Hermes in the current decade
2010
Hermes reports growth
In its financial statement for the 2009/10 business year, Hermes reports growth for the sixth consecutive year. In its core business, the company achieves €840 million in revenue, an increase of 6.6% over the previous year’s figure of €788 million. With a total of 266 million parcels, 4.6% more are shifted than the 254 million in the 2008/09 business year.
Hermes participates in a pilot project with the car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, testing the electrically propelled Vito E-CELL van. The company is using ten of these vehicles in its fleet as part of its effort to test alternative drive systems.
As part of its expansion in Germany, Hermes begins construction of a new hub in Langenhagen near Hanover. About €35 million is being invested in this new facility, which will create 150 full-time jobs and allow the handling of up to 60 million parcels per year. Even as ground is broken in Hanover, another building in Hamburg is already complete: the new Hermes II office complex is formally inaugurated after just 13 months of construction. Hermes has invested €18 million in this expansion project.
Hermes receives three distinctions this year. Firstly, the Stiftung Warentest consumer testing foundation compared ten parcel services in terms of shipping and service quality, with Hermes Logistik Gruppe Deutschland (HLGD) emerging as the test winner, scoring an overall grade of “good”.
Furthermore, the company also wins the Hanse Globe, an award from the Logistik-Initiative Hamburg. According to the awarding body, the prize recognizes 'environmentally friendly logistics'. And finally, the TÜV Nord testing agency awarded the company the “Certified Customer Satisfaction” quality seal for its customer service.
To maintain its customer service levels, HLGD also introduces a new identification method for parcel recipients. With its “Identservice Flex”, the company offers commercial shippers a system for confirming delivery to the doorstep.
2011
Hermes expands its services for online retail
For the seventh consecutive year, the companies operating under the Hermes brand increased their revenues. Total revenue has increased to €1,724 million, an increase of about 18% over the previous year’s €1,465 million. As a result of this business growth, the number of permanent employees increased to 10,238 (previous year: 9,571). With its strategic orientation, the Hermes Group is positioned to serve the growing e-commerce market.
HLGD transports 303.8 million parcels this year, over 14% more than last year. In developing its German logistical infrastructure, HLGD puts two new sorting centres into operation. In May, the north German hub in Langenhagen near Hanover is inaugurated: this new €35 million facility sorts up to 25,000 parcels per hour. The sorting centre receives a silver certificate from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) for its building concept. In September, the sixth German hub begins operation in Ohrdruf, Thuringia. Around €14 million is invested in this new site, where the transshipment of 15 million parcels can be handled every year. HLGD also continues expanding its network of branch offices: eighteen new locations are commissioned for a total of €120 million.
With its new online presence at www.hermesworld.com, the company now has a single website presenting the service range of all the companies operating under the Hermes brand. The goal of marketing efforts is the unified positioning of the individual companies under the Hermes umbrella brand. Furthermore, the Hermes portfolio now includes the testing institute Hansecontrol GmbH, as well as Hermes NexTec GmbH, a subsidiary of Hermes Fulfilment specializing in the development and operation of web shops.
In November, HLGD enters a new market segment with its “Päckchen” (“small parcel”) service. With this service, HLGD introduces a small-parcel class that includes liability for up to €50, four delivery attempts and shipment tracking.
Hermes Transport Logistics offers shippers a CO₂ reporting service, which provides a detailed breakdown of the pollutant emissions resulting from transport. Hermes is also recognized as a finalist in the Eco Performance Award competition. In Hamburg, Hermes expands its fleet of electric vehicles.
2012
Successful worldwide: Hermes again surpasses previous year’s results
For the eighth consecutive year, Hermes increased its total revenue by 7% to €1,928 million, compared to €1,800 million in the previous year. Hermes continues participating in the growth of e-commerce, with over 452 million transported parcels in Europe and 7.5% growth in parcel quantities. Hermes generates about 70% of its overall parcel volume outside of the Otto Group, its company parent.
A certification process covering all general contractors working with HLGD in parcel delivery is conducted for the first time, in cooperation with the SGS-TÜV Saar GmbH testing company. Goals include maintaining overall performance quality and upholding specified conditions of employment.
A supervisory board is established to monitor Hermes. One designated member of the new supervisory board is the TV producer Sabine Christiansen, who is also active with UNICEF and is the founder and chair of the Sabine Christiansen Children’s Foundation.
Further internationalization is also advanced. Hermes combines its energies with the logistics provider DPD in a joint venture for Russia’s growing B2C market. This cooperative effort is focused on building a network of ParcelShops in Russia under the Hermes-DPD brand. It currently includes 300 ParcelShops in eight major Russian cities. This network, which reduces delivery time for many customers by up to five days, is to encompass 1,500 shops in 44 cities across Russia by 2014. Hermes also expands its presence in the EU, with the opening of 500 ParcelShops in 25 major UK cities.
HLGD introduces new digital services. Customers of HLGD can now get updates on a parcel’s current location, either with a computer or a mobile device. HLGD also releases an app for the iPad. The www.myhermes.de interface for private customers is revamped.
In terms of service, HLGD is declared the industry winner by Germany’s biggest service ranking survey (“Service Champion”), which is based on a multi-sector analysis conducted annually by the Goethe University of Frankfurt, “Die Welt” daily newspaper, and the ServiceValue GmbH consulting company. Hermes achieved the highest score in the “Parcel Services” category, thus winning a gold seal.
Furthermore, Hermes creates a historically contextualized chronicle for the company’s 40th anniversary, in book form and online.
2013
Revenue exceeds €2 billion for the first time
For the first time in its history, Hermes achieves over €2 billion in revenue. The company thus continues its growth for the ninth year in a row, increasing total revenue by 8% to about €2,083 million. A significant part of this is the European parcel services, transporting with 496 million parcels about 10% more than in the previous year. This business growth leads to the addition of 700 new jobs – Hermes now has 11,814 permanent employees in more than 20 countries.
Hermes is also expanding its worldwide presence. In November, the company opens a new laboratory for quality control and certification in Shanghai. Furthermore, Hermes is pursuing its strategy of opening new markets to retail, as seen in the launch of an online shop for the brand Lascana in China by Hermes NexTec.
In addition, Hermes releases for the first time a group-wide report on its activities, entitled “Networked Action”. The report is prepared in accordance with the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Hermes is compensating for its business flights by supporting climate protection projects, starting in March. The company’s partner in this initiative is “atmosfair”, a non-profit organization. This partnership supports the Sunderbans National Park in India. Furthermore, HLGD uses “Cotton made in Africa” (CmiA). Since November, the outfits of the approximately 13,000 delivery personnel in Germany have been made of cotton certified by the CmiA initiative. Through this, Hermes and CmiA are supporting some 475,000 cotton farmers on the African continent.
Hermes Fulfilment receives the Logistics Innovation Award from the Association of German Engineers (VDI). This recognizes Hermes Fulfilment for its returned-goods management system. The VDI particularly highlighted the system’s degree of automation and its maintenance strategy.
Hermes’ sponsorship of German professional football as a premium-partner generated significant brand presence. Starting with the second half of the 2012/13 season, the company’s logo was placed on the jersey’s left sleeve for players in the first and second leagues on every game day. Hermes was also the official transporter of the championship trophy. This contract was running until the end of the 2016/17 season.
2014
Record-breaking revenue again and progressive digitalization
In the 2014 business year, Hermes continued its growth. Global revenue increased by more than 7% to €2,230 million, compared to €2,083 million in 2013. The 530 million parcel mark was surpassed in the European logistics business, and the workforce grew to 12,470 employees worldwide, an increase of 656. In 2014, the Stiftung Warentest consumer testing foundation rated Hermes its test winner.
This year sees the addition of a new service letting customers plan for receiving parcels, such as by redirecting deliveries at short notice. This service allows the recipient to direct the delivery process. It informs recipients of an estimated delivery time window. The delivery time window is calculated by parcel notification software. This software is fed new data on long-distance transport and the last mile, including information from transshipment facilities and delivery rounds, along with other process-relevant data, such as weather and traffic forecasts.
Hermes continues investing in its infrastructure. A 100,000 m² goods distribution centre is being built in Löhne (North Rhine-Westphalia) for €90 million, to be occupied in 2015 by Hermes Fulfilment and Hermes Einrichtungs Service.
Hermes is also expanding its presence in China. For this, the Hermes Transport Logistics Greater China company is established in Hong Kong. The target group is Chinese retailers who need logistics solutions. Here, the focus is on supply-chain solutions as well as the management of air and sea freight.
Hermes receives an award at its home base. The Air Quality Partnership, initiated by the City of Hamburg and the city’s business community, honours the company as an “Air Quality Partner 2014”. The award recognizes the company's measures for low-emission mobility, in terms of parcel delivery and the mobility of its employees.
To support its continued growth, Hermes decides to invest in modernizing the logistics infrastructure of its German parcel division. From now until 2018, around €300 million will be dedicated to meeting the needs of the growing online retail sector. Here, the company aims to establish itself as a partner for small and medium-sized shippers. To do so, the plan is to restructure the logistical network into 35 logistics centres, positioning them to handle over 400 million parcels per year.
2015
Hermes sustains growth momentum
In 2015, Hermes' revenues rose by eleven percent to EUR 2.46 bn. The company transported 580m parcels across Europe, with a 16 percent increase in consignment volumes for clients outside the Otto Group, which accounted for 74 percent of the total. Business in the USA and China also grew.
With the launch of its start-up business unit BorderGuru, Hermes expanded its activities in international e-commerce, focusing on the Chinese and American markets. At the same time, it invested in the same-day-delivery start-up, Liefery, to serve the demand in the retail industry for express delivery. In a number of metropolitan regions in Germany, Liefery provides express deliveries within 90 minutes or within a chosen time band.
Hermes expanded its German business through the acquisition of new clients, including distance sellers such as Yves Rocher and Glossybox, as well as many small and medium-sized retailers who use Hermes as their logistics partner. The company continued the modernization of its logistics network, scheduled for completion in 2019, with the goal of reducing delivery times. Hermes also expanded its digital services for private customers, including a mobile app for generating parcel labels and the option to select delivery time bands.
In the UK, Hermes began construction of a new 25,000 square metre logistics centre in Warwickshire to help process shipment volumes from the UK to 190 countries worldwide.
In Austria, Hermes introduced Saturday deliveries to its 1,600 ParcelShops in 2015, which reduces delivery times. In addition, Zalando and Hermes Austria launched a pilot project in collaboration with Liefery to process same-day returns for customers in Vienna.
2016
Hermes grows market share and expands its core business in Europe
Adjusted for currency translation effects, Hermes grew its revenues in 2016/17 by more than seven percent to 2.64 billion euros. Hermes expanded its business, primarily in its parcel and bulky goods segments. The company also expanded its presence on the French market. Worldwide, Hermes currently has a workforce of 12,618 employees.
The Hermes parcel businesses in Germany, Austria, the UK, Italy and Russia delivered ten percent more parcels, catalogues and other consignments than in the prior year, with volumes of around 640 million consignments. Around 75 percent of shipment traffic resulted from business with clients outside the Otto Group.
The integration of the French parcel shippers Mondial Relay and 2-man handling specialists Girard Agediss has enabled Hermes to expand its activities in France and in other European markets. The two companies have been part of the Hermes Group since January 2017. Headquartered in Lille, Mondial Relay currently operates four hubs and 24 depots in France. In addition, the company's 600 employees also manage operations in Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal. Mondial Relay shipped 57 million consignments in 2016.
The Group's 2-man handling unit, delivering furniture and furnishings, grew its volumes by more than six percent, transporting over five million items of furniture and larger appliances. The cooperation with Girard Agediss is intended to further internationalize this business.
In Germany, Hermes is continuing its infrastructure developments for the 2C parcel market (B2C and C2C). As part of the 300 million euro investment programme launched in 2014, a total of nine logistics centres are to be constructed by the end of 2019. In addition, Hermes is investing in the electrification of its fleet of vehicles and has agreed a partnership with Mercedes-Benz. By 2020, Hermes Germany is aiming to deploy 1,500 Mercedes-Benz electric-powered delivery vans in conurbation areas across the country.