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Tag: parcels

Ofcom Proposes Major Reform of Royal Mail

Posted on by David Priestman

Ofcom has unveiled proposals to reform the UK’s Universal Service Obligation (USO), aiming to bring the postal system in line with changing consumer behaviour and ensure the long-term sustainability of Royal Mail’s operations.

With letter volumes falling dramatically and parcel demand continuing to grow, the regulator is seeking to modernise the services Royal Mail is legally required to provide, while maintaining key features that consumers still value — such as affordability and nationwide coverage.

Letter Decline Spurs Review

Over the last decade, letter volumes in the UK have halved — from around 14 billion in 2011/12 to just 7 billion in 2022/23. In contrast, parcel volumes have risen steadily, driven by e-commerce and changing business models. Ofcom’s review responds to this shift, highlighting that the current six-day-a-week letter delivery model is no longer aligned with consumer needs or usage patterns.

Proposed Changes to the USO

Among the most significant proposals is a revision to delivery frequency. Royal Mail would no longer be required to deliver Second Class letters six days per week. Instead, deliveries would be made every other weekday, while First Class mail would continue with a six-day delivery schedule. Parcel services are unaffected by the proposals.

Ofcom also recommends updating performance standards. The new model would set realistic expectations based on how consumers actually use the mail:

  • First Class delivery: target of 90% delivered next-day (down from 93%)
  • Second Class delivery: target of 95% delivered within three days (down from 98.5%)

New reliability targets:

  • 99.5% of First Class mail delivered within three days
  • 99.5% of Second Class mail delivered within five days

These changes reflect a growing preference for reliability and value over speed, according to Ofcom’s research.

Affordability and Accessibility Remain Key

While usage patterns have changed, many people still depend on the postal service — particularly in rural and remote areas. The regulator is committed to preserving elements such as uniform pricing and national coverage to ensure fair access for all.

Consumers indicated that they continue to value the availability of next-day First Class service and the ability to send items across the country at a consistent price.

What Happens Next?

The public consultation on these proposals closed in April 2025. Ofcom is now reviewing responses from stakeholders, including postal users, businesses, and consumer groups. A final decision on the updated USO is expected later this year, with implementation likely to follow shortly after.

For the logistics sector, these reforms mark a significant step in rebalancing letter and parcel operations, aligning the regulatory framework with today’s market demands and delivery expectations.

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Opportunity for Parcel Locker Networks

Posted on by David Priestman

There is a $367B ‘Second Hand’ opportunity hiding for parcel locker networks, argues Francesco Tribuni (pictured below), Sales Manager and Industry Expert for Bloq.it

One of the joys of being part of the parcel industry is that innovation is continuously in the background: there’s no day, week or year without radical changes. Those changes are more often exogenous, therefore always enabling new opportunities in the first and last mile.

The most promising one I see nowadays is coming from circular economy: second hand, peer to peer, resale, repair services (…) call it whatever you’d like. It is a growing market, with global second-hand apparel market likely to reach $367B by 2029.

Francesco Tribuni

So, what makes this so appealing?

It is not the ‘resale’ in itself as we’re all accustomed to it, but rather the fact that we can upgrade from a neighbourhood market level, which takes place once per week and with limited local reach, to online platforms connected with hundreds of millions of users. At this moment in time, we can now buy and sell online to a worldwide audience in a few clicks, buying a shipping label for a few €/$/£/¥, and also building a private business that could escalate to a 6 figure level.

How can Logistics support it and add value?

From a customer perspective, and especially for private users, online sales/purchases will start from the usual checkout, where logistics is perceived as an integral and not separate part of the process. Amazon has accustomed us to feel the shipping process as an easy thing, consumers like EASY processes. Also, don’t forget that +90% of private sales will have an average order value lower than the original price, due to this shipping cost must be cheaper, to be cheaper it must be self-service and with fewer steps.

Parcel businesses have the potential to support and add value through C2C services where the standard ‘A to B flow’ (A = Pickup Address, and B = Delivery Address) is radically different. Let me list some below:

– Instead of ‘addresses’, A and B are Parcel shops & Parcel Lockers.
– Shippers will buy labels on demand, no account needed.
– Labelless and boxless shipments: Parcel shops or Drivers will label and box products to be shipped.
– Parcel Lockers can be a temporary storage space.
– A to B is valid for both outbound deliveries & returns.
– Shipment will be prepaid, and Shipping Costs will tend to be cheaper.
– One Delivery Driver can potentially handle 500 to 1K parcels per Day.
– Cross Border is the New Normal, consumers are more open to buy abroad if the product is made available at an affordable price and transit time.

The forecast is quite clear: parcel and postal business can ‘extend’ its portfolio and revenue stream by accessing the mass of citizens (consumers) that are willing to resell their preloved things gathering dust in their homes. The potential market of C2C is enormous. And how should we logistics operators ‘deliver’ this change?

I see 2 ways:
– First – develop as fast as possible what’s above with a reliable and updated tech stack (people value convenience) together with an extended OOH Network where Parcel Lockers can play a crucial role.
– Second – ‘transform’ the Logistic Arm of a Second Hand Marketplace. This is what Amazon, Alibaba and most recently Vinted have done in recent years, after using Couriers as suppliers for years.

Lastly, a final thought about parcel lockers. It’s easy to call them ‘machines of bent metal’, but the real truth is that a smart parcel locker is the tech and logistics upgrade of a delivery driver (that won’t end nor replace their job):
– More deliveries per day.
– Little to no failed attempts.
– Customized UX while picking/returning a Parcel.
– Savings on Shipping Costs.
– Modularity can enable additional parcel capacity for peak periods

I’m biased on this topic, I know. But it’s safe to say that the future of every online order is already here.

UK Parcel Delivery to Lead Europe This Festive Season

Posted on by David Priestman

A new study released today by FedEx, forecasts that parcel carriers will collectively distribute 1.29 bn shipments across the UK between October and December 2024, 10.9% more than in the same period in 2023.

The independent study was conducted by Effigy Consulting, which analysed its courier, express and parcels (CEP) database with 500,000 data points on more than 300 carriers in 41 countries.

The data shows a significant increase on the UK figures for 2023, up from 1.17bn parcels to 1.29bn in 2024. The UK will be the busiest market for parcels this Peak season, representing 21% of the total deliveries made, equating to 12 parcels per person across the UK and Europe.

Germany and France will be the second and third busiest markets, with Germany accounting for 17% (1.1 bn) and France making up 8.4% (524 mil) of the total parcels delivered across Europe. This growth is being driven by a rise in e-commerce which accounts for nearly 70% of shipments going directly to consumers across the European market.

Alun Cornish, Vice President Network Operations at FedEx commented: “Peak season is a critical period for UK businesses, with many relying on transportation and logistics to meet increased demand and deliver for their customers. Online shopping, ecommerce, and a shift towards deferred services will continue through this year’s peak, reflecting changing consumer behaviour and ongoing cost-consciousness in the market.”

FedEx’s networks will scale and adapt to meet the UK’s increased demand, with options for air and road transportation, as well as more predictive technologies to manage potential disruptions and make the ‘golden quarter’ a success.”

Across the whole of Europe, 6.2bn shipments will be made between October and December 2024, 9.0% more than in the same period in 2023. The UK is one of the fastest growing major European countries with a growth of 10.9% on last year, outpaced only by Portugal and Poland and countries such as Turkey, Croatia and Bulgaria.

To illustrate the scale of the Peak, the total European volume (4.878 bn cubic feet) would equate to filling the entire structure of Wembley Stadium thirty-four times over. The total weight of goods transported across Europe at this Peak will be almost 7.5m tonnes, which equates to around 15 kg for every person living in the EU and the UK.

The countries with the highest volume of shipments during this Peak season are the UK (1.3bn) and Germany (1.1bn), followed by France with just over half a billion (524m), with twelve parcels sent for every person in the UK and EU during the three-month period.

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Taking Control of Parcel Delivery

Posted on by David Priestman

Small ecommerce businesses are hugely reliant on the quality and timeliness of parcel delivery services to ensure customer satisfaction – and growing numbers are taking control of the process by bringing parcel labelling in house, as Jay Kim, Managing Director, BIXOLON Europe GmbH explains.

Delivery Imperative

Ecommerce companies have long recognised the importance of a robust, reliable delivery experience, from offering customers delivery choice to ensuring products arrive on time. New research, however, reveals just how damaging a poor delivery experience can be: almost two thirds (63%) of frequent shoppers in the UK will abandon an online retailer over a poor delivery experience. The situation is similar in France, where 53% of shoppers will abandon a retailer, dropping to 38% of German shoppers. Improving the shipping and delivery processes, therefore, has a very significant value. Yet from extended queues at Post Offices, to damaged barcodes and labels leading to parcels being returned, rather than arriving with the customer, many smaller businesses continue to struggle to achieve the level of delivery certainty required to support essential customer promises.

With Post Offices closing and the Royal Mail offering a parcel pick up service, many companies are reviewing delivery strategies and taking responsibility for their own parcel and post labelling.

Efficient and Green

Investment in technology such as label printers has, of course, always been an option, but traditional products had some limitations – such as the need to print several labels on one sheet of A4. The latest generation of linerless label printers is completely changing the experience for small businesses. These printers, which use a roll of sticky labels that require no backing, provide a new level of flexibility.

Labels are not pre-cut, allowing companies to print labels of any size. This means that all the information required – including barcodes, addresses and product safety information – can be included in a single label. Furthermore, linerless labels are far more robust, which means barcodes are safer from the damage caused by rain water, sunlight or scratches, leading for far greater delivery certainty.

In addition, linerless labels also support companies’ sustainability goals. The lack of plastic liner ensures businesses comply with the EU directive on packing and packaging waste. In addition, because labels are cut to size there is no wastage. And with the price of linerless labels dropping significantly in recent years, there is no additional cost associated with the green approach.

Post Office Improvements

Linerless label technology is also helping postal services to improve their delivery experiences. In Europe, postal workers are using mobile linerless printers for ‘you were out’ parcel delivery information. Rather than the scrawled paper notes that customers can struggle to decipher, a postal delivery person can print the time of delivery, location of parcel for collection and opening times on the label, which is then attached to a paper card and posted through the letterbox. The linerless technology ensures there is no plastic wastage that has to be carried – or dropped – making the process much easier and safer to manage.

In addition, this technology is being used to offer self-service access to services within Post Offices. Kiosks are becoming ever more popular, allowing people to pay for shipping and print their address labels in the Post Office – and reducing the pressure on queues. Critically, printer manufacturers are leveraging the vast amounts of data collected from diverse printer products to deliver the new levels of printer reliability that are essential in any self-service experience.

Ecommerce businesses increasingly need to offer flexible delivery options to entice customers to buy – and ensuring delivery promises are met is key to achieving repeat business. Whether through self-service kiosks or in-house printing, small businesses that embrace the chance to take control of the printing process, especially the use of robust and sustainable linerless labels, can achieve another level of vital delivery certainty to reinforce the end-to-end customer experience.

Transport to and from Greece and Cyprus

Posted on by David Priestman

EURODIS, a network for the joint international transport of parcels and pallets, has gained the Greek express service Geniki Taxydromiki as a new partner. “This brings the number of countries served by our network to 38,” says Jens Reibold, Managing Director of EURODIS GmbH. “The family-run company serves not only Greece but also the Greek-speaking part of Cyprus for our customers.”

The new partner is headed by twin sisters Nadia and Eva Varzakakou, who have been in business for 20 years. They took over the company from their father Panagiotis Varzakakos, who founded it in 1994. “Geniki is active in our core business of combined freight, transporting parcel and pallet in one shipment, and meets all EURODIS processes and quality standards,” Reibold says. “In addition, Geniki takes on hazardous goods in limited quantities, delivers both B2B and B2C shipments, and also has a whole range of interesting specialties.”

E-commerce: Geniki operates online marketplace and logistics from a single source

The company’s central hub and headquarters are located in Athens on 30,000 square meters of space. There are regional hubs in Thessaloniki and five other locations. In total, Geniki operates 330 stations in Greece. This number is expected to increase by 15 by the end of the year. Some of the stations are local delivery and pick-up bases, while others are pure pick-up and drop-off stations (pudos) that Geniki uses for its online marketplace. Via its Internet platform ebloko.gr, Geniki sells a wide variety of products ranging from cosmetics and household goods to electronics. Customers can have the goods delivered to their homes via Geniki or pick them up and return them at the pudos.

The company’s customer list includes well-known names as cosmetics brand Avon, German corporations Bayer, BMW and Bosch, sporting goods retailer Decathlon, DIY chain Praktiker, textile giant Inditex (Zara) and insurance group Ergo. In the last four years, Geniki has increased its sales from 66 to 96 million euros and its gross profit from 8 to 12.4 million.

Almost every second shipment is cash on delivery

Another special feature of the Greek express service Geniki Taxydromiki is the very high proportion of cash on delivery (COD) shipments (48 percent). With an average of 120,000 shipments delivered by Geniki every day, that’s more than 55,000 COD shipments per day.

The average shipment weight at Geniki is 1.4 kilos, which is due to a high number of relatively small shipments. Therefore, the company uses 550 motorcycles in addition to 70 trucks and 750 vans. In June, Geniki Taxydromiki purchased 20 all-electric delivery vehicles. 13 minivans and 2 electric scooters are being used at selected stations throughout Greece. Five vehicles went to a station in Athens, which is to be developed into the first completely ‘green delivery depot’.

 

London Light Freight Walking Trial

Posted on by David Priestman

Cross River Partnership (CRP), a non-profit and impartial partnership organisation, is excited to have launched the London Light Freight Walking Trial; UPS’s first walking freight trial on public land. This forms part of the Defra-funded Clean Air Logistics for London project.

CRP has been working with The Fitzrovia Partnership, London Borough of Camden, UPS and Heal’s to bring this trial to life, which officially began on Friday 5th May. The trial serves last-mile deliveries and will support the reduction of emissions and congestion in Fitzrovia.

Walking freight is a mode of logistics where foot-based porters play a key role in deliveries and collections. Overall kilometres travelled by light goods vehicles (LGVs) could be reduced by up to 0.4% across Greater London (i.e. one in every 250 kilometres) if walking freight was expanded to its full potential in the CAZ (Central Activities Zone). (CRP’s Walking Freight Feasibility Study, May 2022).

The economic benefits of walking freight are estimated to be at least £37 million per year, due to decongestion, decarbonisation, improved air quality, minimise noise pollution and reduced road wear.

According to Defra’s Emission Factors Toolkit (EFT), we estimate that expanding walking freight could reduce London’s carbon emissions by 4.7 kilo-tonnes per year. UPS is conducting the e-walker trial in Fitzrovia daily, delivering packages to local residents and businesses on foot utilising an electric-assisted trolley developed by Fernhay. This trial runs until September 2024.

CRP is unlocking potential and transforming space across the logistics sector in London, to deliver solutions that make London fairer, greener and safer. The London Light Freight Walking Trial supports CRP’s vision to make London a better place to live, work and visit. CRP will be monitoring the impacts of the trial with UPS’s data from the pilot. We want to prove walking freight as a model and encourage more logistics operators to look into walking freight feasibility.

A Camden Council spokesperson said “This innovative trial with e-walker trolleys is a further example of how the council is embracing new technology and approaches to reduce motor vehicle traffic and the related air pollution, in line with its transport policies. The e-walkers allow for the prompt delivery of packages to the residents and businesses of Fitzrovia without the associated increase in traffic in this busy area of the borough.”

Mick Atkinson, Head of Environment and Place, The Fitzrovia Partnership, said “We’re delighted that Fitzrovia is being used as a trial for UPS’s first walking freight trial on public land. The demand for next-day deliveries is now a part of life and programmes that reduce the environmental impact of the cost of doing business are fully supported by The Fitzrovia Partnership and its’ business community. This exciting initiative changes the nature of deliveries to minimise their impact on the environment by reducing congestion and emissions on Fitzrovia’s streets.”

Artur Drenk, International Sustainability Director, UPS, said “We are continuing to expand our alternative fuel fleet as we work towards reducing emissions per package. We are excited to introduce the electric-assisted walkers, developed by Fernhay, to the streets of Fitzrovia as part of our efforts to serve our customers in urban areas in a more sustainable way.”

Fiona Coull, Senior Programme Manager, Cross River Partnership, said “Walking freight has real potential to reduce congestion and improve air quality, particularly in central, high density locations such as Fitzrovia. We look forward to understanding the impacts of the trial, as it’s really important to explore these innovative logistics solutions and share any learnings gained.”

Plus One Demonstrates Human-in-the-Loop Solutions

Posted on by David Priestman

Plus One Robotics, a provider of advanced robot perception software and solutions for parcel handling systems, will be demonstrating its human-in-the-loop remote supervisor software, Yonder, in booth 6C11 in Hall 6 at LogiMAT 2023 at the Messe Stuttgart convention centre.

By participating in the Yonder demonstration, attendees will be provided an opportunity to act as a ‘Crew Chief’ and remotely control and command a robot in the Plus One Utrecht Customer Experience Centre to pick and place using their de-palletising system for random mixed pallets. With Yonder, remotely located humans can supervise multiple robots from any location, speeding the robot’s ability to handle exceptions. The AI system learns from this intervention to further improve its capabilities if similar situations occur in the future, helping to minimise downtime and enabling 24/7 fulfilment.

PickOne with Yonder enables companies to be more efficient and cost effective with very precise, high-speed robotic picking and automated sortation. Using award-winning AI vision software in conjunction with the company’s unique end-of-arm robot grippers, PickOne optimises the picking and depalletising of mixed parcels, bags, pallets, and products for high-volume ecommerce fulfilment and distribution centres.

 

Indian Robotics Firm Launches UnboxSort

Posted on by David Priestman

Unbox Robotics, a global plug & play Indian robotics technology company for intralogistics, plans to expand its footprint in the international markets starting with the United States. With proven success within the domestic 3PL industry, the company is looking to make its tech available to meet the current demand for innovative plug & play automation solutions in the US.

Unbox Robotics currently supports several leading e-commerce, retail and logistics companies across the globe to automate their fulfilment operations through its UnboxSort system. By vertically sorting parcels, the system helps customers achieve 3x productivity, sorting accuracy of 99.99% and space efficiency of 50 to 70%.

The company announced that it is showcasing its breakthrough intralogistics automation technology at ProMat Chicago from March 20-23rd at booth N9513 and kicking off its entry into the US market.

UnboxSort in the US market

Commenting on the upcoming showcase, Pramod Ghadge, Co-Founder & CEO of Unbox Robotics, “We are excited to present our revolutionary parcel sorting & order consolidation robotics tech, UnboxSort at ProMat 2023 and demonstrate its benefits for companies of all sizes seeking automation. Powered by a swarm intelligence-based sorting mechanism, the UnboxSort system empowers customers to process parcel sortation efficiently and helps them scale up their operations and transition to Industry 4.0 with ease. Our participation at this industry event is our commitment to expand Unbox Robotics’ footprint in the international markets in the coming months.”

Pramod added, “The system can be installed in less than two weeks and can sort items/parcels ranging from 1,000 to 20,000 per hour on demand, making it valuable for both small e-commerce startups to large multinational corporations.”

Unbox Robotics is backed by reputed global investors from US, India, UK and Singapore. Unbox Robotics has also been recognised as a sample vendor in the 2022 Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Mobile Robots and Drones, the 2022 Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Supply Chain Execution Technologies and the 2022 Gartner® report for “Emerging Tech Impact Radar: Smart Robots and Drones” and has also won several awards globally.

Drone Services for Heavy Payloads

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Leading drone operator, Skyports Drone Services, and electric, autonomous aircraft manufacturer, Pyka, have agreed on a partnership for heavy payload drone logistics. The collaboration will leverage Skyports Drone Services’ extensive operational experience and Pyka’s best-in-class heavy payload aircraft to provide game-changing drone delivery services.

The partnership will see Skyports Drone Services welcome the newly unveiled Pyka Pelican Cargo uncrewed aerial system (UAS) as the latest addition to its fleet. The large autonomous electric aircraft’s 175+ kg payload capacity and 1.85m3 cargo volume, significantly increases Skyports Drone Services’ payload capabilities and complements the existing lineup of UAS solutions currently utilised by the UK drone operator. Pyka’s Pelican Cargo will be deployed for a range of use cases and operations, including services for humanitarian aid, logistics and delivery companies, as well as healthcare and medical organisations.

A full flight programme with Pelican Cargo will begin in early Q2 in Cornwall, UK, and will include flights for the Future Flight Challenge phase three Open Skies Cornwall project, one of four UK Research & Innovation funded projects won by Skyports Drone Services in July 2022. The introduction of Pyka’s Pelican Cargo aircraft into the Skyports Drone Services fleet supports the company’s ambitions of implementing drone operations at scale. The substantial uplift in capacity strengthens the UK drone operator’s proposition and market position.

Alex Brown, Director, Skyports Drone Services, said: “Having a fully electric, autonomous, heavylift cargo drone in our fleet is a real gamechanger. To date, we’ve been focused on operations with smaller, high value payloads; the introduction of the Pelican Cargo brings new capabilities and means we can now fly significant volumes of cargo long distances, connecting communities in remote areas and providing a regular, robust form of transport in and out of hard-to-reach areas. Importantly, we’re doing this now – this isn’t future gazing, it’s a ready-to-go service.”

“Skyports Drone Services is one of the most sophisticated drone operators in the market and an ideal partner for the deployment of Pyka’s Pelican Cargo,” says Pyka Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Michael Norcia. “We are thrilled to be working with the team at Skyports to demonstrate the Pelican Cargo’s revolutionary capabilities and operating economics.”

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Last Mile Delivery Trends for 2023

Posted on by David Priestman

As UK last mile delivery firms begin to move towards the end of peak period, business owners will already be thinking long and hard about what changes they are going to make to ensure the continued growth of their firms in 2023.

Dan Richards, Chief Commercial Officer at logistics technology expert, Wise, has put together a shortlist of the key trends which will define the sector over the next twelve months.

He said: “Dealing with the implications of Brexit, a chronic shortage of self-employed drivers and the ongoing cost of living crisis, last-mile parcel delivery businesses have shown incredible resilience in recent years. However, as we move into 2023, there are a range of areas that these businesses will focus on to ensure their continued success amongst a difficult economic landscape.”

Retention

“We know from working closely with hundreds of delivery business owners that managing their workforce, recruiting and retaining self-employed delivery drivers, takes up an inordinate amount of their time and focus. With the shortage of subcontractor drivers not set to suddenly change, extra emphasis will be placed on retaining existing drivers and so companies which are able to create an efficient and rewarding self-employment experience for their drivers will thrive.

Efficiency

“The ongoing cost of living crisis and inflation has affected every business and every individual, but for businesses which need to run and maintain fleets of vehicles, it has been particularly difficult. In 2023, not only will delivery firms look to cut back on any extra costs around their workforce management or documentation, but their drivers will also look for more cost-effective solutions around their accountancy and tax needs.

Technology

“Over the last handful of years, more and more parcel delivery firms have harnessed technology to save time on laborious processes such as onboarding, workforce management or even managing payments. However, as the use of software becomes more of a necessity, delivery companies that truly embed this into their processes and bring their drivers on this journey with them will gain a competitive edge.”

Wise is a specialist technology company that provides free software to over 250 UK delivery companies, helping them to save time, money and stress on everything from recruiting and onboarding drivers to managing payroll.

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