The festive season has hit full swing for Fastway Couriers, with parcel volumes up by 25% at Fastway Couriers’ two largest depots, Sydney and Melbourne, compared to last year. Richard Thame, CEO at Fastway Couriers, says more than 700 Fastway Courier Franchisees across the country are now flat out as delivery volumes hit their annual high. "We've seen Christmas come early this year, with parcel volumes hitting highs two weeks earlier than last year thanks to events like Click Frenzy and some early Christmas shopping," says Richard. To cope with Christmas demand, Fastway Couriers has put an extra 100 vehicles on the road, introduced Saturday deliveries in all of its 25 hubs and launched a range of new initiatives to make it easier to connect customers with their parcels. "The 'last mile' of the delivery is the most important for customers. Customers want convenience and security when receiving their parcels, which has enabled us to trial new delivery methods this year," says Richard. Richard says there has been a vast increase in customers receiving online purchases at work this year. "Having high value or bulky parcels sent to high rise work places has proven very popular this year, especially with fashion and wine customers.This trend is so pronounced that some businesses have stopped staff from having parcels delivered to work, due to time, hassle and security issues. Interestingly, I've also seen that some larger companies have introduced specific areas designated to couriers who are dropping off parcels for staff," says Richard."One option customers have is our free re-direction service, which allows us to deliver a parcel to a customer at an alternate location. This can be completed through our website or by making contact with courier or customer service staff. Redirections in November were up 20% compared to October." Fastway also launched new delivery options in December including Parcel Connect, a new way to send, collect and return parcels from your local Parcel Connect agent, working with TZ Limited to utilise A.D.A.M Parcel Lockers as an alternative delivery address for customers along with working with the new Pakman Parcel Delivery Box™, the first smart secure parcel locker for residential properties. Richard says he expects January to continue the upwards trend, with many of Fastway Couriers' online retail clients preparing for bumper post-Christmas sales.