Same day delivery is a key theme of this week’s newsletter after Sainsbury’s announced a new trial that means it is the first retailer in the UK to offer a collection service in under an hour. The company is trialling a 30-minute service from its Pimlico store in London which will allow customers using the Android version of its Chop Chop app to select and pay for up to 25 items to be collected in half an hour. In such a competitive market it’s likely we will see similar moves by competitor retailers soon.
In the US meanwhile, Office Depot has revealed the launch, at the end of this month, of a same day delivery service powered by Deliv. Its scale will also be limited but is hoped to roll out to additional locations by the end of this year.
Hoping to make the usual returns headache a little more bearable UPS launched UPS Returns Manager on Monday, a free online tool that allows ecommerce merchants to customise return shipments according to their policy.
There has been a management change at UK Mail after the company, which was bought by Deutsche Post DHL Group in December last year, appointed its former chief operating officer for parcels as CEO for the company as a whole. He has taken over from founder and former chairman Peter Kane who was in the position on an interim basis.
There are many challenges when it comes to deliveries but one of the biggest – and with it the most expensive – is the challenge of the last mile. In cities where congestion adds to the problem this is even more of an issue. In a great opinion piece this week Craig Ryder, director of Go Supply Chain, reveals some of the issues that retailers and their partners face and provides a useful overview of some of the trials and initiatives that are underway worldwide to try and tackle this problem.
In one of the final interviews from our planning for peak series which we have run recently, it’s the turn of John Boulter, managing director retail, UK&I for DHL, to reveal his thoughts on how to prepare. He shares a useful checklist for retailers to follow so it’s definitely worth a read.
And finally in the latest update about IRC and EDC, taking place in London on 5 October, we bring you news of the roundtable events which are part of this year’s show. The roundtables, which are for retailers only, provide a great platform to learn from your peers and are a must-do at the event so make sure you book your place and come along!
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