DHL is testing the use of vehicles powered by liquefied natural gas in a bid to cut emissions. The company will run a truck as a daily shuttle between DHL’s logistics centre and a BMW production plant in southern Germany. The trial will run for a year, following previous use (more…)
Co-op is allowing customers to order items from a website with same-day delivery. Customers can choose from a selection of 1500 grocery items and either receive them at their home or office within two hours or click and collect from a store. Store staff will pick and pack the orders (more…)
Uber is launching its freight brokering app in the Netherlands, marking the software’s European debut. The platform connects those who wish to ship parcels with available freight capacity. Shippers can generate quotes in real-time and book their shipment through the application. Using the platform is free for shippers and carriers, (more…)
Royal Mail will trial using electronic tricycles for deliveries in a bid to cut CO2 emissions in urban areas. Beginning in late March, the trial will see postal staff using electronic tricycles in Stratford in East London, Cambridge and Sutton Coldfield. The vehicles are powered partially by a combination of (more…)
Ocado’s share price has risen to an all-time high after revealing the impact of a fire at its Andover warehouse last month. In a trading update the online grocer said the fire had cut sales by 1.2% in the quarter, meaning retail revenue grew 11.2% to £404 million. The company’s (more…)
Adidas has predicted that its supply chain will hold its growth back over the next six months as it continues to adapt to selling directly to consumers. The apparel brand said sales had increased 8% in 2018 in currency-neutral terms, while operating profit grew 14% to € 2.368 billion. Ecommerce (more…)
Logistics giant DB Schenker will trial a driverless vehicle on a public road in Sweden after the government issued it with a permit. The permit will allow the company to test autonomous vehicles on a public road in an industrial area where traffic speeds are usually low. The trial will (more…)
Over three quarters of consumers would buy more from a retailer if offered free returns, according to a new survey by Klarna. The poll of 2000 UK consumers found that the volume of items had increased 14% since 2017. The survey found that 82% of consumers believed returns were a (more…)
The UK government has announced it will cut most import tariffs to zero if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The Department for International Trade announced that UK businesses will not pay tariffs on 87% of goods in the event of a so-called “no-deal Brexit”, which would see (more…)
DHL has partnered with Austrian Post to deliver its parcels in Austria in an effort to cut delivery times for cross-border ecommerce orders. As part of the agreement, Austrian Post will take on DHL employees in the country and most of its logistics facilities there. Customers will have access to (more…)
Wayfair has extended its free UK delivery policy to Scotland and Northern Ireland in response to activist pressure. The US retailer will now offer free delivery on orders over £40 and a standard delivery fee of £4.99 in the two UK countries, according to a politician who is leading a (more…)
Ocado has launched a one-hour delivery service in London. Launched in partnership with last mile specialist Stuart, Zoom will allow customers to choose from 10,000 products to receive within an hour or later the same day. The service is available for orders of over £15 or over, with delivery charges (more…)
London regulators have unveiled a new plan to install a network of click and collect stations across the city in order to reduce traffic and emissions. The city’s mayor and its transit authority Transport for London (TfL) announced a wide-ranging plan that will see more click and collect points at London (more…)
Co-op has selected Wincanton to run a new regional distribution centre in the East Midlands. The three-year contract will see the logistics firm managing all delivery operations from the facility in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. Supported by a staff of around 500 people and 170 drivers, the centre will house stock for (more…)
Delivery giant PostNL has signed a new agreement with Dutch trade unions that will see it taking on new delivery staff. The new agreement, which applies to 17,000 employees, will see staff receiving a pay rise and compensation. There is also a new agreement covering 500 Saturday workers. The company (more…)
China-based telecoms vendor Huawei has unveiled a new solution that will allow logistics providers to use the IoT to manage and monitor goods in transit. The Smart Logistics Solution provides companies with a visual interface to digitally manage the arrival, waiting, loading and unloading times of supplier vehicles and schedule (more…)
Delivery company UPS is hoping to attract SME sellers with an ecommerce platform which allows them to manage their listings across different marketplaces. UPS eFulfillment will allow businesses selling from marketplaces to consumers in the US and Canada to manage their sales across a number of online marketplaces such as (more…)
Amazon Prime members will be able to group orders to come on one day through a new feature. Amazon Day, available across the US, will allow customers to choose a certain day of the week as their delivery day. A customer selects a convenient day through their account settings or (more…)
Delivery giant FedEx has teamed up with the inventor of the Segway to launch a last mile delivery robot. The SameDay Bot will allow retailers to accept orders from customers nearby, designed to travel along pavements and roadsides. It is able to navigate around pedestrians and hazards such as unpaved (more…)
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has said that a growing shortage of logistics staff such as HGV drivers is primed to hit “catastrophic levels” after Brexit unless the government reforms apprenticeships. The trade body said that there are currently large numbers of vacancies, including 54000 for HGV drivers, which would (more…)