Royal Mail has bought parcel data management business NetDespatch for an undisclosed sum as it looks to improve the service it offers its ecommerce and other customers.
NetDespatch, which works with a range of carrier partners, says it will continue to deliver its commitments to customers while working to best industry practice as a standalone subsidiary of Royal Mail. The acquisition, it says, will enable it to grow its business globally.
Nick Landon, managing director of Royal Mail Parcels, said: “The acquisition of NetDespatch supports our strategy of providing our customers with leading edge ecommerce software. It allows customers with complex IT estates to integrate with us quickly and with the minimum of effort allowing them to improve the service they offer to shoppers. We are confident that this acquisition will support the continued growth of our parcels business with new and innovative software solutions as the needs of our customers evolve.”
Today NetDespatch works with more than 100,000 business in more than 100 countries, enabling them to transfer order delivery data automatically to their chosen carrier, from shipping labels to customs documentation, tracking the progress of each parcel along its route.
NetDespatch commercial director Matthew Robertson said: “We are incredibly proud of our achievements to date and believe that this acquisition will help us to continue to grow and to better service all of our clients. Our aim is to make what is a relatively complex process simple, delivering improvements and savings to everyone in the supply chain from retailer to carrier to consumer. Ecommerce is exploding in the run up to Christmas and we expect to continue to steam ahead in 2016 and beyond.”
NetDespatch will be led by Robertson and fellow director Matthew Clark under its new ownership.
