High season for DHL: Hamburg's logistics in Christmas stress!

High season for DHL: Hamburg's logistics in Christmas stress!

The pre -Christmas period has a high level at DHL and Deutsche Post. Katharina Putz has headed the largest branch of the logistics giant in Hamburg since September 2024. The challenge: to efficiently control the logistics, while the package elections are continuously increasing and the shipping of letters drops. In just 80 days, the former soldier carried out 40 on-site visits to familiarize himself with the complex operating environment. For the weddings of the Christmas business, starting with the Black Friday week, work is carried out around the clock in a 24-hour operation to meet demand, the Welt .

revolution in package shipping

around 7,300 employees are currently in use in Hamburg, with this number increased by around 1000 additional forces in the high season. The logistics market, particularly driven by online trading, faces massive changes: On December 3, 2024, the Hamburg branch reached a top value in a single day with 760,000 packages. At the same time, DHL announced that 68 percent of the programs are already delivered in the so-called composite system, where packages and letters are delivered together. This means that in rural areas the deliverers often deliver both in one go, while in urban areas such as Hamburg, packages are often treated separately, as plaster explained.

The structure of the tax offices for packages has also changed significantly. Where the German Bundespost used to act, there are numerous retailers today and more and more automatic packing stations that take on the acceptance and issue of shipments. The branch in Hamburg has 629 such pack stations that are open around the clock. This ensures flexible delivery for customers and reduces long queues, as is emphasized on the DHL website: "With around 36,000 tax offices, DHL is there for you everywhere".

Development towards stronger automation and more efficient processes increases steadily, also to counter the challenges of the shortage of skilled workers. The logistics industry expects that the classic postman will largely be retired by 2035, a sign of the profound change that is currently being carried out. Katharina Putz emphasizes the importance of the human factor behind all the technology, because only with a motivated team can you master the daily challenges.