Royal Mail: Reaching 90% automation is a key milestone

Royal Mail has successfully reached its target of 90% automation across its parcel operations.

The milestone is a significant achievement, marking a major step forward in efficiency and improved service.

It forms part of the business’s wider modernisation strategy, which has seen substantial changes across Royal Mail.

The company beat the target this month following years of investment, which saw:

• The opening of two state-of-the-art, automated parcel hubs in Warrington and Daventry which can process up to 1.5 million parcels a day combined.
• The addition of 10 specially designed large parcel conveyors at mail centres across the country, to manage bigger parcels.
• Three new high-speed Parcel Sortation Machines added to mail centres in Leeds, Plymouth and Exeter, each one increasing processing by 21,000 parcels per hour.

Each has boosted the quick handling of deliveries, especially during the Christmas and peak periods, meeting the growing demand for items to arrive the next day.

This drive for modernisation has even led to some of the business’s oldest products being upgraded.

Earlier this month Royal Mail updated its app, making it possible for customers to request proof of postage when they drop-off smaller parcels and packets with a barcode at the 115,000 postboxes in the UK.

Late last year, Royal Mail was the first delivery company in the world to add digital tracking to its containers used for transporting letters and parcels. The tags transmit live data on location, humidity and temperature as they travel around the country.

In 2023, the company upgraded postage stamps, adding digital barcodes to improve tracking and dramatically reduce counterfeits.

Alistair Cochrane, Royal Mail’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “Reaching 90% automation is a key milestone in our mission to deliver a modern, more efficient Royal Mail.

“We will continue to explore new technologies to enhance our performance and meet the evolving needs of our customers, while also supporting our workforce with cutting-edge technology.”