Hello, welcome to the first eDelivery email of 2016, and from everyone on the team … Happy New Year. We’ve already got a few key dates and events in our diary – such as eDelivery Expo (EDX16) in April – and we’re starting to take stock of some of the (more…)
Editor’s Comment
A year in eDelivery: reflections on 2015
It’s been the case in my weekly columns that I try to look at a topical issue from a different perspective; to look at the bigger picture, as it were. But I thought I’d break with that tradition this week. This year has been eDelivery’s first full calendar year in (more…)
Amazon’s logistics ambition, Millennials’ delivery demands and an Irish perspective
Amazon is up to something. I know, I know … it’s always up to something or other. But this time, if the smoke signals are to be believed, that something could have long-lasting implications for the carrier sector. It’s quite possible that last time I ploughed the Amazon’s at it (more…)
Yodel’s 1% peak cap fits, Amazon takes the low road, and FedEx gets touchy
Back in July Yodel caused an industry-wide intake of breath when it announced it would be capping the amount of next-day delivery Black Friday business it would accept from retailers. Now those capped chickens are, of course (in the wake of cyber week), coming home to roost. Yodel says it (more…)
European cross-border costs, Argos and others feel the heat, and a word of advice from SingPost
It came and it went … Black Friday passed, along with it Cyber Monday. The twin peaks, as it were, that usher in the Christmas peak season. Far from wishing to sound like archetypal ambulance-chasers, so far at eDelivery we haven’t heard or seen anything calamitous happen in the delivery (more…)
Editor’s column: Are you feeling a little peaky..?
Not long now. Not long at all. On Friday, along with some of my colleagues from both eDelivery and InternetRetailing, I’ll be monitoring some of the retailers from the InternetRetailing Top500 to see how Black Friday is affecting things like site performance, availability of delivery options, and plenty more besides. (more…)
Size matters – Asda’s ToYou and Argos’ Fast Track depend on it, Alibaba already has it
After announcing it was pulling out of Black Friday, Asda unveiled a new end-to-end parcel delivery and collection service it’s called ToYou, which will put the retail giant’s 600+ stores on the click-and-collect map. The economics behind this are worth reflecting on. One of the big questions the major supermarkets (more…)
As Asda backs away, others prepare for the Black Friday fray
So, Asda is pulling out of Black Friday. Hands up if you saw that one coming. Will it save deliveries from the peak period fire though? Probably not – it’s still going to be a very busy period, and if you’re not ready for it you’ll suffer. No one should (more…)
Tesco takes peak delay action, and you can download our new Operations & Logistics report
When we launched eDelivery, roughly a year ago, one of the little bits of shorthand we started using to explain our focus was that we were interested in the people, processes and technology that lie behind the business of fulfilling the multichannel promise. The procurement of logistics and operations systems (more…)
Doddle warming up, Napoleon catching a cold, and 100,000 warehouse staff desperately sought
Where’s everybody gone? There’s a shortfall of 60,000 lorry drivers in the UK and the retail warehouse sector needs something in the region of an extra 100,000 people to get through peak. In about four weeks time that’s likely to be a bit of a problem – or at any (more…)
Argos, eBay, Kevin Costner, and importance of long-term planning
One of the most well-attended sessions of last week’s eDelivery Conference (EDC) was when Argos Stores’ central operations director, Andy Brown, was speaking. Having just gone national with its same-day Fast Track delivery (which also offers super speedy collections), after spending most of the last couple of years re-engineering its (more…)
Operating costs up for Argos as sales and profits slip
Argos saw operating and distribution costs increase by £14m during the first half of its FY16, coupled with falls in sales and profits for the period. Declines in electrical and seasonal products are being blamed for a negatively impacting sales and profits at Argos in the first half of its (more…)
Transparency, collaboration, and communication: my reflections on the first ever eDelivery Conference
Yesterday, Tuesday 13 October, saw the first eDelivery Conference (EDC15) take place, at the Novotel Hammersmith in London. It was a genuine pleasure to meet so many eDelivery readers, to visit many of the exhibitors’ stands and listen to some very interesting speakers. I’m only sorry I couldn’t get round to (more…)
Amazon, Argos and HoF up the delivery ante, while carriers can relax
We’re only a week into October and it’s already been a big month for new delivery service offerings. Anyone would think there was a busy period coming along soon. In the US, Amazon has been flexing in Seattle, House of Fraser is sharpening up its next-day offerings, and Doddle wants you (more…)
Yodel takes shoppers’ pulse, UPS plans more warehouses, DHL goes egg-chasing
We have a jam-packed newsletter this week. But before we get stuck into it, I’d like to ask you a question. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? One-in-three UK shoppers already have, according to research carried out for Yodel. The rest of you need to look lively – there’s (more…)
An interview with Shutl, the domination of home delivery, and Amazon conspiracy theories
Starting a business is one of those things that many people dream of doing. But once you’ve done it there are still plenty of dreams left for you to have – like growing the business and taking into international markets, or seeing it become acquired by a global household (more…)
eBay crosses borders, Chinese singles spend big, and I go shopping
As anyone with a passing acquaintance with economics will know, elastic demand has very little to do with the demand for elastic. No, for elastic demand is that which is affected materially by increases in price. Changes to the prices of things you want – but perhaps don’t need – (more…)
Impatience in Europe, Sainsbury’s at EDC, and Hermes bags Poundland
It doesn’t matter how you dress it up, we all know the only thing that matters in the etail game is keeping your promise. The customer chooses, buys, and parts with their hard-earned, all in return for a promise. When buying online felt a little like risking swapping your cow (more…)
All eyes on Doddle, startups for EDC, and Black Friday pearls of wisdom
It is now less than three months until Black Friday 2015, which – if the predictions are to be believed – will attract a huge increase in awareness compared with last year, leading to more orders, and therefore more deliveries. How much more requires guesswork. But some people think sales could (more…)
Black Friday – three months to go: give us your rule of three
It is now three months (to the day, as this item is published) until Black Friday 2015. Predictions are that we’ll see a huge increase in awareness of Black Friday, leading to more orders, and therefore more deliveries. How much more requires guesswork. But some people think sales could hit (more…)