Parcelhub, a parcel delivery service which provides
services for high volume business mail and parcels through multiple carriers,
says e-tailers need to move quickly and think smarter if they are going to
fulfil their delivery promises this Christmas season.
Last year saw courier firms hitting the headlines
as higher-than-expected parcel volumes resulted in suspended services and
missed deadlines. Shoppers spent £810
million on Black Friday; a 38 per cent increase in online spending which generated 10
million parcels for the domestic delivery network to process. A further £1.2 billion was spent on Cyber
Monday three days later and Manic Monday the following week.
Managing Director of Parcelhub, Mark Rosenberg,
says although Christmas is definitely being discussed within the industry, too
few sellers are thinking properly about their options – complacency which will
almost certainly result in issues with delivery capacity later in the year.
“Nearly four times the number of shoppers are
expected to place an order online on Black Friday this year compared to 2014
and this is predicted to increase parcel volumes by 15 per cent. On top of this rise, remember
that since the demise of City Link we’re one carrier down too.
“It’s a timebomb waiting to happen. Retailers need
to start talking to their delivery partners about their predicted volumes so
that there is time to adequately plan, balance demand and build flexibility
into the schedules.”
Many carriers are already asking their customers
to accurately predict the volumes they will be sending over the peak trading
period. However while previously forecasts may have covered a week or a month,
this year retailers are being asked to predict daily volumes.
Mark added, “It is incredibly hard to forecast on
a daily basis as small influences can have a big impact, for example the
weather or a particular gifting craze. However once predicted volumes are
reached, there is a strong likelihood that carriers will simply stop accepting
more deliveries. If you’re a small business relying on a single carrier, this
is going to severely impact on your delivery times and customer service.
“Because Parcelhub uses multiple carriers, we are
able to offer more flexibility – although I would still suggest that businesses
need to think seriously about the level of service they are going to need.
Interestingly more than three quarters of shoppers surveyed said they would be
happy to wait a little longer for orders as long as they’re kept informed about
progress. Our software provides full parcel tracking and SMART notifications,
so everyone is aware of delivery times and any exceptions.”
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