Logistics

Bpost and Zalando have experimented with in-home delivery and in-home pickup in Belgium. The two companies wanted to know whether consumers are ready to let parcel couriers in their homes while they are away. The test was successful, but there are still many hurdles to overcome.

Six logistics companies from the United Kingdom have combined to form a new logistics company, which is said to be the largest privately owned logistics company in the country. The newly created company is called EV Cargo.

The Palletways Group, an express palletized freight network that distribute to 20 countries across Europe, has further expanded its network. Together with independent transport providers, Palletways will launch a new network in Hungary.

Shipping costs are one of the most important factors for ecommerce businesses. If you're an online retailer, it's important to know how much sending a package will cost you. But the average cost of shipping is different in every country. The 2018 Shipping Price Index shows you what the most expensive countries are for shipping a package.

AO World, a major UK online retailer specialized in electrical goods, is experimenting with delivering non-electrical products on behalf of third-party retailers. The company is focusing continuously on its third-party logistics business.

Online fashion retailer Chiquelle will soon send items customs free to its customers in Norway. The Swedish company was already active in its neighboring country, but until now Norwegian customers needed to pay a customs processing fee.

Migros, the largest supermarket chain of Switzerland, is bringing back the famous Migros wagons, but with a digital twist. In the Bern region, the company is testing Miacar, a new delivery service that resembles the Dutch online grocery startup Picnic that's currently shaking up the German market.

When you're talking about Zalando, you can't ignore their free shipping and return policy. But this unique selling point is about to be less special now. In Italy, Zalando will demand from customers to pay shipping costs if their order value is less than 25 euros.

DPD has opened the first all-electric parcel depot of the United Kingdom. In Westminster in London the logistics company has opened a depot that's 465 square meters in size and will deliver up to 2,000 parcels a day using the electric vehicles.

UK parcel carrier Yodel will launch a seven-day service next spring. It has also launched Inflight, a new feature that allows customers to change delivery options using the Yodel app, even when the parcel is one hour from being delivered.

The very first multi-label parcel shop of Germany has opened its doors in the city of Hamburg. DPD, Hermes, GLS and UPS are united in a parcel shop where customers can pick up or drop off packages from any of these logistics companies.

Waitrose is the first supermarket in the United Kingdom that will test the delivery of groceries to customers' home addresses, while they aren't at home. The supermarket, now officially called Waitrose & Partners, will test the 'While You're Away' service with 100 customers in the south London area.

Spanish pharmacy network Promofarma wants to deliver products to customers a lot faster than it currently does and is thus testing one-hour delivery. The new service will initially start only in Spain, but expanding to other countries in Europe is something they are thinking about.

Bevh, the German association of ecommerce and mail order, wants to have more online orders delivered to home letterboxes. It will work closer together with VDBF, the association of the German envelope industry, to make this happen.

HubBox, which runs a network of shops that operate as parcel collection points across the United Kingdom, will add 2,000 extra click & collect locations across the country. The expansion of its Collect Points network follows after forming a partnership with payment provider Epay.