Courier firms bracing for new rush
Courier company officials have been in a flurry of meetings and preparations in recent days as the new lockdown is expected to put significant pressure on the sector, as it did in the spring.
In the period from late March to early May, demand for courier services matched that of the periods before Christmas and around the Black Friday sales window, prompting the industry to tackle surges in demand more efficiently.
The main objective is to prevent considerable extensions to delivery times, meaning that they hope to stick to within one day in the same city and up to three days within the same region for continental and island destinations. The lion’s share of orders will be served by the four main market players: ACS, Geniki Tachydromiki, ELTA Courier and Speedex.
Courier firm officials argue that unless orders jump 100% overnight, the system will be able to handle increased demand, better than they it did a few months ago. ACS, for instance, which had a daily capacity of 110,000-120,000 deliveries before the pandemic and increased it to 140,000 in the spring, can now carry out 160,000 a day.
