bpost offers SMBs preferential delivery costs

Belgian bpost is reaching out to small and medium business (SMB) customers by offering them business accounts to help reduce parcel delivery costs.

As with other major postal delivery operators around the world, bpost has long given preferential deals to large companies. Now, the postal operator has created a new service that allows SMBs that ship fewer than 1,000 parcels a year to have business accounts.

Initially the SMB customer will set up a free SMB business account with bpost and then send parcels at the market rate. The postal operator offers a loyalty scheme type offer where the customer will get ‘shipping credit’ for every parcel they send, accumulating more shipping credit for every parcel sent. This is then applied as a discount on parcels sent the following year.

Another part of the offer is a real-time shipment dashboard that gives a clear overview of all shipments.

No advance payment is made and bpost bills the customer for their accumulated parcel delivery costs every two weeks. Only the shipping labels that are used are paid for too.

This scheme is ideal with smaller businesses with plans to grow their online shopping presence. Those who do grow their business will be rewarded with lower shipping costs, a big factor in the bottom line of e-commerce delivery.

Share

Tesco bungles Delivery Saver Christmas delivery slot allocation

UK supermarket giant Tesco has apologised to customers when problems emerged with Delivery Saver customers being unable to book their Christmas delivery slots.

On Tuesday this week, the grocer’s online delivery slots between 12 December and 24 December opened for customers on the Delivery Saver programme.

Customers on the programme found that they were in a queue behind thousands of other customers on the Delivery Saver scheme. Many in the queue waited several hours and were still kicked off the site without being able to book a slot.

In response to the outrage on social media, a Tesco spokesperson said, “Online Christmas slots are now available for Delivery Saver customers on our website and groceries app after some customers temporarily had difficulty logging on or placing orders this morning”.

“We’re really sorry about that and it has now been resolved with slots available for both Home Delivery and Click+Collect over the Christmas period.”

For the week up to Christmas Day, Tesco has made 1.2 million delivery slots available. While Delivery Saver customers could book this week, those not on the scheme will have to wait until next week.

Share

DX Group has best financial year in seven years

UK delivery and freight logistics provider DX Group has had its best annual trading financial results in seven years.

Revenues for the financial year ending 2022 were up 16% year on year to £428.2 million. Adjusted pre-tax profit was up 68% to £20.2 million.

Substantial growth in DX Freight led the strong growth in revenues and profit. Specialising in irregular dimension and weight (IDW), the division saw revenue increase by 15% to £256.9 million, and operating profit grew 36% to £31.1 million. Productivity and efficiency improvements supported new business wins and strong growth in volumes.

DX Express, which specialises in time-sensitive, mission-critical and higher-value items, returned to growth. This saw an 8% increase in revenues to £171.3m and operating profit up 17% to £14.5m. While the Document Exchange business saw falls in volumes its parcels activity more than offset those falls. Part of the revenue growth came from the separation of the Document Exchange subdivision from the parcels delivery network, leading to greater efficiencies.

DX Group has begun a three year capital investment programme worth up to £25 million. In the first year it has invested £6.2 million into the depot network and IT. DX has opened eight new depots in the last year as well as upgrading two existing ones. The investment allows capacity for future growth, improved efficiency and enhanced service levels. Over the next two years it will had 13 new sites and will upgrade a further 10.

Ron Series, Executive Chairman of DX (Group) plc, commented: “These are excellent results in a year of challenges for the Group. Both revenue and adjusted pre-tax profit reached seven-year highs. The significant progress the Group has made reflects a well-executed growth strategy, underpinned by the major investment we have made in the business over recent years.

“The Group has a very strong balance sheet, with net cash of £27 million. We believe that DX remains very well- positioned to achieve its growth objectives in the current financial year despite the economic uncertainties.”

Share

Primark launches click & collect

UK fast fashion retailer Primark has launched its online click and collect service at 25 stores in England and Wales.

The retailer has been forced to go online after the pandemic where it lost more than £1bn in sales due to being unable to open its stores. There are however no plans to offer delivery.

Paul Marchant, Primark’s CEO, said the launch of the click-and-collect service was a “milestone for us and a really important moment”.

“We’re massive fans of bricks and mortar. We believe in stores and we believe in the High Street. We think click-and-collect is the right proposition.”

The intent of the new offering is to expand the brand’s reach and win new customers.

Ahead of the Christmas shopping season, Marchant is optimistic about online and offline sales. “We feel excited about Christmas. I think we’re really well set. Our stores are feeling busy.

“It’s the first time for three years that customers have been able to come into the store, mask free, restriction free and really enjoy the experience of being in a Primark store.”

Share

DHL Supply Chain Invests £85.5m in Australia warehouse robotics

DHL Supply Chain has announced it is to invest AUD $150 million (£85.5m) in warehouse robotics in its Australian operations.

The warehousing and logistics company will put 1,000 robots into operation by 2025. At the same time DHL Supply Chain will also grow its Australian workforce in the next two years, as well as retraining and developing the skills of its existing workforce.

DHL Supply Chain Chief Executive Officer Oscar de Bok says, “This is a very exciting announcement, reinforcing our commitment to the Australian market and continuous technological innovation. Global supply chains have been under immense pressure these past few years, and some disruption may persist.

“But we have invested in supply chain digitalisation worldwide, and by leveraging this global expertise, we will continually develop innovative solutions to help our customers overcome any challenges on the horizon.”

DHL Supply Chain Chief Executive Officer, Australia & New Zealand, Steve Thompsett added, “This investment in robotics will provide more resilient, flexible, and scalable supply chain solutions to our customers, who will be better equipped to service their own customers independent of the sector in which they operate.”

Share

Amazon driver surveillance reduces accidents by half

Amazon has announced that surveillance of its delivery drivers has cut road accidents by 48% over the two years it has been in operation.

The online giant has rolled out the driver surveillance technology in the US and UK. It has reduced risky behaviour including not wearing a seatbelt and speeding. Real time alerts to the driver also prevents other issues from occurring.

Privacy campaigners however have criticised the use of the technology, claiming it is intrusive and overbearing.

At a conference in Boston, Massachusetts, Amazon’s Last Mile vice president Mai Le showed that cameras, sensors and machine-learning technology had been in operation in some US delivery vans in 20202 to identify potentially risky driver behaviour. Amongst other things, four cameras watch over the driver as well as the front and sides of the delivery van.

“We have learned that the best way to reduce driver control of safety incidents is to address unsafe behaviour in real time,” she said.

“This technology is a game-changer. We’ve seen a 48 per cent collision rate reduction in our test group since installing this technology, and improvements across the board.”

Alerts from the driver monitoring system had amongst other things shown failure to wear seatbelts, vans following other road users too closely, speeding and failure to use turning indicators.

“This is a huge opportunity that we didn’t even know about when we started,” she said. “We just wanted to make it safer for drivers.

“What the drivers also like is we tell them while they’re still on the road so they don’t get a ticket, they don’t get into an accident, they don’t damage the vehicles or hurt anybody in the community.”

Share

DPD UK switches HGV fleet to biodiesel

La Groupe La Poste owned delivery company DPD UK has announced it is to switch its HGV fleet over to Gd HVO biodiesel in partnership with integrated energy provider, Essar and Green Biofuels Ltd.

Gd HVO is a hydrotreated vegetable oil based biodiesel that can be used in diesel engines without any alterations to the engine. The companies say it is made from renewable feedstocks and contains a specially designed performance additive to ensure cleanliness and optimum combustion throughout the fuel system.

According to DPD, Gd HVO can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90% compared fossil fuel diesel. It also claims that particulates are reduced by 80% and nitrogen oxides by 20%. Where the particulates and NOx reductions are measurable, the idea that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced is somewhat greenwash as it still involves the combustion of the fuel and emission of those gases even if ‘reabsorbed’ during the lifecycle of the plants used for vegetable oil production.

DPD aim to have moved over 60% of its 1,600 strong HGV fleet to Gd HVO diesel by the end of 2022. The remaining vehicles will be switched by the end of 2023.

Justin Pegg, Chief Operating Officer at DPD commented, “This is a very significant step in the journey to decarbonising our entire fleet and achieving our aim of being the most sustainable parcel delivery company in the UK. While we are well on the way to electrifying our delivery van fleet, the HGV linehaul fleet has always been a very different challenge. We have assessed a range of options and it is clear now that this is the most effective and practical way to make a real difference. While there may be different solutions in years to come, we must start this process now by making our existing vehicles significantly cleaner.”

Share

One Stop to double online items available for delivery

UK convenience store chain One Stop is set to double the amount of items available for home delivery to more than 2,000 SKUs. This is thanks to new software that more competently links in-store availability to what will appear online.

The Deliverect software is due to be fully operational in December before it is to be rolled out to its first franchise store. The system will work with Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat, that offer just 1,000 SKUs.

According to One Stop, the Deliverect system will boost the speed at which the stock is updated on the home delivery platforms – an important factor as all online orders are picked from within stores. It is also set to improve picking accuracy and reduce fulfilment times.

“Deliverect will provide stores with a simplified process allowing them to manage multiple delivery partner services within their store,” said One Stop head of online Tim Josephs.

“It allows us to manage more tasks centrally, helping to save time for our store colleagues and franchises. This means order picking will become more efficient, menu availability can be managed more effectively, and we can generate menus all in one place.

“Another added benefit is that we’re able to gain greater insights from each specific store, allowing us to continually improve our offer and the performance of each store in their online offering.”

Share

US Postal Services revenues and losses increase

Controllable losses at the US Postal Service increased by US $2 billion in the financial year to 2022. While revenues grew by 2%, inflationary pressures significantly increased the postal operator’s costs.

Mail and volumes fell in a large part due to the price increases instituted by the US Postal Service. At the same time, it was given a one-time cash relief injection by the federal government of $56 billion as part of the Postal Service Reform Act.

Postal officials predict that overall losses will increase next year to as much as $4 billion. Revenues are set to increase due to more price hikes, but the drop in volumes due to falling consumer confidence is set to add to the postal operator’s woes.

“Over the last two years we have stabilised our operations, evolved our products, improved our service, strengthened our balance sheet, halved our projected losses and motivated our employees to join us in this transformation,” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said. 

Share

Aramex profits jump and revenues fall in Q3

Middle Eastern express and logistics giant Aramex has seen profits rise by 18% in the third quarter to Dh37 million (£8.5m). Lower expenses offset a dip in overall revenues.

Revenues fell in Q3 by 2.4% to Dh1.42 billion (£327.8 million) thanks to a dip in volumes in the Oceania and North Asia regions. Devaluation in currencies in certain markets also hit revenues as foreign products became more expensive for some consumers.

“The strength and resilience of the GCC economies contributed to the stability of our top line year to date in 2022,” said Othman Aljeda, chief executive of Aramex.

“In line with our strategic objectives, our revenue mix is now more diversified both in terms of contributions from the different business segments and from a more diverse customer base.”

Aljeda continued, “We remain cognisant of global macro activity and believe that our dominant position in the GCC … will continue to support our resilient performance.”

Share