Look how we began - we are celebrating 25 years with a passion for parcels

25 years with a real passion for parcels

How it all began
Not so long ago, delivery services did not exist in our country. Of course, there was standard post and selected forwarding companies only delivered packages marginally. At first glance, no such service was needed in the last decade of the last century. It was all the more courageous when a community of seven owners decided to set up a transport depot in each region and in 1995 established PPL CZ, a company whose business was initially to transport shipments only between businesses.

PPL at risk
As it was difficult at first to persuade the market to start using new delivery services, after about a year of operation, a number of partners began to consider closing down. However, one still believed in the service. “At that moment, I had a choice - I'll either pack it in too, or buy the other branches and try to build something. I chose the second option, because I already believed then that a service of this type has a future in our country and it is only a matter of time before it takes hold. At that time, I had 45,000 on my bank passbook and I had to borrow everything. Over the next three years, I became the owner of all other branches and covered the company as CEO,“ describes Pavel Horák. And his instinct was right. Out of PPL he built a successful and strong company.

The first technology was the human chain
Describing the differences between technologies then and now would require a separate article. “I remember that the first roller conveyor for parcels was basically a human chain. Shipment data was sent on floppy disks and the goods could not be unloaded until the driver handed the disk over to the customer and the data was uploaded,” describes Pavel Horák, founder of PPL.

BEFORE

TODAY

What did the first shipments look like?
The operation of PPL in 1995 was christened by the partners by sending the first packages across the regional depots. Their contents were congratulations on the start and a bottle of wine. At that time, we could find items among the customers’ shipments that would hardly meet the transport conditions today.

Fleet in the beginning
“At that time, we used for transport whatever we could find. We had to be creative. I even remember a truck without a body that drove like a flatbed, and when it rained, we covered the parcels with tarps. Today, of course, the demands are quite different,” recalls the founder.

BEFORE

TODAY

The number of depots is increasing
In the beginning there were seven regional depots. PPL has currently 20 depots and a central transshipment facility in Říčany - Jažlovice equipped with the latest technologies. By 2025, PPL is planning to manage a total of 30 depots.

BEFORE

TODAY

People
PPL started with 100 people, including office workers, drivers and handlers. They had 40 vehicles. Today PPL covers 700 regular employees, 360 external employees and 1,800 drivers.

BEFORE - Lada Kochaníčková (in 1995 head of Brno depot, now in PPL as an independent expert officer) and Petr Menšík (in 1996 dispatech of depot 01, now as manager of depot 01)

TODAY - Petr Menšík at the award of the Most Trusted Brand of the Year in a "Parcel Services" category for the third time in a row

The number of shipments is constantly growing
In the early years PPL transported around 300,000 shipments a year. Today, it manages to deliver this volume normally in the Christmas season within two days. In total, PPL delivers tens of millions of shipments a year.

DHL as a parent company
From the beginning of the new millennium, the ever-increasing volumes of parcels forced PPL to move selected depots, even three times a year, and thus increase capacity. It was necessary to fund intensively and build a central transshipment facility with first-class technologies, to keep PPL competitive. For this reason, Pavel Horák decided to sell the company to a number-one carrier on global market (Deutsche Post DHL) and remained at the helm as CEO. Thanks to this step, PPL was also able to expand its services abroad and also began to focus on delivering packages to private individuals.

Change of generations in the company management 
Since 2002, Pavel Horák also had his son, Petr, by his side in the company, who over many years worked his way up from a part-time position in label printing to an operations director in 2016 when the father decided to resign as CEO. Last year, Petr Horák became the head of the company.
“When I took up my father's position, I felt great respect and also responsibility. PPL employees are a team of great people with a blue heart, and it is a huge commitment for me not to disappoint them and build on historical achievements of PPL and most importantly, to take us into the world of the 21st century, where we face a digital and environmental challenge,” describes Petr Horák.

Contactless and evening delivery as the future of PPL
At present, PPL provides parcel transport to business and private customers. As already mentioned, the fastest growing segment on the market is currently e-commerce, i.e., the delivery of goods to recipients at a private address.
As the volume of parcels increases, the number delivery and mailing points has been recently growing very quickly because they offer an efficient and, above all, flexible way of picking up or mailing a shipment. The recipient does not have to wait at home for a call from the driver, but picks up the goods when and where it suits him or her. PPL has nearly 2000 PPL ParcelShops. “For me, delivery and mailing points clearly represent a trend that we plan to support as much as possible. Last year we even opened two company PPL ParcelShops, directly under our management, on the Prague metro, in Prosek and Bořislavka. Now, in coordination with DPDHL, we are preparing a project of storage boxes, PPL ParcelBoxes, which we will start deploying next year. This method of contactless delivery is justified in the future, also in the context of the current situation,” the current CEO describes the vision.

Finally, a few words from the founder of PPL
"If I had to look back at the decisions with which I succeeded and with which I did not succeed, I am happy that I took a risk at that time and did not let PPL fall. I also see it as a good decision that I have always tried to listen to specialists in my field. Each of us is good at something different. I probably don't remember any mistake that I regret. At most, I could have done something a little faster, but there was so much work that there was simply no time left. Back then, sleeping seemed like a useless activity. I am also thankful for the family-like and friendly team that the company managed to build. I believe that this corporate culture has been preserved to this day and it makes PPL exactly what it is. It's all about people, and I'm proud to see my son at the head of a company that he leads in the right direction,” concludes Pavel Horák, founder, former owner, CEO and for the most part also the heart of PPL.