UK warehouse take-up hit record levels in the second quarter of the year, buoyed by ecommerce. Despite a slowdown in activity in April during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, Cushman & Wakefield data shows the second quarter as a whole saw take-up of 13.3 million square feet, (more…)
Royal Mail has added in-flight options to its delivery service as a bid to offer greater flexibility for customers. Customers receiving a delivery via the Royal Mail Tracked service will be sent a notification including an estimated time window and access to the in-flight options. The customer can then request (more…)
DPD has taken on a former DHL depot in the north of England as it seeks to expand its next-day parcel capacity. The new Yorkshire site, called Express House, measures at 25,000 square feet. This includes 17,000 square feet of warehousing space and 8000 of office accommodation. The site is (more…)
Lloyds Pharmacy has become the latest retailer to use Deliveroo as a new delivery channel. Over 50 of its products can be ordered from the Deliveroo app and websites for delivery in as little as half an hour. The range includes over-the-counter products, including masks, gloves and hand sanitisers as (more…)
Amazon has announced it will acquire an autonomous vehicle start-up. Zoox, founded in 2014, is focused on autonomous ride-hailing with zero emission vehicles. The company will continue to operate as an independent business, with its CEO and CTO remaining in place. Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s CEO of worldwide consumer, said: “Zoox (more…)
DHL has unveiled two new IT tools aimed to help companies optimise their supply chains. Greenplan, a DHL-financed start-up, has created an algorithm which allows fleet managers to optimise delivery routes and stop sequences using their data. The algorithm processes the target addresses and automatically takes into account a range (more…)
Waitrose has announced it will build a third distribution centre to rapidly scale up its online presence, while partner Ocado has extended a partnership with a UK robotics company. Run by 3PL Wincanton, Waitrose’s new fulfilment centre will be located in Greenford, West London. The supermarket aims to have the (more…)
Steve Flanagan, head of client operations at Yodel, reflects on how the logistics industry adapted during different stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Business braces for a challenge When lockdown loomed back in early March, the uncertainty of the situation meant a lot of businesses were preparing for a worst-case scenario. (more…)
On-demand courier app Glovo has begun offsetting carbon emissions from its last mile deliveries as it seeks net zero emissions by the end of 2021. The Spain-based start-up is purchasing 30,000 tonnes of carbon credits from Pachama, which will undertake reforestation projects on its behalf. This will offset around 25% (more…)
Recent weeks have seen automation and robotics start-ups netting new funding from investors, in a sign that retailers may be embracing automation in the wake of the coronavirus disruption. Locus Robotics, a warehouse robotics company which counts DHL and Boots amongst its customers, netted $40 million in its latest funding (more…)
John Lewis has announced plans to build a new biomethane gas filling station as it pledged to stop using fossil fuels across its whole fleet within 10 years. The location at the retailer’s head office in Bracknell, built with Air Liquide, will allow the Waitrose fleet in Bracknell to begin (more…)
Amazon has introduced new units in its warehouses which can automatically determine whether staff are undertaking social distancing. The new Distance Assistant, now active in a number of Amazon warehouses, uses a camera to detect whether staff are within six feet of each other. It features a mirror-like screen which (more…)
DPD will spend £200 million on new vehicles and depots in the UK in a bid to meet new demand for online retail after the pandemic. The France-based parcel carrier plans to spend the funds on expanding its next-day parcel capacity in the country in advance of what it predicts (more…)
Spanish fashion retailer Mango has opened a new hub near Barcelona which makes extensive use of automation. Located in the Catalan community of Lilica d’Amunt, the hub covers Mango’s entire product range, serving online customers in the region as well as 2200 branches. The hub has an inbound zone with (more…)
DHL has created a new service and portal to allow retailers to manage their returns. Called Just Right Returns, the portal can be branded and customised by the retailer. Customers can register a return and use either an in-box return label, a home-printed label or a return barcode to be (more…)
Health products retailer Holland & Barrett has become the latest retailer to offer its products through Deliveroo. A curated range of over 200 of the retailer’s best-selling products will be available through the Deliveroo app and website. The service will offer delivery within 30 minutes from 40 stores across the (more…)
DPD has purchased a Volvo electric truck with unprecedented range to use in its operations in Switzerland. The France-based parcel carrier has bought a Futuricum truck, based on a model by Volvo and developed by Designwerk, which offers battery capacity of 680kwH and a range of up to 760km (472 (more…)
Amazon is opening a new logistics centre near the Spanish capital as it seeks to expand its presence in the country. The centre will be located at an industrial state in Alcalá de Henares, 30km from Madrid. Set to open at the beginning of autumn, the facility is built to (more…)
Online supermarket Ocado is seeking to raise over £1 billion in funding as it seeks to capitalise on the boom in online shopping driven by Covid-19. The grocer opened applications on 10 June for investors, saying the proceeds would be used to “move quickly and to capitalise on the full (more…)
Pets At Home has taken on a new distribution centre in the West Midlands. The pet products seller has leased a further 141,000 square foot distribution unit in Stoke, meaning it now rents 278,000 square feet at that site. The leaser of the site, LondonMetric, said Pets At Home would (more…)