One powerful network at your service

Europe is our defined core market. One of GLS' major competitive strengths is its stable, comprehensive European ground-based infrastructure of 21 own subsidiaries and participations as well as further longstanding network partners.

665 depots and 38 central transhipment points allow for seamless distribution within Europe and beyond. National interfaces and regional cross-border traffic allow for the rapid movement of shipments across Europe.

We deliver 345 million parcels for 220,000 customers in 36 European countries every year, with regular delivery times of less than 24 hours domestically and to neighbouring countries, as well as 48 hours or more for the rest of Europe.

Our central European gateway in Neuenstein near the RheinMain Airport facilitates the direct connection of GLS to the entire world - no matter if deliveries from Overseas, or shipments to non-European countries.

Clear structured processes, which we continuously develop

Typically, the transportation process is performed as following:

After having picked up the parcels, GLS sorts them at the outbound depot and transports them either to one of our Hubs or directly to the destination depot.

At the Hub, we sort the parcels during the same night and forward them to the depots. Here, the shipments are sorted into delivery tours and are delivered in course of the next working day.

Export shipments are transported via the transshipment point in Barcelona

Since April 1st, 2006 a day sort has been implemented in Neuenstein (Germany), which allows for a one day transit time reduction for parcel shipments to Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Modern IT systems and rigorous quality checks

Processes within GLS are supported by state-of-the art IT systems and tools. A key leading principle to achieve a high level of delivery quality and transparency is to always scan a parcel whenever it is touched.

In March 2006, the new central computing centre of GLS has been put into operation. Approximately 20 million data records from all over Europe are processed in the GLS computer centre daily. Servers with a total storage capacity of 50 terabyte ensure that each and every step in the processing and handling of more than 345 million parcels and express shipments per year across Europe can be followed without fail.

Each shipment is labelled with a barcode, is scanned at each interface and tracked per IT - regardless of whether it is a national or international shipment. Consignees can access the current status of their shipment via the GLS Tracking & Tracing system - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This and other security measures as well as a sophisticated alarm system ensure that GLS data is highly accessible and well-protected from inside and out.