Tracking Guide: Yodel National Hub – Where is Your Package?

You’re expecting a package from Yodel and you have received an update that states the shipment is at a “Yodel National Hub”.

What does this mean exactly? Where are the Yodel National Hubs and how far away is your package from delivery?

Let’s take a look…

Yodel National Hubs – Guide

When you receive tracking updates from Yodel, at some point in the delivery chain your package will pass through one of the National Hubs, (Hatfield, Shaw, and Wednesbury.).

Yodel will not always stipulate that the package is at a “National Hub”, the wording is normally “Your parcel is at our sort center” with the national hub in question being in parentese within the update, (see screenshot below).

Where in the Delivery Chain is a Yodel National Hub?

The shipment is at the early stage of the delivery chain when it is at a National Hub. Essentially, it has been picked up from the sender and transported to the Yodel Sort Centre (National Hub).

The hub it arrives at is related to the location of the sender. Each hub services an area of the UK, with the Hatfield facility taking in shipments originating from the South of England and London.

The Shaw national hub is close to Oldham and services Manchester and the north of England. Wednesbury services the Midlands.

Once inside the Yodel National Hub, the package will be sorted for dispatch towards the area of the recipient. It will then be transported by truck to a local depot/service center.

Once there, it will be sorted once again for loading onto the truck that will carry out the final delivery.

How Close to Delivery is my Package After Leaving a National Hub?

The time until delivery after leaving a national hub is somewhat dependent on the distances involved between the hub and the location of the recipient.

Clearly, an International delivery will take longer, (Yodel currently ships to 220 countries after all).

Taking a domestic delivery, once the parcel leaves the National Hub, it should reach the local depot in the area of the destination address within 24hrs.

Packages can then take up to 48hrs to pass through the local depot and be sorted for final delivery. 

Adding that together, you can realistically expect your package from between 2 to 3 days after it leaves a Yodel National Hub.

• Related Content: Carrier Guide: Does Yodel Take Photos of Delivery?

Tracking Stuck at the Yodel Sort Center (National Hub)

If your tracking doesn’t advance past the notification that it is at one of the national hubs, you have an issue.

Either there has been a delay inside the facility, there is a problem with your package, or it has continued in transit without a further scan taking place.

Whatever the reason, if you do not receive another update within 2 to 3 days of the item entering the sorting center, you should contact Yodel for more information.

The representative will need to look into the current location of the package and provide information on why it is not moving.

Can I Collect a Package From a Yodel National Hub?

The answer is no, it is not possible to pick up a package from a Yodel National Hub. These facilities are vast in size, and there are no customer-facing options in place.

Ultimately, your package is inside a giant warehouse when it is located inside a sorting center. There are no means of collection while it is being sorted for onward dispatch toward a local depot.

That being said, it is possible to collect Yodel packages from one of the local centers. You can do this by arranging pick-up online or over the phone.

However, you do need to do this before it reaches the local sort center.

• Related Content: Unreliable Tracking: Is Yodel Lying About Delivery?

Final Words

All major carriers have national distribution hubs and Yodel is no different. Furthermore, all Yodel deliveries will pass through one of its National Hubs, (Hatfield, Shaw, or Wednesbury).

From there the parcel will be sorted and dispatched toward the locality of the recipient. This involves passing through another, much smaller sort center before the item goes out for delivery.

This is standard hub and spoke logistics. When your parcel is inside a Yodel National Hub, there is little you can do but wait for it to reach the next point in the delivery chain.

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