Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus

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Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
BP SURVEY                PA R C E L S

      Brexit Looms Large Over
       Thriving Parcels Sector
  E-commerce continues to keep parcel carriers busy, while online shoppers expect faster
                  and more convenient deliveries, writes Emily Styles

Y
        ou get some idea of Ireland’s
        changing shopping habits from
        the Black Friday experience at
        Littlewoods Ireland, one of the
country’s most popular online
shopping destinations. The retailer
extended the November shopping fest
to three weeks and sold 16,000
dresses to Irish customers in ten days.
Eighty per cent of the purchases were
made on a mobile device, illustrating
how the mass adoption of
smartphones has brought internet
connectivity to the people that PCs
never reached.
  The Littlewoods digital department
store receives an average of 2.5 million
visits each month and the company
offers free delivery and free returns on
all standard orders. Littlewoods says it
delivers over two million parcels
around Ireland every year, with a
Click & Collect service extending to
over 1,000 locations.
  According to the accounts for the
operating company, Shop Direct
Ireland Ltd, distribution costs account
for 30% of revenue, and the operating
profit margin after staff and other
overheads is 4.7%. It’s tough to get
rich quick in online retail, and the
vendors demand that their logistics        could include custom declaration           times and enhanced data provision
partners cut their charges to the bone.    procedures and the collection of VAT         The strategy has been paying
  The online vendors and their             and custom duties, where required.         dividends. For 2017, parcels revenue
logistics partners in Ireland are            Like US shippers, post-Brexit, UK        was almost €16m higher than it was
holding their breath over Brexit. Royal    e-tailers could arrange to charge for      in 2016, and volume increased by
Mail research this year found that, on     the duty at source, though this would      42% to 30 million items in the year.
average, Irish online shoppers spend       make their goods more expensive to         Catering to e-tailers will remain a
€85 per month, and eight in ten have       Irish buyers and depress incoming          central focus for An Post into the
purchased from a UK website. As            parcel volumes. More likely, if the UK     future, according to Gilles Ferrandez,
Irish consumers purchasing from a          exits the Customs Union, the UK            commercial director in charge of An
UK site spend an average of €58 a          players will relocate some operations      Post’s parcels division.
month, it’s clear that free movement       to an EU base.                               “Our task is to tailor our products to
of goods between Ireland and the UK          An Post has been making a                suit customer needs, and to be able to
underpins a massive parcels market.        concerted effort to tap into the e-        provide attractive pricing, too,” he
  According to ComReg, the postal          commerce surge by positioning itself       says. “If they are successful, they’ll
regulator, the exit of the UK from the     as a flexible parcels deliverer. The       know that An Post will be supporting
EU will likely bring challenges for        company undertook a re-launch and          them and giving them bigger
parcel delivery service providers          re-specification of its parcels business   discounts based on their volumes.”
regarding the delivery of packets and      from 2017, introducing evening and           An Post accounts for in excess of
parcels to and from the UK. These          Saturday deliveries, later acceptance      30% of the parcel delivery market.

54    BUSINESS PLUS      JANUARY 2019
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
B P S U RV E Y           PA R C E L S
The state company is the delivery
partner for Amazon, while fashion
clients include Zara UK, Decathalon        Simplifying the consumer journey is crucial in
and H&M. Industry observers
speculate that domestic deliveries by        terms of improving operational efficiencies
Irish retailers are enjoying annual
growth of circa 20%, while the
growth figure for UK retailers into        a competitive advantage. Free             shoppers, their interaction with the
Ireland in the past year tops 70%.         shipping was cited by 44% of              parcel carrier is frequently the only
                                           customers across the 31 countries in      human interaction they make

T
     he UK advantage is partially          recent PayPal research as a chief         throughout the purchasing journey.
     explained by the euro’s strength      attraction for cross-border e-            Making that interaction count is
     against sterling, but also because    shopping, second only to cheaper          critical.”
in many cases the UK giants absorb         pricing.                                    Travers argues that Irish SMEs are
the cost of delivery and returns.            At DPD Ireland, chief executive Des     still somewhat behind the curve in
Research conducted for ComReg, the         Travers is also adapting his firm to      terms of developing an online
postal regulator, has shown that price     ongoing trends in e-commerce and          presence, let alone an e-commerce
and reliability are the two key            the logistics sector in general. He has   arm. He adds that a crucial factor in
determinants of choosing a provider        overseen significant investment by        e-tailing success involves businesses
to deliver packets and parcels. It         DPD in technology over the last year,     making the customer’s journey as
indicated that buyers of postal            in a bid to stay abreast of consumer      simple as possible. “Whether it’s at
services for packet and parcels would      demands.                                  the purchase point or during the
like to see lower prices.                    “With B2C deliveries making up          delivery process, every business has
   The research also found that most       almost 50% of our delivery business,      to give control back to the customer,
pricing in the packets and parcels         simplifying the consumer journey is       letting them engage in a way that
sector is set by commercial                crucial in terms of improving             suits them, and in the most efficient
negotiation with the large retailers.      operational efficiencies and service      manner. Time is their most precious
This gives the big players like Amazon     overall,” says Travers. “For online       commodity.”
                                                                                                         continued on page 56

                                                                                     BUSINESS PLUS     JANUARY 2019      55
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
BP SURVEY                PA R C E L S

 An Post Plans To Double
Parcel Click & Collect Points
                           An Post’s ambition is to be the e-commerce backbone
                        of shoppers and shippers in Ireland, writes Robert O’Brien

T
        he growth of e-commerce
        changed the game for many
        operators in the logistics and
        postal sector, including An Post.
Online shoppers now want flexibility
with parcels deliveries to a degree not
hitherto seen by operators. As a result,
CEO David McRedmond headed up a
radical reorganisation of An Post’s
parcel service that began in 2016 and
is still ongoing.
   A suite of new or improved An Post
services now provides parcel deliveries
at times that suit shoppers, and with
the nimbleness that they demand.
Overall parcel volume for An Post
through 2018 was up by 42%, with
more than 30 million parcels processed.
   E-commerce parcel traffic grew by
46% last year and An Post secured
several big retailers as customers,
including Zara, H&M, Ikea and
Decathlon. An Post is also clicking
with Irish e-commerce companies –
traffic volume handled for them was
up 20% in 2018.
  Gilles Ferrandez, Commercial
Director in charge of An Post’s parcels
division, navigates the organisation          Gilles Ferrandez, An Post                  Our ambition is to be the e-commerce
through the festive season, the busiest                                                  backbone in Ireland for shoppers and
time of the year. This year, An Post has        Ferrandez says that An Post has a        shippers.”
launched its new InFlight flexible            two-pronged approach to its ongoing          Ferrandez sees the broadening of
delivery options scheme, which                repositioning as an e-commerce-ready       An Post’s Click & Collect service as a
Ferrandez says has been a solid success.      parcel delivery service. The first prong   key facet in bringing more business
   “For InFlight, we use a mobile-            involved a wooing of big retailers and     customers on board. “Through 2019,
enabled website that doesn’t require          end customers, which is already in         we will expand our network of Click &
any registration or downloads,” he            motion. In 2019, smaller companies         Collect points to include convenience
explains. “We send you a text with a link     selling online or looking to do so will    stores, too. We currently have 1,100
to a webpage. There are five delivery         also come into prime focus for An Post.    post offices as collection points for
options there for you to choose: delivery       “In 2019 and 2020, we plan to            Click & Connect but the expansion to
to a neighbour, a safe place (e.g. porch),    invest in excess of €20m in our            convenience stores will double that.”
a different address, delivery on a            technology and operations. Around            An Post’s ongoing parcels refocus will
different day, or delivery to a post office   €15m of this is set aside for parcel       see it increasingly target SMEs of all
or other specified collection point.”         automation machines in our parcel          sorts that are looking to get their feet
   Through An Post’s Click & Collect          hubs, which will improve our ability to    on the e-commerce ladder. “We
service, firms can also facilitate            process and sort parcels.                  recently launched our new AnPost.com
flexible deliveries. They can integrate         “We also plan to get bigger vans to      website, which includes a section on
the Click & Collect delivery option           our delivery people, moving them           parcels and e-commerce,” Ferrandez
into their website shopping cart,             away from bikes onto electric vehicles     adds. “As a result, we are getting a lot
allowing shoppers to pick up their            where appropriate. We hope to have a       more enquiries from SMEs about how
parcels at nearby post offices at a time      full electric fleet between the canals     to start selling online.”
that suits them.                              in Dublin before the end of 2019.                      Survey continued on page 60

56    BUSINESS PLUS        JANUARY 2019
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
anpost.com
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
PRO FILE          N EO P OS T I R E LA ND

       Introducing Packcity, The
        Intelligent Parcel Locker
         Solution From Neopost
As parcel package volumes continue to rise, parcel locker solutions are essential
       for overworked mailrooms, writes Ray Bissett of Neopost Ireland

W
            ith businesses increasingly                                       security measures while increasing
            moving to digital                                                 efficiency to meet the needs of
            communications over                                               today’s mobile workforce. Most
            traditional paper, you                                            importantly, these solutions have a
would think that the pressures placed                                         proven track record of quickly
on mail staff would be relenting.                                              delivering return on investment.
However, the decline in mail has been
                                                                              Mail and parcel storage lockers are far
more than matched by the rise of a new
                                                                              from a new addition to mailrooms.
challenge that many organisations are
                                                                              However, traditionally their only
ill-equipped to deal with: the growth in
                                                                              benefit was an added layer of security
package delivery.
                                                                              while storing mail. They still required
The European parcel market has been                                           a member of staff to be present to
growing at an annual rate of 5% to 6%                                         sign in and sign out packages, as well
in recent years. We’re also witnessing                                        as delivering them to the recipient.
growth of the B2B parcel market, with      Ray Bissett, Senior Marketing      Now, there is a new generation of
the likes of Amazon and Alibaba              Manager, Neopost Ireland         automated storage lockers that
mimicking their B2C operations for                                            facilitate a far greater quantity of
the B2B market. This is adding higher value business       incoming packages, and enable mailroom workers to
and personal packages into the parcel network.             focus on critical tasks.
Traditionally, the only way to deal with this growth       We have seen a shift in online shopping habits, with
would be to increase spending on labour and                many employees having parcels delivered to work.
capacity. Fortunately, new digital solutions have          Therefore, efficient management of incoming parcels is
emerged to specifically meet the needs of this new          increasingly important. Parcel lockers, combined with a
mail landscape. They allow mailrooms to manage             parcel tracking solution, can provide businesses with a
more incoming mail with fewer resources, to improve        complete incoming parcel management solution.

                                                                                 With Packcity, staff can collect
                                                                                parcels using a bespoke PIN code
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
COSTS OF PARCEL OVERLOAD
                                                            l Delays – critical mail and packages may be
Neopost has been selling parcel locker solutions since
2013. With successful launches in Australia, France,        delayed in reaching their destination.
Japan and USA, over 3,300 locker systems have been          l Misallocation – a whopping 76% of companies say
installed worldwide. In 2018, Neopost continued to          some inbound mail is incorrectly allocated.
expand its reach, launching in Italy, Benelux and
                                                            l The Last Leg – mobile working can often make it
Denmark. Now Neopost brings Packcity, its intelligent
parcel locker solution, to Ireland.                         difficult to reach mail recipients.
                                                            l Security – organisations need thorough safety
Parcel lockers save users time and money, and bring
simplicity to the mailroom by optimising the                procedures in place to prevent dangerous packages
management of incoming parcels. The system reduces          being missed.
storage space, prevents lost packages, eliminates the
need for re-delivery, and provides end-to-end tracking           EVOLVING TRENDS IN MAIL
and accountability. It also simplifies the collection              AND PARCEL DELIVERY
process for the end recipient with convenient parcel
pickup and 24/7 accessibility.                              l Personal Shopping – professionals/students
                                                            increasingly expect to be able to receive their
HOW PACKCITY WORKS
                                                            personal shopping at their office/university.
The Packcity intelligent parcel locker solution is an
automated electronic locker system that enables you to      l Business Equipment – business requirements are
securely store and distribute a large volume of inbound     resulting in far more incoming packages. There are
parcels, and inform recipients of their arrival. It         expected to be 3.4 connected devices per person
comprises modular secure electronic lockers with a          by 2020.
touchscreen interface and software for reporting,
                                                            l Employee Mobility – 61% of workers now report
tracking and monitoring.
                                                            working outside the office at least part of the time.
Items are scanned on delivery and the recipient’s           As a result, locating employees for parcel and mail
address is selected from the internal address book via      delivery can often be difficult.
the touchscreen. A box size is then selected and the
parcel is placed into one of the secure lockers. Parcel     trying to track items down. Neopost’s latest Web
recipients are notified of their delivery via email and      Tracking System (WTS) has been designed to help
provided with a unique PIN code and barcode.                businesses to improve tracking of incoming parcels.
This means they can collect their parcel at their           The software combines with handheld devices and
convenience without the need for mailroom staff to be        allows you to easily track incoming packages from their
present. The secure locker removes the risk of theft,       arrival in the company to the final recipient.
vandalism or fraud. When collecting, the recipient visits   WTS is easy to use and comes with a real-time chain of
the parcel lockers and enters the code via the              custody, meaning parcels are easier to track. When a
touchscreen or scans the barcode. This opens the            package arrives, the user scans the tracking number
relevant box for pick-up.                                   and selects the recipient who the delivery is intended
Packcity lockers have the added benefit of being             for. Once delivered, the recipient signs for it with an e-
customisable in two ways. Aesthetically, a company’s        signature. The entire process can be tracked on the
branding or logo can be added, and functionally the         system software, providing peace of mind in knowing
size of the lockers can be adjusted based on the            the whereabouts of the package in transit.
space needs. Packcity will particularly benefit              WTS would be best used by businesses with around
organisations such as universities, corporates and          100-plus employees located across multiple floors, or
other offices receiving more than 50 parcel deliveries        locations that receive more than 50 items a week that
per week. The University of Pittsburgh, with over           need to be handed over in an efficient way to relevant
30,000 students and 7,000 staff, is just one example         departments and employees.
of where Packcity has significantly reduced both the
service and delivery times.                                       To learn more about Packcity and
TRACKING PARCELS INTERNALLY                                     Web Tracking System, contact Neopost
For other items that need to be delivered to their final             today on 01 625 0900 or visit
destination, distributing and keeping track of inbound                www.neopost.ie/packcity
mail can be frustrating and costly. Organisations may
be spread across multiple locations or levels and have a
lot of people receiving incoming packages. All of this
can easily cause a package to get lost or delayed.
When parcels get held up in internal processes, or don’t
reach intended recipients at all, it’s not only
frustrating – it also leads to wasted time and effort

                                                                                B U S I N E S S P L US   J A N U A RY 20 1 9   59
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
BP SURVEY               PA R C E L S

     DPD Volume Increases By 25%
B
      usiness has been thriving for                                                                         “We advise
      DPD over the last year, with the                                                                      customers of their
      parcels and logistics firm                                                                            one-hour delivery
recording a jump of nearly 25% in                                                                           window and offer
parcel volume. DPD is also benefiting                                                                        them the option to
from expansion and service                                                                                   reschedule or
enhancements.                                                                                                change delivery
  “We doubled the size of our sortation                                                                     location via a link
hub in 2016 and last year made further                                                                      directly onto our
developments to our conveyor                                                                                website.”
technology to support ongoing growth,”                                                                         For e-tailers,
says Des Travers, DPD’s CEO. “We                                                                            Travers
have restructured our depot network,                                                                        recommends
consolidating smaller depots to create                                                                      implementing a
larger, more efficient operations.”                                                                         slick returns
  On the IT front, DPD is embracing        Des Travers, DPD                          process. “DPD Group’s 2018 eCommerce
Artificial Intelligence to boost its                                                 Barometer Report identifies lack of
digital services. “We introduced Barry,    DPD’s tracking events are available via   transparency regarding pricing, unclear
the DPD Ireland chatbot, to customer       dpd.ie throughout the parcel’s delivery   delivery information and insufficient
services in 2018,” says Travers. “He has   journey. We send out thousands of SMS     details on returns processes as key
made query resolution much easier for      and email alerts to parcel recipients     barriers to purchase. Clear, concise
many of our consumers.                     daily.”                                   information is critical to the consumer,
  “Real-time tracking and scan               Travers adds that customers also want   with full transparency on pricing, transit
availability is very important to our      to be able to self-serve, so making an    times, who the carrier is and how returns
customers and consumers too, and all of    online service available is important.    will be dealt with.”

     DX Is More Than Just Exchange
D
      X Ireland has built a strong,
      40-year business in Ireland by
      prioritising time-sensitive
deliveries with dependable security.
Despite a national declining mail
market, DX Ireland’s document
exchange service continues to grow.
Robust revenue growth prompted the
firm to move to a larger hub last year
and strengthen its management team.
   DX operates two main services: DX
Exchange and DX Courier, according
to Kevin Galligan, Regional Director
for DX Ireland. “The DX Exchange is
a member-to-member document
exchange mailing service,” he explains.    Kevin Galligan, DX Ireland                noon. On a same-day basis, we are
“It was originally set up for solicitors                                             delivering to over 60 cities and main
and barristers and the communities         collected and brought to Dublin. All      towns throughout Ireland.”
that fed into legal, such as the           items are sorted through the night           Other B2B services provided by DX
government and financial services.         and delivered to members’ DX boxes        include next-day or two-day delivery
   “Our DX Express Registered Service      before 9am the next morning. The          services to the UK and vice versa.
also continues to grow. This service is    cost-effective service sees more than     While DX uses GPS and associated
particularly popular among the legal       25,000 items moved every night.           high-tech tracking systems to manage
profession that have a legal requirement      DX’s customers include the retail      its mail, Galligan says that the
to serve notice by registered post.”       banks, as well as hospitals and           business’s human touch is what sets
   DX Ireland operates 240 document        opticians. “We have an extensive and      DX Ireland apart. “We’re continuing
exchanges around the country and           popular same-day service operating        to focus on delivering the best
each member has a DX box in their          around the country,” Galligan adds.       customer service in the B2B sector.”
local exchange, from which mail is         “We dispatch out of Dublin at 12                     Survey continued on page 62

60    BUSINESS PLUS      JANUARY 2019
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
THE DELIVERY NETWORK
FOR IRELAND AND THE UK
DX Courier is our unique b2b service that offers fast, secure and
cost-effective nationwide next day parcel delivery for Ireland and
the UK.

DX’s Courier service is both reliable and highly competitive, providing you with:

• RELIABILITY – a minimum of 99% proven track record of deliveries made on time
• PERSONAL SERVICE – dedicated Account Management & Customer Service
  teams based locally
•ONLINE TRACKING – Customer signature POD available online
• NEXT DAY DELIVERY – be sure that your freight arrives the next working day
• EXPRESS OPTIONS – customer choice on the deadline for delivery
• CONVENIENCE – our couriers can collect all your items from your business
  premises every afternoon
• SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS – with our highly competitive pricing

To find out more, visit www.dxdelivery.com
or call us on 01 506 0182.

DXC/MKT/0236/01NOV16                                                                DELIVERED EXACTLYTM
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
BP SURVEY                 PA R C E L S

Neopost Evolves For Digital Comms
N
      eopost Ireland’s core business is                                                    In Power’s opinion, there is a push
      mailing equipment such as                                                          towards the convenience of preparing
      franking machines and address                                                      communications digitally, and instances
printers, which it has been providing to                                                 the company’s
Irish businesses since 1979. The                                                           Neotouch product. “You simply press
company provides advanced solutions                                                      print and documents go to a dashboard,
for physical mail processing, digital                                                    to be sent via Neotouch. This transfers
communications management, and                                                           them to a secure facility where machines
supply chain and e-commerce process                                                      print, fold, insert, frank and send post.
optimisation. Neopost services are sold                                                    “Registered email is another service
in more than 90 countries and the                                                        that we launched recently. It allows the
company had annual turnover of                                                           user to send their registered post
€1.1bn in 2017.                                                                          digitally and to accurately track its
  In recent years, the company has                                                       progress right up to the recipient
been evolving into a digital                Conor Power, Neopost                         receiving and opening the message. It
multichannel communications                 integral to the success of e-commerce        also allows for significant savings on
provider, according to Conor Power,         vendors, and Power explains that             physical registered post.”
Sales and Operations Director. “We’ve       online players can use Neopost’s               Looking to the future, Power
noticed that companies have a desire to     multichannel solutions such as OMS-          anticipates that companies will try
communicate with their customers            500 to communicate across multiple           harder to create a more paperless
using digital means, as they become         platforms. “This helps them to break         working environment and to develop
aware of the availability and capability    away from a one-size-fits-all message        more efficient postage processes.
of solutions,” says Power. “Through         and start tailoring communications           “Coupled with the possibility of rising
digital communications, a company can       individually to a specific audience,” says   postal and delivery costs, this will drive
better target and communicate to a          Power. “Especially in the light of           industries to explore more digital
recipient’s individual needs, even if the   GDPR, it’s important that the                solutions to send and process post and
recipient is part of a bulk mail send.”     customer is communicated to the way          other communications to customers,”
  Effective customer communication is       they wish to be.”                            says Power.

               GLS Triples Cork Capacity
C
      ourier company GLS has opened
      a new depot at Blarney Business
      Park in Cork which triples its
capacity in the Munster region. “We
expect rising parcel numbers, and the
increased capacity allows us to
sustainably offer our customers a high
quality level,” says managing director
Andreas Rickert.
  The warehouse is 240% bigger than
the old depot in Little Island, and a
new conveyor system can process
three times as many parcels than in
the former Little Island depot. GLS
Ireland is a subsidiary of Amsterdam-
based General Logistics Systems,
which operates in 41 European
countries as well as the US and             The new GLS depot in Blarney                 delivery time does not suit the
Canada. The company had turnover            Business Park                                customer, they can choose to alter the
of €2.9bn in 2017-2018 and carried                                                       delivery day or choose to collect from
584 million packages.                       purchases. If the time doesn’t suit,         one of the 180 GLS ParcelShops
  This year, GLS Ireland also               shoppers can choose from several             nationwide.
launched a flexible delivery service for    other delivery options.                        The Track & Trace feature allows
domestic e-commerce. Online                   If the online retailer has booked the      the package to be tracked from its
retailers using the FlexDelivery            FlexDelivery service, GLS informs the        collection to delivery, and the
service can notify shoppers in advance      parcel recipient via email about the         FlexDelivery service is also available
of the delivery date and time for their     estimated delivery time frame. If the        for international delivery.

62    BUSINESS PLUS       JANUARY 2019
Brexit Looms Large Over Thriving Parcels Sector - Business Plus
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