European lifestyle and fashion retail giants Zalando have agreed to work with Dutch social-economy logistics network Homerr for deliveries and returns in the Netherlands.

Homerr is the largest independent social logistics network in the country and enables private individuals to act as pick-up/drop-off (PUDO) points for their neighbours.

The partnership comes after a pilot of 500 community PUDO points by Homerr and Zalando was successful. This is now to be extended to 1,500 Homerr points.

One of the advantages of using Homerr is that Zalando can reduce its carbon emissions thanks to fewer missed deliveries. The PUDO network includes small businesses as well as private individuals in their homes. The customer benefits from Zalando using the network too. There are more convenient deliveries and returns.

 
“Our ambition is to make the return process as convenient and sustainable as possible. We are constantly looking into actions to further reduce our impact on the climate, for example, through more efficient logistics and packaging,” says Masood Choudhry, VP Logistics at Zalando. “In 2020, we set science-based-targets in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. We are also sourcing 100% renewable electricity in our own operations, leading to a 64% decrease of emissions in our own operations since 2017. Our business operations, including delivery and returns, have been carbon-neutral since October 2019 through carbon offsetting,”

“After a successful pilot project with Zalando we are happy to extend the collaboration. We have received many positive reactions from our customers, especially about the convenience of our return option (location and opening hours) and because they prefer to return their package in a more sustainable way. During the pandemic, we have clearly seen that an increased number of customers want to make more sustainable choices, leading to a 33% growth of our private points in recent months.” says Juriaan Matthijssen, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Homerr.