DPD is one of the world’s leading mail and parcel delivery services. The company employs 11,000 people in the UK and delivers over 250 million parcels worldwide.
The business grew steadily for nearly its entire 50-year history, though profit trends have recently skyrocketed due to an increased reliance on online shopping. Fortunately, you can get in on the action as an owner-driver franchisee with DPD.
Let’s explore the history of this industry-leading parcel delivery company and discover six key advantages you might find as an owner-driver franchisee of DPD.
A Brief History Of DPD
DPD’s history dates back over 50 years to 1970. The company began as a parcel and delivery company called Courier Express. In 1984, the firm rebranded to Parceline and expanded its reach over Great Britain.
In 2000, LaPoste, the second largest postal firm in the EU, purchased Parceline and established the new company as DPD.
Within the UK, DPD offers next-day shipping along with Saturday and Sunday delivery. They also provide customers with a return and delivery function and integrated distribution and warehousing facilities.
On the international scale, DPD delivers parcels to 230 countries, nearly every country in the United Nations. The firm also established a cutting-edge home delivery service tailored to online retailers.
DPD’s growth skyrocketed throughout the 2000s and 2010s, and the company earned the Queen’s Award in 2015, recognising its enterprise in innovation for the sector-shattering Predict Service.
The plaudits don’t stop there. The company also earned MoneySavingExpert’s top consumer satisfaction rating for seven years straight in the parcel delivery services category.
Today, DPD seeks ambitious entrepreneurs to join their ever-growing team in the United Kingdom as contracted owner-driver franchisees.
6 Perks Of Becoming A DPD Franchisee
1. Flexible Working Hours
DPD offers two unique franchise options:
- Owner-Driver franchise
- Owner-Driver franchise lite
Owner-driver franchisees work full-time, providing a parcel delivery and collection service five days a week. Even within that schedule, owner-drivers can select the days they work, take on more hours if comfortable, and keep standards high.
On the other hand, the owner-driver franchise lite model offers franchisees a more flexible working schedule with different expected volumes.
DPD franchisees have found tremendous job satisfaction and work-life balance. Not only does the job keep them active and fit, but it also challenges their mind to come up with new ideas to grow their franchise even more than they thought possible.
DPD allows franchisees to choose their delivery vehicle and take on additional routes and services after three months on the job.
If you want to maximise your work-life balance, DPD is there to support you. If you want to send your profits into the stratosphere, DPD will help you every step of the way.
2. High Earning Potential
After three years in the business, DPD franchisees can turn over £140,000 and £170,000 annually. Of course, these numbers aren’t a guarantee.
You’ll need to provide top-class service consistently throughout your tenure with DPD. If you prove to be a star owner-driver, you can take on additional hours and extra routes as you grow with the company to bolster your balance sheet and maximise revenues.
Of course, high DPD owner-driver franchise earnings mean nothing if combined with sky-high startup costs. Fortunately, the DPD franchise cost is low, with a five-year franchise agreement that guarantees a reliable source of income.
In other words, you’ll receive the benefits of star employee job security while still being your own boss.
DPD also employs a lucrative bonus structure. For every 100,000 stops they complete, franchisees earn a substantial financial bonus. In layman’s terms — the harder you work, the more your rewards multiply.
3. Limitless Growth Potential
DPD is already one of the UK’s top parcel delivery services, though they have no intention of resting on their laurels. They want to grow substantially yearly, and they need ambitious franchisees to achieve that aim.
Fortunately, they’re in the right market. The e-commerce market was already worth over £700 billion in 2020. The recent pandemic cemented online purchases as the future of shopping, with widespread profit spikes throughout e-commerce industries.
All those packages will need delivery, and you might be just the person DPD is looking for.
4. Best-In-Class Training And Support
If you’ve never run your own business or franchise before, it can be daunting to start up a new venture as your own boss.
Fortunately, DPD offers its franchisees comprehensive training courses before ownership and ongoing support once your doors are open for business. Frequent social events bring franchisees together to learn from each others’ mistakes and grow with each others’ successes.
5. Cutting Edge Technology
DPD is at the forefront of parcel delivery technology.
Its second-largest superhub in Leicestershire cost over £150 million to build, though the investment was certainly worth it. The facility sorts up to 72,000 parcels per hour, the largest establishment in Europe of its kind.
DPD’s award-winning Predict service offers customers a one-hour delivery window to better plan their days around their package arrival. In addition, the Follow My Parcel service gives customers a real-time map to track their delivery and find their final 15-minute delivery time slot.
Easier deliveries mean happier customers, increased profit margins, and a much more enjoyable time on the job.
6. A Commitment To Sustainability
DPD aims to become the most sustainable delivery business in the UK, filling its vehicle fleet with electric vehicles that reduce carbon emissions and keep your conscience clean.
As early as 2018, DPD opened the UK’s first 100% electric-powered parcel depot in London. In 2019, they launched an e-cargo bike for greener short deliveries. And finally, in 2020, they added 300 electric Nissan vans and 100 3.5-ton Man Truck electric vans to their fleet.
DPD CEO Dwain McDonald is doing everything he can to transform DPD’s business model to run on clean electricity and ever-improving delivery services.
Become An Owner-Driver With DPD
Online shopping isn’t going anywhere. It’s simple, convenient, and allows customers to compare top brands. The sector’s growth has skyrocketed in recent years, and the graph is only trending upward.
As shopping shifts from the brick-and-mortar department store to online retailers, parcel delivery services will become ever more integral to the thriving supply chain.
Discover if you’re the right fit to become an owner-driver with DPD today. If you’re interested in other franchise opportunities, explore our courier and delivery services and other low-cost franchise opportunities on Franchise Local.