UPS has announced the launch of later pick-up times for customers in nearly 52,000 postal codes in Europe, with pick-up times extending to 8pm for some. The company has also improved its UPS Standard service in London and areas of southeast England, reducing shipping times to one day. In-country transit times (more…)
DPD has opened its largest distribution centre to date at EuroCentral near Glasgow. The 70,000 sq ft distribution centre has been purpose-built for the parcel delivery company and can process more than 45,000 parcels a day. It is DPD’s 31st purpose-built new depot since 2012 and joins DPD’s two existing (more…)
Waitrose & Partners has launched a two-hour and same-day delivery service as part of a new trial with On the dot, part of the CitySprint Group. The new ‘Waitrose Rapid Delivery’ service is available in eight selected London postcodes where customers will be able to choose up to 20 items (more…)
Another report this week that shows how size really does matter when it comes to delivery. The report, from DS Smith, showed that more than a third of retailers are shipping products in boxes that are twice the size needed. It’s been a common gripe of Amazon customers amongst others (more…)
Lidl has announced the purchase of a 38-acre site in Leeds for a new regional distribution centre. The new DC will be the company’s 17th in Great Britain and four more are planned. The new site will follow the construction of opening of already announced new regional distribution centres in (more…)
A new report suggests that more than a third of global retailers are shipping products worldwide in twice the size actually needed. The study by DS Smith found that 34% of retailers admitted to oversized packaging. The space waste means at least 122 million tonnes of CO2 is unnecessarily emitted every (more…)
FedEx has expanded its FedEx Group US operations to a six-day week in order to cope with increased demand. The company has seen volumes more than double in the last ten years and is preparing for what it says will be another record holiday season. The company said it had (more…)
Hanhaa, the IOT company that has developed trackers that allow third-party logistics providers and logistics companies to monitor the status and condition of parcels, has launched a new US fulfilment hub to drive expansion for its ParceLive service. The company has launched a Chicago hub for the ParceLive trackers which (more…)
The UK subscription box market, which sees regular deliveries of items from razors to bike goodies to customers, is set to nearly double in size by 2022, up from £583 million last year to £1 billion. The growth in the market will see the number of deliveries each year grow (more…)
Asda is to launch its second UK click and collect tower parcel vending machine in Bristol as part of a multi-million pound revamp of the store there. The company will launch the Cleveron tower at the store near Cribbs Causeway in Bristol. The parcel towers, which are used extensively in (more…)
Customers are becoming more and more demanding about where their parcels are and whether they are being safely delivered and yet it’s something some retailers are missing out on. New research from Sorted suggests that whilst 80% of customers want real-time order tracking 20% of retailers aren’t offering it. At Hermes (more…)
Hermes is rebranding its vehicle fleet for the first time since 2010, introducing a new strapline and focus on the consumer. The redesign follows the company’s move from a traditional B2B business to a more consumer-led organisation. Rather than its previous tag of ‘Delivery made easy’ the company is launching (more…)
Retailers are failing to react to customer demand for live tracking of their parcels and risk losing custom as a result, according to a new report from Sorted. The research suggests that 80% of shoppers want retailers to offer live visibility of their order but 20% of retailers still don’t (more…)
HubBox, a retail technology company that specialises in click and collect, is to add a further 2,000 Collect Points to its network after forming a partnership with payment provider epay. 800 locations will be added in London alone, complementing 4,500 HubBox Collect Points that can already be found across the (more…)
Hermes UK has confirmed the rollout of its SafePlace Photo and geo-fencing parcel location service after its initial trial earlier this year. The service, combined with location tracking through Hermes’ handheld terminals, allows retailers and their end consumers to see photographic evidence of delivery as well as co-ordinates of parcels (more…)
Walmart has announced a new last-mile delivery pilot called Spark Delivery that employs independent drivers to broaden the company’s delivery network. The drivers use an in-house platform to sign up for windows of time that work best for their schedules as well as access grocery delivery order details and navigation (more…)
Asendia, the joint venture between La Poste and Swiss Post, and An Post, the Irish Postal operator of Ireland, have announced a formal Premium Partnership agreement that allows Asendia to offer retailers the use of An Post’s final mile delivery services for mail and parcels, from the 15 countries it (more…)
So, the summer holidays are over. The children are back at school and it’s back to life as normal. Of course with the onset of September and the return to normality comes the reality that peak is fast approaching and retailers will be working hard to ensure they are ready (more…)
Zalando has extended its logistics contract for the Nordic region to 2021 with PostNord. The company is the sole supplier of logistics to Zalando in the region. The contract includes linehaul, i.e. transportation from Zalando warehouses to PostNord terminals, and distribution from terminals to end-customer. The company is also piloting (more…)
DHL has formed DHL Parcel (Switzerland), a newly formed company that has been set up to create the company’s own parcel network within Switzerland. DHL has set up a network of DHL ServicePoints with local partners to deliver what it claims is a “future-oriented and tailor-made logistics service”. It says (more…)