Selecting the fastest delivery with a single click has become part of the online shopping routine. Faster, cheaper, more reliable... and with live tracking, please. The demands on logistics service providers such as DPD Germany are constantly increasing - and therefore also on the IT behind them. DATAGROUP has been providing DPD Germany with various IT services for over 15 years. The IT expert has now also taken over SAP hosting for the well-known parcel delivery service.
Nowadays, the best shipping method is queried in real time for every order. Whether it's the cheapest price, fastest delivery or best insurance, everything is checked directly and included in the ordering process. This is followed by registration with the service provider, handover, transportation, sorting, delivery and any returns. Each of the more than 350 million parcels sent via DPD every year is scanned at least four times on its journey. This enables seamless tracking, including live tracking of the delivery vehicle, which ensures a high level of transparency for all parties involved.
All these processes require a stable and highly available IT infrastructure. DPD therefore approached DATAGROUP in September 2023 and negotiations quickly got underway.
In close cooperation with the previous provider, all systems had to be migrated step by step in order to keep downtimes to a minimum, as the high volume of orders meant that there were always requests. DATAGROUP's IT experts also recognized the need for modernization. Security risks were eliminated and the entire system was not only moved, but also completely updated. The complete transition and system upgrade were completed in February 2025 without a single rollback.
Up to 50 people were involved in the project at times. The huge team, consisting of employees from DPD and DATAGROUP as well as other external experts, was in constant communication to keep all the effects of the changes in view, including in the areas of network technology and infrastructure: Can all customers continue to access their data? Are queries possible? Are routing and tracking running smoothly? Are the delivery handhelds in contact with the system? Only through good communication and solution-oriented action by all those involved was it possible to carry out the transition smoothly and without long downtimes.
After DATAGROUP also set up reporting for all systems as part of the updates, DPD Germany now has an ideal overview of capacity utilization and processes. As a result, performance has been optimized right down to the end user, so that processes run much faster. This benefits customers, employees and consignees, offering added value and satisfaction in the user experience at all levels. DPD Germany now has a fully digitized, very mature and homogeneous system that is redundant and thus highly available and fast, further consolidating the delivery service's market position.
"Our collaboration with DATAGROUP over the last 15 years has always been characterized by trust, competence and reliability - and this was once again demonstrated in this project. The fact that we were able to place our SAP hosting in such experienced hands was a real benefit for us. The rapid implementation, joint solution-oriented thinking and smooth communication contributed significantly to the success of the project. We look forward to continuing on this path together in the future."
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100,000 transactions per minute |
1,400 SAP end users |
Over 350 million parcels per year |
DPD is represented throughout Germany with 79 depots and 9,000 out-of-home points, consisting of parcel stores and parcel stations. More than 8,500 employees and 11,000 delivery staff are on duty for customers every day. DPD transports over 350 million parcels in the German parcel market every year. By 2027 DPD will provide its shippers and consignees with access to a total of around 20,000 out-of-home points, consisting of parcel stores and parcel stations. With innovative technologies, a focus on industry-specific solutions (e.g. shipping tires and rims) and a consistent focus on the needs of all customers, DPD makes parcel shipping in the B2B and B2C sectors simple, convenient and flexible. DPD Germany is part of Geopost, a leading European provider of parcel delivery and e-commerce solutions, operating in more than 50 countries and offering over 120,000 out-of-home points in Europe. Geopost generated a turnover of 15.8 billion euros in 2024 and delivered 2.1 billion parcels worldwide.