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Parcel service comparison: Which shipping service provider is right for my retailer?
Sebastian Terlunen
The right parcel service for your direct marketing find? A super important task for your retailing!
In this article, we compare the most popular ones for you shipping service provider in Germany for parcels. With useful tips and comparative figures, we'll help you choose the right shipping service provider for your food retail and especially for meeting your customers. The latter will be happier and you with an improved Conversion rate reward. And at the same time, you yourself save time, money and nerves when it comes to logistics. A win-win situation — as always with Freight pilot!
There are numerous shipping service providers in Germany. The 5 biggest are DHL, DPD, UPS, GLS and FedEx. Together, these five share 83% of the parcel market (as of 2019).
As you can see from the graph below, it is DHL The clear market leader among existing parcel senders in Germany with almost 50% market share of parcel volume. UPS, DPD, GLS and FedEx together hold a further 35% market share of parcel volume.
Shipping service providers deliver over 10 million parcels every day. This is where the differences are Parcel services in terms of costs, delivery times, service and many other criteria. That offering the right shipping options is critical to the success of your retail business or your online stores is, the following figures illustrate:
Influence of shipping on online purchase decisions:
You can find more insights into European consumers' expectations with regard to the shipping process in the following study: E-commerce delivery compass 2021/2022.
The ultimate parcel service - comparison for your direct marketing
Die shipping options Should of course go to your products and to your customers direct marketing fit. Affordable, reliable and fast: The perfect shipping service provider for many food retailers!
DHL, DHL Express, DPD, UPS, GLS, FedEx as well as the Deutsche Post are among the most popular shipping service providers among Germans. In addition, new providers are also establishing themselves - such as Liefergrün - on the market, with additional shipping services. Find out here which provider is the best for your requirements!
To find the perfect delivery service, you should ask yourself the following questions at the beginning:
Weight, size, and volume influence shipping costs. Each parcel service has different lower and upper limits when it comes to package sizes. With DPD, for example, a standard package must have a minimum size of DIN A5, while the edge length must not exceed 175 cm.
An important factor is also that Belt measure (strap size = 1 × longest side + 2 × width + 2 × height) of a maximum of 300 cm. Keep in mind that larger dimensions sometimes incur significant additional costs. If you are planning international shipments, in addition to customs duties also to the necessary customs documents think.
More detailed size and weight requirements of the individual parcel services can be found summarized here.
Of course, you can enter into direct contracts with the respective shipping service providers. However, this often requires a certain minimum shipping volume. So looks DHL to use the DHL business customer portals At least 200 parcels a year before, with DPD there are even 500 parcels. It is particularly worthwhile to conclude your own contract when shipping volumes are high, as this often guarantees favourable conditions and price stability in addition to simplified processing.
With a rather low shipping volume, there are so-called broker versions of shipping service providers on. Here, you usually receive more favourable conditions from the first shipment than directly from the shipping service providers and benefit from simplified order processing.
Did you know that you are about Freight pilot Can you become a DHL business customer from the very first shipment? Take advantage of the benefits!
The combination of several packet senders in the so-called Multi-carrier shipping offers many advantages: In the event of bottlenecks and at peak times (such as during Christmas shopping), you can distribute your shipments to various parcel services. If you sometimes offer very different products, you can combine the cheapest methods.
As winemakers Or wine retailers, for example, do you run an online shop for wine and wine accessories. For example, GLS offers particularly favourable conditions for shipping bulky items crates on. If a customer only orders a small wine opener, shipping with DPD, for example, is usually cheaper.
You will be aware of the processing costs Freight pilot Very easy to handle. Here, all orders, regardless of the delivery method, are shown in an overview and the correct label can be printed with just one click. In addition, you do not need a separate business customer contract for all shipping service providers.
As a retailer of groceries, you have customer satisfaction in the first place.
The following figures show what Germans have of DPD, DHL And Co. expect when they order something online:
Eco-friendly delivery methods include e.g. GLS. DPD has particularly cheap small packages in its portfolio and is therefore often used as a free delivery option in online stores offered. UPS On the other hand, it is known for its Adherence to deadlines and DHL With a market share of almost 50%, it is one of the best-known parcel services in Germany. But of course, these are not the only advantages offered by the respective parcel services.
To make it easier for you to choose the right shipping service provider, the following is an overview of selected services from the most popular shipping service providers at a glance:
Parcel service focus Shipping features
Deutsche Post delivery to mailboxes in Germany and abroad. - Letter formats from standard to maxi
- Priority transportation available
- Signature option
- etc.
DHL nationwide and international parcel delivery
either to a private address, branch, selected storage location or packing station. - Standard delivery (national, EU and worldwide)
- Saturday delivery available
- Climate-neutral shipping also abroad
- etc.
DHL Express Fast international express delivery
until (over) next working day - overnight shipping (national, EU)
- Door to door delivery in over 220 countries
- Saturday and scheduled delivery
- etc.
DPD national/Europe-wide parcel delivery,
either to a private address or parcel shop. - Standard delivery (national, EU and worldwide)
- Timely express delivery (national, EU and worldwide)
- Special return services
- etc.
UPS Fast national/international shipping,
either to a private address or a parcel shop. - Standard and express delivery (national, EU and worldwide)
- Free delivery to the parcel shop
- Special return services
- etc.
FedEx International Express Delivery. - Standard and express delivery (national, EU and worldwide)
- One stop shop supplies
- Overnight domestic shipping
- etc.
GLS National and Europe-wide parcel delivery. - Standard and express delivery (national, EU and worldwide)
- Delivery to parcel shops abroad is possible
- Digital recipient signature
- etc.
For a more detailed overview of the characteristics of the individual shipping service providers, such as shipping methods, dimensions, weight, etc., simply download the following study: Shipping service provider comparison
Let's summarize: The Parcel delivery Getting to your customers is an important part of your retail business. An important, if not THE Touchpoint to your customers as part of Point of Sales. Parcel delivery should therefore not - as is often the case in practice - be a careless delivery of goods. Instead, delivery should be seen as an opportunity to intensify personal contacts with customers. When choosing a parcel service in the future, try to look both at costs and at other services. For example shipment tracking, Delivery notice, etc. You'll be pleasantly surprised how satisfied and grateful your customers will be.
With Fracht pilot Do you get THE ultimate ERP-Software. This is how you can put parcel delivery into practice easily and immediately. And the best part: FrachtPilot offers you over shipcloud several shipping service providers to choose from. At the same conditions as usual for major customers! And that to an unbeatable prize. FrachtPilot monthly rent. Cancel anytime.
So what are you waiting for? Easy with FrachtPilot Get started - we are looking forward to you!
