A company looking to introduce machine learning to last-mile delivery has received a further £8 million in funding. On the dot, which works with retailers including ASOS and Wickes, received the funding from owner CitySprint Group. It said it plans to invest the money in product development and international expansion. (more…)
Online retailers are failing to communicate effectively with many UK shoppers about their returns policy, risking future business, according to new research. The survey of 1000 online shoppers by ReBOUND found that 35% of online shoppers in the UK believed it was not made easy for them to return items. This (more…)
Undoubtedly the most interesting story of the week when it comes to delivery has to be the Advertising Standards Authority taking Amazon to task over its one-day delivery pledge for Prime customers. In a story that broke long before the official ASA ruling was published today, the body took Amazon (more…)
Amazon has been forced to amend its advertising for its Prime Delivery service after the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against its promise of next day delivery. The argument centres on the company’s one-day delivery claims made during the Christmas peak last year when it promoted one-day delivery for (more…)
Royal Mail is trialling a new type of postbox which will allow smaller sellers to use them for posting pre-paid parcels. The firm plans to base the new units on its existing meter mail drop boxes, which have a wider aperture and secure design. In the initial trial, the company (more…)
JDA has enhanced its AI and machine learning capabilities by buying specialist firm Blue Yonder. Both companies provide supply chain services for retailers, with the acquisition combining Blue Yonder’s data analysis capabilities with JDA’s end user applications. Customers will now be able to use real-time information about weather and events (more…)
Luxury lifestyle brand Shakti Shanti has partnered with Parcelly to integrate the company’s pick-up and drop-off service to offer a nationwide click and collect service to its online customers. The retailer, which was founded in Cape Town in 2012, specialises in high-quality yoga and activewear and opened its first UK (more…)
Amazon has launched a new 30-minute grocery pickup service in partnership with Whole Foods Market which will initially launch in two cities in the US but roll out to additional locations during the year. The service is available at Sacramento and Virginia Beach. For customers ordering via the Prime Now (more…)
Marks & Spencer has expanded its click and collect returns offer to allow such returns to take place at Simply Food stores. Customers could previously only collect their online orders in Simply Food stores but had to use larger M&S stores to return goods. The new service, which uses Doddle’s (more…)
Interesting news this week around Walmart and how it is trying to tackle delivery. In June of last year, the company had launched a trial where store staff delivered goods after work to customers. The simplicity of the trial at the time seemed to make sense. Staff were largely delivering (more…)
A new report suggests that 39% of customers say that delivery security is a key consideration in their buying decisions and yet 60% of retailers still allow carriers to leave their goods in unsecured locations. The study of 2,000 UK shoppers and 50 retail leaders showed that almost half (48%) (more…)
Walmart has ended a trial it launched in June of last year where it used store staff to deliver goods to customers. The trial meant staff could earn extra cash by delivering packages for the retailer – generally on their way home from work. The company said at the time (more…)
Royal Mail has introduced enhancements to its tracked services offerings Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48 that will keep customers better informed as to the whereabouts of their parcels. They include enhancements to the delivery to neighbour services which will allow retailers to send customers proactive email (more…)
Drop shipping has the potential to completely change the world of retail. However, as John Weber, director of business development and product management at Aptean, explains, retailers need an effective ERP system to truly make the most of this new retail reality. It’ll come as a shock to no one (more…)
The challenge of returns is a constant one. In this piece, Mike Cockfield, managing director and founder at Khaos Control, explains how retailers can best manage returns, or better still, prevent them. With the National Retail Federation announcing that 15-30% of purchases in 2018 will be returned, an effective returns policy (more…)
The power of packaging is a major topic of our newsletter this week with two opinion pieces focussing on its pivotal role. In the first piece Andy Hill, director of Sorted, looks at the inevitable fact that the green focus is likely to once again fall on the supply chain (more…)
Retailers are facing increasing pressure from environmental lobbyists. In this piece, Andy Hill, director at Sorted, reveals how this could impact delivery and the supply chain. What do plastic bottles, drinking straws, carrier bags, and disposable coffee cups all have in common? They’ve all been used as physical examples of consumers (more…)
Too often retailers ignore the potential of packaging but it’s about more than just a box, explains Konrad Kwiatkowski, marketing manager and co-founder at Packhelp. Despite what the headlines say, bricks and mortar stores still have an advantage over ecommerce when it comes to connecting with the customer. When you step (more…)
eBay has partnered with PayPoint to allow eBay sellers and buyers to use the Collect+ network for deliveries. eBay is the first multi-carrier partner for Collect+ signed by PayPoint. eBay customers will initially have access to 2,500 selected stores within the Collect+ network from the beginning of October, in time for (more…)
Amazon is expanding its Dash Replenishment programme in the UK, allowing automatic reordering of consumables from more companies than ever. The company said that Bosch, Kyocera and Siemens have now incorporated Dash Replenishment into their connected devices whilst brands such as Beko, Candy, Hoover and Sharp are to integrate Dash (more…)