Trouble with the parcel service? Customers often complain about unpredictable delivery people. Warentest has different experiences. In the practical test, the deliveries usually arrive on time and in good condition. A provider can score with reliability and corporate responsibility.

Parcel services deliver an average of 15 million items per working day in Germany, and significantly more in the run-up to Christmas. An immense logistical and human effort. Stiftung Warentest has examined how well the five major providers provide their services. In addition, senders should disclose the conditions under which their couriers work and demonstrate how they are committed to protecting the environment.

Customers often complain about unpredictable deliverers. In the parcel service test by Stiftung Warentest, however, the deliveries usually arrived on time and in good condition. For their investigation, the testers sent 50 packages with DHL, DPD, Hermes, GLS and UPS and also had 10 orders delivered by Amazon. Despite the fragile contents, most packages arrived on time and intact. Bruch only delivered twice GLS and once UPS, only Hermes delivered too late: Here two packages arrived later than announced.

DHL scored the best with a grade of 2.2: Shipping worked well in the test thanks to the dense branch network and the option of franking locally instead of online. Although there were occasional problems with the redirection of the shipments, nothing broke – and in terms of information, protection of personal data and terms and conditions, the company got the best marks.

At least “satisfactory” were DPD (grade 2.6) and Hermes (2.9). DPD scored particularly well with reliable delivery with a tight notification time window and the option of tracking the delivery van live online. At Hermes, the testers had to wait twice in vain – the package did not arrive until one or two days after the announced delivery date. Nothing broke, however, and shipping went well.

It was only enough for “sufficient” for GLS (grade 3.6) and UPS (3.7). In both cases, the package contents broke in two or one out of ten cases. GLS does state in the terms and conditions that “particularly fragile” items are excluded from transport – but Stiftung Warentest asked itself: Does this already apply to normal glass vases? There were also problems with the damage report: In one case, the company did not respond at all, in the other case it referred the sender to possible compensation.

In four cases, UPS reported technical problems with the rerouting of the package. In general, sending and receiving only worked “sufficiently”, and the general information also left a lot to be desired with a grade of 3.7.

In the test of corporate responsibility, DHL is also ahead with a good test result. The service largely does without subcontractors, pays better wages and takes more climate-friendly measures than the competition. The testers rate the commitment of the other services as satisfactory. Their own social and ecological strategies are convincing, but these are often not reflected in their contractual partners. Nevertheless, something has happened in the industry. In 2014, the verdict was still unsatisfactory for three out of five providers.

(This article was first published on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.)