Australia Post will invest more than $2 billion in its national logistics network to improve parcel delivery services
October 11, 2012
Australia Post will invest more than $2 billion in its national logistics network to improve parcel delivery services.
The company’s 2011-12 annual report reveals a steady growth of $281 million, which is up by 16.6 percent from the year before, despite a challenging economic climate and weak mail volumes.
The company plans to expand its current facilities and create new sites with machinery and systems. This includes new conveyor systems to process more parcels per hour and reduce double handling.
“This is the single largest investment in the network in Australia Post’s more 200-year history and will significantly expand the capacity of our parcels network, making it world class,” Australia Post Managing Director and CEO Ahmed Fahour says.
Australia Post expects to increase the level of automated handling across major cities over the next two years.
It will also implement a fully-automated track and trace parcel system, which will identify the location of every barcoded parcel at any time.
“This investment will provide the infrastructure and delivery options to ensure Australian businesses and consumers can reap the benefits of the digital economy,” Fahour says.
The planned changes will see hundreds of day parcel lockers installed for those who are not home during business hours to receive parcel deliveries.
It is expected that 80 percent of people in metropolitan areas will be within 10 minutes’ drive to an after-hours parcel collection location by 2014, Australia Post says.
There will be 128 parcel locker locations across the country by the end of the year.
