DHL Express has inaugurated a CityHub for city distribution in Groningen. The local branch has a retail function and is used by bicycle couriers for parcel delivery and collection.
By setting up a CityHub, DHL can take care of the last kilometres by bike.The carrier delivers centrally pre-loaded containers to the CityHub. These containers, with the size of a Europallet of 80×120 and a height of 100 centimetres, are rolled directly onto bicycles, DHL's so-called Cubicyle.
Electric pickup truck
The same containers also fit on a Cubivan, an electric pickup truck that DHL deploys when routes cannot be served efficiently by bicycle. Electric delivery vans are also used for larger parcels.
ServicePoint
The new Groningen location also functions as a ServicePoint, where consumers and businesses can pick up and send their shipments.
The Netherlands as a testing ground for delivery solutions
With the CityHub, Groningen has a global first within DHL's express network. The carrier will open a second CityHub in Tilburg this month. Foreign branches may follow. According to DHL, the Netherlands is an inventor and testing ground for various sustainable delivery solutions that are deployed worldwide.
