the Spanish company Correos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre</span> Royal Mail sorting office

Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre (HWDC) is a sorting office for inbound and outbound international mail operated by Royal Mail. Located close to Heathrow Airport, the HWDC is situated in the town of Langley, Berkshire, near Slough, and began operations in 2003. The centre is often referred to by its abbreviation, Langley HWDC, or as 'GBLALA' in mail tracking information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Paper on Postal Reform</span> United Kingdom government draft plan

The Green Paper on Postal Reform was a United Kingdom government draft plan to privatise and regulate the UK postal services. It set out various options, the key points of the plan being,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fastway Couriers</span>

Fastway Couriers is a courier delivery services company founded in Napier, New Zealand. At the peak of its service, Fastway operated delivery services in New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and South Africa. The company currently operates in Ireland and South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GLS Group</span> European logistics company

General Logistics Systems B.V. (GLS) is a parcel services provider operating in Europe and North America.

DX Freight is a United Kingdom-based delivery and logistics company. The company is part of the DX Group, which was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in West Midlands, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PostNL</span> Mail, parcel and e-commerce corporation with operations in the Netherlands

PostNL N.V., commonly known as PostNL is a Dutch mail, parcel and e-commerce company with operations in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. It provides universal delivery in the Netherlands, and is publicly listed at Euronext Amsterdam. The company was known as TNT NV until TNT Express was separated from it in May 2011, and the remainder of the company was renamed PostNL.

Yodel is a delivery service company based in Liverpool, England. It was originally known as the Home Delivery Network, until it acquired the business-to-business (B2B) and retail (B2C) operations of DHL Express UK and thereafter, rebranded itself as Yodel in May 2010. Previously privately owned by the billionaire Frederick Barclay, it was acquired by Jacob Corlett in February 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whistl</span> Postal delivery company in the UK

Whistl is a postal delivery company based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. The company primarily competes with UK Mail, UPS, Parcelforce, DHL, Evri, Royal Mail and Yodel. According to the company, it processes about 25% of the mail in the United Kingdom, amounting to over 3.7 billion items per year in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parcel locker</span> Self-service collection service for parcels

A parcel locker is an automated postal box that allows users for a self-service collection of parcels and oversize letters as well as the dispatch of parcels.

References

  1. ↑ "Our company". Parcelforce Worldwide. 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Parcelforce Worldwide". Royal Mail. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "About Parcelforce Worldwide". Parcelforce Worldwide. 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  4. ↑ "Our Partners". Parcelforce Worldwide. 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Our hubs". Parcelforce Worldwide. 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Key Dates". The British Postal Museum & Archive. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  7. ↑ Michael Heseltine, The President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (15 July 1992). "Parcelforce". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . House of Commons. col. 1137. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Consignia announces first moves in three year renewal plan". PR Newswire. 25 March 2002. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Farey-Jones, Daniel (9 January 2007). "Parcelforce introduces carbon neutral delivery scheme". Brand Republic . Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Royal Mail to create 1,000 jobs expanding parcel network". Post & Parcel. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "Parcelforce Worldwide on Twitter: "@CEOemail Hi, our new appointed MD is Aaron Barnes - Theo" / Twitter". Twitter. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.