Royal Mail automated parcel sorting machine goes into operation

• 31 March 2022
• Transport / Logistics Services

Royal Mail has begun operating its first fully automated parcel sorting machine in Wales at the Cardiff Mail Centre.

This is one of 39 such units that have been put into operation in the last year and is part of a multi-million pound investment programme in Royal Mail’s parcels business.

The new machine can sort parcels almost four times faster than by hand, at a rate of up to 7,500 parcels per hour for onward delivery to delivery offices across Wales. The conveyor belt sorter can handle parcels of up to 20kg, with scanning technology automatically sorting parcels for onward delivery.

When asked about the job implications for postal workers, Royal Mail insisted that the new parcel sorting machine would not impact jobs at the mail centre. Royal Mail parcels automation programme director Sarah Coulson said: “We are transforming the way Royal Mail processes parcels given the rapid growth in online shopping in recent years.”

She added: “Our investment in state-of the-art parcel sorting machines will help us better meet the growing demands of our customers in Wales and the rest of the UK and is a vital part of the ongoing reinvention of Royal Mail.”

Unions are broadly in support of the programme, recognising that the postal operator is transitioning from being a postal operator into a parcel delivery company due to the fall in mail volumes over the years and increase in parcel volumes at the same time.