Delivery giant Evri has said it is investing £46 million to boost its customer service and operations ahead of the busy Christmas period.

It said this will include a new automatic call-back service, through a new phone line, to help customers regarding any issues with orders.

The courier, which was rebranded from Hermes last year, said the facility is expected to allow the business to connect 40% more people with advisers at its UK contact centre at its busiest period for parcels.

Evri is hiring more than 6,500 colleagues to help it fulfil orders and deal with customers during the period between Black Friday and Christmas.

The recruitment drive, which is double the number hired last year, includes couriers, customer care workers and staff at delivery depots and hubs.

Chris Ashworth, chief customer officer at Evri, said: “Over the last five years we have tripled the size of our business to become the UK’s leading dedicated parcel delivery company, handling a staggering 730 million parcels each year.

“As more of us send and receive parcels every day, it has become more important than ever for Evri to invest in its customer service capabilities to answer customers’ questions as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“We have made significant progress as a business this year, with a renewed focus on service delivery standards.

“As we head into our peak period, we know that every parcel matters and we will be doing everything we can to deliver for customers at this important time.”

It comes days after the Post Office said it would offer customers the option of sending packages using Evri and DPD from its branches, allowing customers to use alternative parcel carriers for the first time in its 360-year history.