Australia Post reveals $1 billion parcel delivery boost
Australia Post has today announced a $1 billion total financial commitment to new parcel facilities, fleet and technology, in an initiative to be reached by mid-2022.
The postal giant has committed an additional $400 million to the initiative to help service a significant growth in demand, bringing the total committed investment to more than $1 billion since 2018.
Major parcel processing facilities have been opened in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, as well as a $30 million Adelaide sorting facility.
Five brand new facilities are currently under construction in close proximity to eCommerce hubs, as Australia Post announces that online shopping has caused a significant strain on resources.
These facilities are located in Bayswater and Tullamarine in Victoria, and western Sydney and Botany in New South Wales, as well as a new $82 million facility in Perth.
Sustainability investments have also been announced, with Australia Post committing over $31 million to a new electric delivery fleet, as well as an extension of the Last Mile delivery service.
In addition to announcing the hiring of thousands of new recruits, as well as the addition of weekend deliveries, the postal service has also announced other initiatives to cope with demand.
An additional investment of $20 million has been committed to upgrade systems to cloud based solutions over the next year, to improve parcel scanning and tracking across the network.
Australia Post investment to ‘keep up with the boom’
Australia Post Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director Paul Graham said that Australia Post’s investment was an essential step to keep up with the online shopping boom during the pandemic.
“Australia Post has an unrivalled delivery and post office network,” he said.
“We know our customers want their parcel delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible so that’s why we are further increasing capacity with five brand new processing facilities before our peak period in 2022.”
“Four of these new facilities are located close to major eCommerce hubs in NSW and Victoria, with the fifth a $42 million investment on the west coast to meet the growing demand for parcel services in Western Australia,” Mr Graham said.
Mr Graham also said that the commitment to the new electric delivery fleet is a step in the right direction for the postal giant.
“We are also investing to extend our already extensive last mile delivery network – with a further $31 million committed to the new electric delivery vehicle fleet - which are better for the environment and safer for our people,” he said.
2021 predicted to be biggest Christmas ever
Australia Post has posted a message on their website, urging them to get their Christmas shopping done early, as significant demand has seen parcel delays through 2021.
Their Christmas page, which is titled: “‘Tis the season to be early”, encourages customers to complete their Christmas shopping as soon as possible “as another busy festive season approaches”.
The postal giant has reported that over 5.7 million Australian households are now consistently shopping online, with an estimated growth of 9 to 10 per cent per year on average over the next decade.
Last December was Australia Post’s biggest on record, with 52 million parcels delivered around the country.
Australia Post has seen online shopping increase by as much as 32 per cent during the pandemic, with the organisation consistently delivering more than 10 million parcels a week across the country.
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