This week I’ve been mostly loving DPDGroup’s new digital awareness campaign #LawsofDelivery. It features eight 20 second video clips which highlight many of the common problems around delivery but with a funny twist – take the man hopping out of the shower as his parcel arrives for instance.
Of course, they have been designed to promote DPDGroup’s specific services but the truth is the problems they solve are the problems common to all customers who order something for delivery. Other players should take note of how common the frustrations are and be looking at what solutions they can come up with too.
Two startups are in the news this week with their efforts to change things for the better. Firstly is Starship Technologies. The company has been running a number of delivery trials – with everyone from retail to delivery partners – as it looks to see how its autonomous vehicles fit in the world of delivery. Now the company has announced a rollout to corporate and academic campuses in a move which will further test human reaction to the vehicles.
The second company, London based Quiqup is rolling out its last mile delivery technologies to Manchester and Dubai following initial trials in both locations.
As customer demands change around delivery it seems weekend deliveries are more popular than ever after a 40% increase has seen DPD take on additional drivers to cope. The company has already created more than 700 jobs to deal with its weekend delivery demand and expects to increase that to more than 1,000 within a year.
And finally, we have two fashion retailers turning to automation to improve efficiency. ASOS is to launch pocket sorter technology at its German distribution centre after the technology was successfully implemented in the UK. Meanwhile Boohoo.com group, which announced its latest results this week, has announced the completion of the extension of its group distribution centre and a move to a separate warehouse for its PrettyLittleThing brand.
Image credit: Fotolia
