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Delivery standards – why we need them
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3 July, 2009
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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
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Consumer-to-consumer parcel deliveries from Hermes A consumer-to-consumer parcel despatch and delivery service called myHermes has been launched in the UK by Hermes (formerly Parcelnet). It allows users to have parcels collected from their home and delivered anywhere in UK for as little as £3.99 each. The service has been designed to appeal particularly to users such sellers using eBay-style auction sites. Features include 'safe place' collection and delivery, and an optional signature capture service. It is accessed though a new transactional web site, www.myhermes.co.uk. The system will use the same network of local couriers who do existing deliveries for Hermes, and the company says it is intended to drive extra traffic volume through the business. Chief executive Carole Woodhead describes it as 'an easy and convenient service that is unique within the marketplace'. Major features in latest issue: see links at column head, PLUS: Home delivery standard – a stamp of approval? Hermes heads for growth – at home and across borders First-time home deliveries 'much greener than shopping by car' – report ParcelPal launches intercom-to-phone delivery access solution  ParcelPal, a new start-up company, has launched a highly innovative home delivery solution that connects your front door intercom to your mobile phone, and allows you to unlock a doorstep drop-box for the delivery driver by remote control, using only the keypad on your phone. It is the brainchild of Steve Bungard and Simon Humphries, who have both technical and operational experience, and have therefore been well placed to follow through the engineering and practical aspects of the system. In what is thought to be a first, the system combines various elements that have never been used together before by previous delivery solutions – notably remote access control and drop-boxes. It provides real-time intelligence that is absent from 'dumb' box systems, yet avoids any need for integration with retailers or carriers, or for special instructions to be included in the parcel's address details. Online shopping 'definitely more carbon-friendly' – report  Online shopping is definitely more environmentally friendly than driving to the shops or even taking a bus. That's the finding of a report entitled Carbon Auditing: the Last Mile by Heriot Watt University, which has been produced as part of the wider Green Logistics programme being undertaken by a group of British universities. The final report echoes and reinforces preliminary findings made public last year, which indicated for instance that it is necessary to buy 24 items during a car trip to a supermarket to keep the carbon footprint down to the level of buying one item online. On a bus trip, the break-even quantity is seven items. Texting and user-selectable timed deliveries launched by HDNL Text messaging is being introduced by Home Delivery Network to alert consumers to delivery timings and allow them to reschedule their delivery to a different day. The messaging will include an estimated time of delivery. Chris Airey, HDNL's IT director, says this capability is believed to be unique in the home delivery market. The launch coincides with the introduction by HDNL of a timed delivery service. Consumers will initially be able to select from AM and PM deliveries, and will also be able to ask for the delivery to fall between morning and afternoon school runs (from 9.30 am to 2.30 pm). Parcelnet changes name to Hermes, launches cross-border delivery service  Reflecting a determined drive to establish an international home delivery presence with strong cross-border capabilities, Germany's Otto retail group has changed it UK subsidiary Parcelnet's name to Hermes, tying it in with the group's continental identity. The first cross-border customers in the UK are already on board. They are Lands End (a long-standing customer) and JD Williams, whose German-language Simply Be web site was launched only this year. Further UK-based cross-border customers are expected to be announced in May. UK managing director Carole Woodhead says the group will also be marketing its services to continental retailers setting up web sites that target the UK. Drop & Collect at heart of multi-million pound delivery initiative Drop & Collect, the high street-based returns handling network trailed by Home Delivery Network late last year, is likely to emerge by the middle of this year as a fully-fledged national home delivery drop-off and pickup network, handling outbound consignments as well as returns. It is also likely to serve as a self-contained despatch and delivery network for users such as eBay sellers. These are among details that emerged as HDNL announced the formation of a multi-million pound joint venture with PayPoint to run the system. PayPoint has a network of 21,000 high street outlets where consumers can pay utility and similar bills, and Drop & Collect will use over 1,000 selected locations for its new service. Both companies say they will invest up to £4 million in the project, which suggests the creation of a substantial pick-up point system on a scale not seen before in the UK – except, perhaps, in the form of Royal Mail's Local Collect service. Outlets will be open seven days a week and will stay open until late, immediately giving them two advantages over the present Local Collect service. |