DHL Parcel: Unlimited Service
Corporate
Case description
Two logistical giants have been brought together under the DHL Parcel flag: one for business transport and one for the consumer market. Together with Van Gend & Loos and Selektvracht, DHL Parcel is Europe's premier package and pallet delivery service. When conjoining the divisions in 2014, One Shoe and DHL Parcel had already developed the website for DHL Parcel, which focused on the consumer. In 2018, DHL Parcel needed a new website to fit with its current strategy in which DHL Parcel continues to expand its service for business (e-commerce) shippers. Among other services, DHL Parcel offers all-in-one shipping service for sending large numbers of packages, but also bespoke API solutions such as plug-ins for web stores, taking care of fragile shipments for healthcare organisations, and a return process aligned perfectly with the high-tech sector.One Shoe and DHL Parcel have worked together for years to optimise DHL Parcel's digital landscape, with the focus on user experience design, visual design, back-end and front-end. The goal was now to develop a single website for a combined target group – optimising user experience for consumers on the one hand, while fully facilitating shippers in the business target group on the other.
Case goals and results
In just three months, we built the new dhlparcel.nl site in Drupal 8: with this platform, DHL Parcel offers both consumers and business customers all of the information and tooling they need.Business
E-commerce, retail, automotive… On the sector pages, you can find all of the information about intelligent tools and services that are aimed at your specific situation. The DHL story is formed visually by means of storytelling. Even easier: starting now, business customers can now create their own business account at DHL themselves right away and start shipping via My DHL Parcel.
Results:
• 35% growth in business page visits
• 31% growth in organic traffic
• Visit duration increased by 71%
• Increase in conversions (quote requests): 33%
• More than 200 new customers have started using the Self On-boarding Tool since mid-January
Consumers
On the new website, consumers have immediate access from the opening screen to such top tasks as track and trace, missed delivery, find a DHL pick-up point and send a package. Answers can be found with just a couple of clicks and the package is underway! In addition, consumers are supported better by the components of FAQs, knowledge matrix with information, telephone line waiting times and the dynamic display of opening and closing times for the various customer-service channels.
Results:
• Real-time waiting times shown on the support page
• Bounce percentage decreased by 25%
• 70% increase in the number of users
But, above all:
• The track and trace page has been redesigned so that visitors can immediately change the delivery appointment to a time that suits them. This allows DHL to make more than 600,000 more people happy with direct customized delivery. From 500,000 to 1.3 million delivery appointments: this is a cost saving for DHL of more than one million!
Challenges
Freedom with flexible back-endIn order to ensure that DHL Parcel can respond quickly and cleverly to customer needs, we developed a new, flexible back-end on the basis of Drupal 8. We achieved this by developing reusable components with which DHL themselves can create new and dynamic web campaign pages that align with their target group. All of the code and functionality contained in the back-end also ensure that the site manager himself can build all of the pages with the content elements and is not dependent on a website builder. So it's maximum flexibility – with 10 templates and 13 functional and content blocks to fill pages, allowing for rapid response to changes in the company.
Community contributions
We have applied three patches into Drupal Core and have contributed to each of these patches. In addition, during the development of DHL Parcel we contributed to a patch for Drupal Core, which has been implemented in the current release of Drupal Core. Furthermore, a contribution was made to patches for three contributed modules (Default Content, Draggable Views and EU Cookie Compliance). These patches have not yet been implemented in the current release of the modules.Why should this case win the splash awards?
Within DHL worldwide, DHL Parcel Nederland has now acquired the position of leading example worldwide in the area of online services. Based on the good results, other countries are now interested in taking over the DHL Parcel Nederland approach. That's why we set up dhlparcel.nl in a scalable manner by means of a multi-site environment: thanks to reusable elements, DHL Parcel business units in other countries can now have a site delivered within two days! Furthermore, new countries profit in this way from future developments at the top (parent) level of the website. The website has now been scaled to Belgium and the possibilities for a roll-out to other European countries are now being looked at.As the front runner in customer-centric logistics, DHL Parcel now has a website that appeals to the combined target groups of "consumer" and "business" senders, a site that provides completely for their needs and that sets the trend for DHL Parcel worldwide.
This is also acknowledged by the Dutch Drupal Awards, where DHL Parcel has won both the golden Splash Award ánd the overall prize for the Drupal Website of the Year 2019. Jury Comment:
"Wonderful business case. At first glance simple but seemingly deceiving. This website delivers, literally and figuratively!"