DPD UK

The UK arm of the European parcel group DPD, delivering next-day parcels with one-hour delivery windows and a fast-growing electric van fleet.

About DPD UK

DPD UK delivers parcels for online shops, businesses and individuals across the UK. It is known for services that let people see where their parcel is: its Predict service gives a one-hour delivery window by text or email, and Follow My Parcel shows the driver on a live map with a final 15-minute time slot. Its own company profile says it delivers over 260 million parcels a year, with more than 10,000 vehicles and over 15,000 people working from 84 locations (the profile is undated, so treat these as approximate). A sister business, DPD Local, is a franchised network focused on express parcels for smaller firms.

DPD was founded in the UK in 1970 as Courier Express, renamed Parceline in 1984 when it was bought by the Australian firm Mayne Nickless, and bought by France's La Poste group in 2000. It became DPD in 2008. Its company profile says it is wholly owned by La Poste. We did not find a mission or values statement on the pages we could read. What the company does talk about in its announcements is service innovation and moving to electric vehicles, and Tim Jones, its director of marketing, communications and sustainability, has said its new sites will be served by increasing numbers of electric vehicles.

DPD operates from depots across the UK. Its flagship is the Hinckley Superhub in Leicestershire, a 33-acre site its profile calls the largest of its kind in Europe, able to sort up to 72,000 parcels an hour. In June 2025 the company announced a plan to build seven new fully automated distribution centres in Crawley, Darlington, Cambridge, Bradford, Guildford, Milton Keynes and Sittingbourne, all due to be working by early 2027. It said these would add to its 80-plus regional parcel centres and create new jobs in driving, administration, operations and warehousing. It has also taken depot space at Tamworth, Staffordshire.

DPD says 38% of its delivery van fleet was electric when the 2025 plan was announced, and a trade report says it switched its Oxford fleet entirely to electric. It is trialling an electric heavy goods vehicle too. Those are company claims reported by trade press. In terms of people culture, we could not find a first-party page to quote, so we cannot describe working life beyond the roles that the company says it is creating, such as delivery drivers, depot teams and administrators.

A parcel network needs a wide range of jobs. Drivers deliver in the vans and run the delivery routes. Depot and hub teams sort and load parcels, often overnight, and engineers and fleet staff look after vehicles and sortation machinery. Behind them are customer service, planning, IT and data, sustainability and finance teams. If you are interested in electric vehicles, in the technology that tells you when your parcel will arrive, or simply in how a very large operation runs on time, DPD is a good example to explore.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Domestic parcel delivery with Predict one-hour windows and live driver tracking.', 'title': 'Next-day parcels'}
• {'desc': 'A franchised network focused on express parcels for smaller businesses.', 'title': 'DPD Local'}
• {'desc': 'Parcel collection and drop-off points and returns services for retailers.', 'title': 'Pickup and returns'}

Key facts

• Founded in the UK in 1970 as Courier Express; became DPD in 2008
• Over 15,000 people, over 10,000 vehicles and 84 locations (company profile, undated)
• Hinckley Superhub can sort up to 72,000 parcels an hour
• Seven new distribution centres announced for 2025 to 2027, with 38% of vans electric at the time (trade press)

Website: www.dpd.co.uk