Aschaffenburg, 30. May 2023: In SunExpress DPD Germany has gained a new strategic partner for its Pickup parcelshop network: in future customers will be able to conveniently receive or dispatch DPD parcels at up to 500 SunExpress travel agencies. In this interview Michael Knaupe, Chief Customer Experience & Business Development Officer at DPD Germany, and Michael Schober, Senior Manager Direct Sales at SunExpress, explain how the cooperation came about - and why it is a win-win solution for both sides.
Mr Schober, can you explain in a few words what SunExpress stands for?
SunExpress was founded in 1989 as a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. Since then, we have been offering numerous direct flights between Europe and Turkey. The cornerstones of our success are our passengers and our 3,500 employees. Our headquarters are located in Antalya, Turkey's tourist capital, while our second head office is in Frankfurt am Main.
Michael, how did the cooperation with SunExpress come about?
The starting point was the airlift from Germany to the earthquake region, which we set up quickly and unbureaucratically together with SunExpress, FIEGE, time:matters, CB Customs Broker GmbH and Lufthansa Cargo. The practical cooperation between the relief community ran smoothly from the very beginning and showed us that we can also apply these synergies in future projects. And this is how the cooperation on the parcel shops came about ...
"In SunExpress we have gained a partner that combines ideal locations and opening hours with a high level of quality awareness and service. The cooperation means that we can now conclude individual contracts with up to 500 travel agencies."
Michael Knaupe, Chief Customer Experience & Business Development Officer DPD Deutschland
… what does the cooperation look like in concrete terms?
First of all, we are very pleased to be able to further expand our nationwide network of Pickup parcelshops. In SunExpress we have gained a partner that combines ideal locations and opening hours with a high level of quality awareness and service. The cooperation means that we can now conclude individual contracts with up to 500 travel agencies. As a result DPD parcel consignees can have their shipments sent directly to a travel agency in their neighbourhood, or have them redirected there. Of course, our customers can not only take delivery of parcels at the selected Pickup parcelshops, but also ship them from there. This means we can offer them further attractive delivery and shipping options. And of course we also see great growth potential in terms of new customer groups: for example, the travel agencies are a daily contact point for thousands of potential Turkey holidaymakers.
Mr Schober, what do you expect from the cooperation?
We are convinced that the cooperation will be of great benefit to both sides. For us the focus is not only on increasing awareness but also on opening up new customer groups. It's a great advantage that customers can see the participating travel agencies online in the DPD Parcelshop Finder.
In general we are constantly developing our own services - and thus also the range of holidays in Turkey which our customers can book locally. We will benefit from the fact that the importance of parcel shops as drop-off points will increase significantly in the next few years, and thus attract more and more online shoppers to our travel agencies.
