IKEA is partnering with a start-up to help it manage the reselling of and waste from returns. Ingka Group, which owns most IKEA stores, announced it had participated in a funding round for returns optimisation technology provider Optoro. IKEA US will implement Optoro’s technology in 10 IKEA distribution centres, 50 (more…)
Waitrose has signed a new three-year logistics contract with Wincanton to manage its wines and spirits. The logistics provider will manage the distribution of around 12.5 million cases of wine and spirits to Waitrose’s network of supermarkets, convenience stores and service stations. Waitrose said Wincanton’s expertise in bonded storage, in (more…)
Argos is facing disruption to its deliveries over Christmas after workers at a UPS distribution centre voted to strike. Members of the union Unite working at Argos’s main distribution centre at Barton in Staffordshire voted to strike with a majority of 90%. The employees, who work as shunter and HGV (more…)
UK consumers prioritise specific time slots over ultra-fast options such as same-day delivery, a new survey has found. The report by parcel data management company NetDespatch found that only 3% of consumers believe same-day delivery is a must-have. The survey found that 29% felt next-day delivery was usually sufficient while (more…)
Superdry has chosen tech company ZigZag Global to help it manage returns volumes during peak period. ZigZag’s online portal allows customers to select from a range of returns options, including drop-off locations. The company has also recently added paperless returns in the UK. The company claims its returns solution reduces (more…)
Ocado is building a new customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in Bristol, the companies have announced. Ocado’s first “mini-CFC” will be able to process over 30,000 orders per week, serving customers in the city and surrounding area. They will be able to place orders for delivery the same day. The building (more…)
Nick Everitt, director of advisory EMEA for Edge by Ascential, draws on research and case studies to explain how retailers can deal with the growing supply chain complexity. Scarcity used to be a sign of desirability. Although Apple can still generate sufficient hype for customers to wait weeks for the (more…)
Retailers are no longer defined by products but their customer journey. Katharine Biggs, UK Marketing Manager at parcelLab, looks at how multi-category retailers can create long-term customer loyalty for themselves and not just the brands they stock, by creating the best customer journey and experience, especially during the busiest Christmas (more…)
Estonia’s Cleveron has launched a new compact edition of its in-store click and collect robot. The Cleveron 403, which allows customers to drop off and collect parcels without any human assistance, is designed to work in smaller format stores by offering a smaller size and price label. The smallest version (more…)
Amazon Spain customers will be able to return packages without any additional labels through a new partnership with a Spanish click and collect network. The marketplace is working with the Celeritas click and collect network, which has over 2000 points across the country. Customers simply go to the Return Centre (more…)
The majority of UK consumers are prepared to compromise speed for price in delivery, according to UPS’s annual Pulse of the Online Shopper survey. The report found that 55% of consumers would consider a slower but cheaper option if available. Customers also said they would consider incentives to accept slower (more…)
XPO Logistics is rolling out a new intelligent lighting system and deploying robots to help employees during peak season. The logistics provider will deploy the solution across 5 million square metres of site surface space in total. The company currently has around 2 million square metres of LEDs. The system (more…)
Royal Mail is now using automation to sort 26% of its parcels, more than twice the percentage it did a year ago. The UK postal giant revealed the figures in its Q2 financial results, which showed that group revenues were up 5.1% to £5.2 billion while profits after tax rose (more…)
Rob DeStefano, senior product marketing manager, industries, at Ivanti Supply Chain, talks about the key importance of supply chain accuracy. The supply chain is the backbone of business operations although it is vulnerable to myriad challenges. At present, we are witnessing a growing demand for accuracy within the industry in (more…)
Lidl is offering one-hour delivery in the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Valencia through a partnership with the Lola Market shopping platform. The discount supermarket chain is expanding its collaboration with Lola Market from Madrid to the two cities. Customers access the Lola Market platform through its website or app, (more…)
Parcelforce has redesigned its mobile app to make it more user-friendly and navigable. The application will now offer new functionality including FAQs, links to Parcelforce social media channels and access to customer service teams. It also offers a new feature allowing customers to redirect parcels to a Post Office branch (more…)
Can peak season sales carry on growing indefinitely? Weighing on the usual predictions on ecommerce growth are concerns over the economy and an election campaign that could dominate headlines. Peak season, loosely defined here as the period between Black Friday and Christmas, has delivered growing sales to the retail sector (more…)
DHL has opened a new parcel sorting centre in Germany which will eventually be able to sort 50,000 shipments per hour. The site in Bochum in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany’s Ruhr region, covers an area of 40,000 square metres. The centre is currently able to fulfil 20,000 (more…)
A recent Cygnia webinar, titled “Helping your business grow with better logistics”, looked at lessons from businesses such as FeelUnique. Hosted by eDelivery in association with Cygnia Logistics, the webinar focused on the role logistics can play in a growing retail business and offered practical lessons for going forward. It (more…)
DPD France has received authorisation for a new drone delivery route to ship parcels to customers in a remote village. The new line connects Footanil-Cornillon in the village of Mont-Saint-Martin in Isère, eastern France. The route allows delivery in five minutes. To support the route, DPD uses a delivery vehicle (more…)