Cutting-edge parcel hub unveiled
By William O'Connor
An Post unveiled the Dublin Parcel Hub (DPH), a €15m investment in automated parcel processing at Oak Road, Dublin 12.
The new international hub is a gateway for incoming and outgoing national and international parcels and a key milestone in An Post’s transformation from an old world of letters to a new world of e-commerce logistics.
An Post’s Dublin Parcel Hub was launched by Garrett Bridgeman (MD, An Post Mails & Parcels), David McRedmond (CEO, An Post), and European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan
The business is making big moves to flourish as a sustainable, profitable business, successfully delivering in a digital world.
The new 50,000 sq m world-class logistics facility significantly increases An Post’s parcel processing capacity as the company expands its global reach and digital capability to become the backbone of e-Commerce in Ireland.
The new hub will be a vital gateway to international trade for leading Irish brands like Eason, Brown Thomas, Carrolls Irish Gifts, Blarney Woollen Mills, Arnotts and Carraig Donn.
The hub’s world-class Beumer Technology enables 13,000 parcels to be processed every hour and transforms the parcels operation from a manual set-up to a 90 per cent automated process.
The new Beumer system is self-learning and can recognise all Irish locations, allowing for optimal accuracy. Following processing, parcels are despatched directly from the Dublin Parcel Hub to local delivery units.
Since Friday last, the DPH has handled more than one million parcels generated by online shoppers over Black Friday and Cyber Monday through Irish and international etailers.
This year An Post will handle 16 million parcels from the UK alone, 5 million from the US, Canada and Brazil, and over 1 million from Germany.
EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said: “An Post is one of the staples of Irish life and it is great to see this investment to future-proof its business model.
In today’s globalised economy, it is imperative for any country that wishes to stay ahead of the curve to invest in e-commerce technologies, just as An Post is doing.
“The Dublin Parcel Hub will help to connect Irish businesses and consumers to the world. By transforming its business model, An Post will be supporting Ireland to harness the winds of international trade, which support one in every seven jobs in the EU.’’
