Autumn 2009

The new national hub depot under development by home delivery specialist Hermes at Bermuda Park, Nuneaton, opened on schedule as autumn approached. It augments existing capacity at Hermes' long-established main hub in Bradford, and is expected to support the development of key new services, including next-day deliveries and new solutions for higher-value goods.

Whilst the 85,000 sq ft facility will not focus exclusively on deliveries in the southern part of the UK, its location is known to be an important element in the company's drive to offer nationwide next-day deliveries to customers requiring them.

'Proximity to recipients is definitely a factor,' UK chief executive Carole Woodhead told F&E. 'More than 85 per cent of the UK population can now be reached in a standard driver's working shift.'

The new base will have a key role in Hermes' operations, forming the central hub for its national trunking operation. It will handle more than 50 million parcels each year, which will be received and sorted for onward delivery to 19 depots across the UK. The facility will also manage returns and receive inbound traffic from continental Europe.

 

The hub features an automated sortation system, using two shoe sorters driven by a bespoke warehouse management system. This compares with the tilt-tray system in use at Bradford. Hermes says it will ensure accuracy and quality of the sortation, as well as providing added flexibility to handle operational peaks.

Five-way camera scanning technology, fitted to each sorter, provides the option to record picture images of all parcels, and is said to have a scanning accuracy of 99.6 per cent. This will be a significant component in the solutions for higher-value items.

Hermes, formerly known as Parcelnet, claims to run the UK's largest courier delivery network, handling more than 100 million collections and deliveries each year.