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Royal Mail is overhauling its middle mile network as part of a broader plan to improve efficiency and network visibility, while meeting growing parcel volumes driven by e-commerce growth.
The initiative, discussed last week at the Leaders in Logistics Last Mile event in London, highlights how the operator is adapting its middle mile operations with the latest planning technology, amid new ownership and ongoing Universal Service Obligation (USO) reforms.
During a fireside chat, Nick Dunn, Royal Mail’s National Distribution Director, spoke to Bob Black, VP of Industry Strategies at Blue Yonder, about how the postal giant is modernizing its middle mile network to respond to changing customer expectations and regulatory pressures.
Scaling a complex network
Royal Mail operates one of the UK’s largest logistics networks, employing 130,000 staff, including 80,000 posties, and managing over 6,000 middle mile routes daily. The company handles approximately 1.3 billion parcels and 6.3 billion letters every year, serving 32 million households across 12,000 delivery offices, 32 mail centres, and two super hubs.
“At that scale, agility is absolutely key,” Dunn said. “For our middle mile network, we have a base network design based on quartile volumes, which we adjust weekly to reflect forecasted changes and customer demand.”
To help it handle volumes, the company has invested heavily in automation with 37 mail centres equipped with sorting machines and two large super hubs near Warrington and Daventry capable of processing up to 1.5 million items daily. This automation is central to Royal Mail’s strategy to keep pace with volume fluctuations and the fast delivery expectations of modern consumers, Dunn noted.
Responding to USO reform and environmental goals
Royal Mail is currently navigating major changes driven by the ongoing reform of its USO, a legal commitment to provide postal services across the UK. Dunn described this period as “perhaps the most profound transformation ever” for the 500-year-old company.
Recent network changes include the “extended network window” project, which delayed workforce start times and significantly reduced reliance on air transport, cutting flights by nearly half. This shift not only boosted environmental performance but also enhanced capacity and flexibility in the overnight delivery network.
Dunn said that the changes have resulted in strong growth in Royal Mail’s Tracked 24 parcel service, which increased by nearly 30% this financial year, alongside a 7% rise in parcel size, placing additional demands on network capacity and efficiency.
End-to-end planning
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