And the first phase at the Härkingen parcel centre recently involved commissioning an additional, even more powerful sorting system.
Extending the sorting capacity of its parcel centres is part of a strategy Swiss Post is using to further expand its online retail services and accommodate customers’ needs for more flexibility when receiving parcels.
Even now, 46 percent of customers want their parcels to be delivered the next day, and the number of returned parcels is steadily increasing. In addition, at peak times such as the Christmas period over one million parcels are processed every day.
Up until now, the Härkingen parcel centre has been able to sort a maximum of 20,000 parcels an hour. Thanks to the more efficient system expansion, this figure will rise to over 25,000 parcels an hour on peak days.
Considerable investment in parcel processing
The new conveyor and sorting system was first installed during ongoing operations over the three existing sorters at a height of six metres and then connected to them.