Chinese ecommerce giant JD has become the latest company to offer in car delivery. A number of retailers – including Amazon of course – are already working with the technology as retailers and delivery companies look for new ways of ensuring deliveries are made successfully.
Taking to the skies meanwhile a new report on the future of drones outlines the impact of the technology in the transport and logistics sector and how they will be used and suggests that by 2030 delivery by drones could be business as usual.
In a bid to boost productivity and efficiency we have seen a number of retailers announce warehouse automation projects recently. The latest is this week’s announcement that Pets At Home is to bring automation into its warehouse to support its five-year growth plans.
In the latest results from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index both delivery order volumes and on-time delivery performance have risen – an encouraging sign given that last year the indicators weren’t looking so good, according to IMRG.
DHL claims that two new transport initiatives it is introducing will drive down carbon emissions, reduce the number of vehicles on the road and deliver cost savings for customers. In the US DHL has also announced the start of work on its third innovation centre worldwide, designed to test and showcase future technologies in the world of logistics. Meanwhile two years after launching its Your DPD app DPD has launched the ability for parcel sending within the app following feedback from customers.
And finally as it continues its expansion after its management buyout in 2015 Whistl has announced its latest purchase with the acquisition of privately held company Parcelhub and its sister brand Mail Workshop.