UPS Opens New £120 Million London Logistics Hub

UPS officially opened its new 32,000 square meter package sorting and delivery facility in the south-east of England.

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At £120 million, the new London Hub is one of UPS’s largest single infrastructure investments outside of the United States in the company’s history.

“eCommerce growth, cross-border trade expansion, and unique customer needs are accelerating demand for UPS’s services. This strategic investment in capacity and cutting-edge technologies in the UK is helping advance UPS’ smart global logistics network of the future.”

Lou Rivieccio, president, UPS Europe

Located at the DP World London Gateway Logistics Park, the new building will act as a UK package processing hub and distribution center for the local area as well as a gateway to UPS’s global logistics network, with a capacity to process up to 28,000 packages per hour and room for further expansion.

“This state-of-the-art facility enables us to further improve our services to companies of all sizes that are looking to grow their cross-border business,”

Mark Vale, president for UPS UK, Ireland, and Nordics

UPS build this facility to accommodate strong growth in their export volume. In the UK, export increased nearly 20 percent in 2018 and more than 15 percent in the first quarter of 2018.

More than 500 employees will operate out of the new operations hub that spans the space of approximately five football pitches.

With over four miles of conveyor belts, the facility features advanced package scanning and sortation equipment that increase the flexibility to efficiently route packages to their final destinations.

Business and residential customers will benefit from enhanced speed and accuracy as UPS meets their growing global shipping demands.

Investment in Europe

The new London Hub is part of a $2 billion infrastructure and network investment program by UPS across Europe to add capacity and provide even faster services across the region.

Recent investments as part of this program included the announcement of a €130 million facility in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, the opening of an $80 million facility in Bielefeld, Germany, and the construction of a $100 million hub in Evry, France.

READ MORE: UPS continues to invest in Europe by acquiring Ireland-based Nightline Logistics Group

In the U.S., UPS is a household name for parcel deliveries and only FedEx and USPS come in second and third. While there are a number of regional parcel carriers, it is the national parcel delivery services that dominate the market.

In Europe, there is a much longer list of regional courier services, but DHL reigns supreme as the dominant cross-border express parcel service in Europe.

Certainly, the rapidly expanding European parcel market is a big driving force behind UPS’ investment in Europe.

The European expansion by UPS of their logistics network will benefit both North American and European eCommerce as both gain better access to each other’s consumers.

READ MORE: UPS Announces Daily Non-Stop Flight from U.S. to Dubai

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