Waitrose has chosen an automation start-up founded by former Google executives as it seeks to treble the size of its online business in three years. The grocer will work with Today Development Partners (TDP) to build three new highly automated distribution centres. TDP was founded by Jonathan Faiman, a co-founder (more…)
Retailers are abandoning generous returns policies in response to serial returns, according to new research. The report by BarclayCard found that 20% of retailers have made their returns policies more stringent over the last two years. Forty-one percent said they had changed their policy because too many customers were over-ordering (more…)
eDelivery will be a media partner for the Deliver 2019 conference in June, bringing together ecommerce and logistics experts. The event, which also features InternetRetailing as a partner, the event will take place on 5 and 6 June at the Estoril Congress Center in Lisbon, Portugal. Speakers from Ocado, Cdisount (more…)
DHL has launched its first urban drone delivery service in China. Working with autonomous aerial vehicle company EHang, the company deployed a fully automated drone for an 8km route in Guangzhou. An employee scans a barcode on the parcel and then places it in one of DHL’s intelligent cabinets. The (more…)
Asda is planning to trial same-day delivery and offer more click and collect points as it refocuses on “hassle-free shopping” following its Sainsbury’s merger being blocked. CEO Roger Burnley (pictured) said that the company would not be changing direction but would continue to focus on price and customer experience. This (more…)
A new Amazon click and collect service will allow customers to click and collect items from partner stores such as Next. The marketplace is offering the Counter option in the UK and Italy, allowing customers to buy tens of millions items and collect them from local stores. Customers go through (more…)
Mercadona is using warehouse automation to dispatch fresh goods in its four new distribution centres. Working with robotic handling company Cimcorp, the retailer will be able to automatically ensure that fresh food is available at its stores. The technology will be active at the distribution centres in Seville, Valencia, Alicante (more…)
DHL’s parcel business will invest £6.7 million in new vehicles as it looks to support future expansion. The additions to its fleet include 45 Volvo Tractor Units, 24 Volvo Rigid trucks and 29 Don-Bur double-deck trailers. The Volvo vehicles offer new safety technology such as auto-braking and driver assistance technology, (more…)
Ocado and Morrisons have altered the terms of their agreement, allowing the former to use more of its own warehouse space and the latter to extend its partnership with Amazon. The agreement will see Morrisons.com suspending its use of Ocado’s Erith fulfilment centre. Currently it accounts for over 10,000 orders (more…)
Demand for ecommerce warehouse space in three European countries is about to skyrocket as they reach a tipping point in maturity, says a report by Savills. The property firm claimed that 11% of sales taking place online is the tipping point at which warehouse take-up has to increase in order (more…)
DPD is deploying a Mercedes-Benz electric delivery van in London ahead of a UK-wide launch, as it aims for 10% of its delivery fleet to be electric by 2021. The parcel giant will use 10 eVitos in the UK capital, operating from the all-electric depot which DPD opened in Westminster (more…)
DHL Express has deployed a new parcel sorting system at a warehouse in Austria which will help it meet new demands for flexibility and speed. The new technology in Linz-Hörsching, designed by material handling specialist VanRiet, will provide a parcel throughput of around 6000 pieces per hour or around 325 (more…)
The Ocado warehouse automation platform is more advanced than that of Amazon, according to a UK investment house. Peel Hunt analysts James Lockyer and Damindu Jayaweera said in an investor note that a recent visit to Amazon’s most technologically advanced European warehouse in Tilbury had left them “underwhelmed” compared to the (more…)
PostNL has revealed that more than half of its revenue now comes from ecommerce in its Q1 results as it outlines new plans to capitalise on this growth through “innovative solutions” such as automation. The Netherlands-based shipping giant said that revenue increased to €684 million, up 1% year-on-year. Fifty-one percent (more…)
Zalando saw its fulfilment costs rise in the first quarter of the year as it ramps up its delivery speeds. The German retailer said costs had risen 0.5 percentage points as a percentage of revenue, driven by the investment in new fulfilment centres in Sweden and Poland and spending on (more…)
Argos has seen same-day deliveries rise year-on-year as it extends its premium offering across the country. The retailer’s parent company Sainsbury’s revealed in its full year results that sales using the Fast Track home delivery service had risen 13%. The company can now deliver to 90% of UK postcodes within (more…)
An electric cargo bike is more cost-effective than a truck on deliveries up to two miles from the distribution centre, according to a new academic study. The University of Washington modelled a range of delivery scenarios to determine which vehicle costed more. They varied distance from the distribution centre and (more…)
DHL and Hermes have introduced new training schemes, with the former making use of augmented reality (AR), to address the shortage of logistics skills. The Iberian subsidiary of DHL Supply Chain has launched its first of five ‘Advanced Training Centres’ in Guadalajara. The centre will feature around 35 professional teachers providing instruction (more…)
Parcel giants DPD and DHL have launched new electric vehicle pilots in Ireland and the Netherlands as demand for last mile sustainability grows. DPD launched its ElectriCity electric depot at Dublin’s Docklands Innovation Park earlier this week (30 April). The fleet will serve 15 electric routes in the Dublin City (more…)
Delivery companies PostNL and PostNord have expanded their parcel locker trials in a bid to support ecommerce growth. PostNL has just introduced an additional six parcel and letter machines in the Dutch city of Tilburg, bringing the total up to 20. The change has also seen the carrier change the (more…)