Logistics

UK-based postal operator Whistl has acquired Parcelhub and its sister company Mail Workshop. With the acquisitions, Whistl wants to accelerate its expansion in the parcels and fulfilment markets. Both businesses will continue to operate under their respective brands.

Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com has introduced a solution for online retailers looking to sell in China. The China Railway Express is 'faster than the sea and cheaper than air', JD.com promises. The first freight full of JD-procured goods from Europe went from Germany to China last week.

French supermarket chain Franprix has started tests with delivering groceries to the customer's home, while the customer isn't at home during the delivery. Franprix is the first company to test this kind of service in France.

Online fashion retailer Next has announced it will start charging customers a £1 fee (1.14 euros) for returns they make through a courier or through a Hermes Parcel Shop. The collection charge will be applied for each collection, regardless of the number of items collected. Returning items at any of Next's retail or clearance stores in the UK remains free.

Ecommerce is becoming an increasingly important revenue factor for Dutch postal company PostNL. Revenue derived from ecommerce logistics now accounts for 42 percent of the company's total turnover. Last year, this share was 34 percent.

DHL Parcel offers millions of parcel recipients in Germany the possibility to arrange a preferred delivery time for any DHL shipment in future. This is regardless of the online retailer's shipping offering. For now, the new service costs 1.99 euros per parcel.

Swiss supermarket chain Migros has launched a new social shopping platform, called Amigos. Through this platform, Migros' customers get connected with people who like to receive packages and earn some money by bringing the products to the original customer.

DPD Germany is 'highly satisfied' with the results of its pilot project to use electrically assisted transport bikes to deliver parcels to consumers. It started with the test in the northern Bavarian city of Nuremberg one year ago and now wants to launch further deliveries by transport bike in Germany.

Deutsche Post DHL Group has opened a new fulfillment center in the United Kingdom. In the English town of Radlett, an area of about 6,500 square meters offers same-day processing for the Greater London area. DHL already operates a similar fulfillment center in Germany and is now working to open such centers in the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.

French postal service company La Poste has launched Colissimo Pass, a subscription service which offers customers unlimited free delivery. Currently, the subscription service costs 9 euros per year. In return, customers enjoy unlimited delivery and zero shipping costs on partner websites.

GLS Germany has announced it will now offer faster parcel shipping via its PaketShops. The delivery time has been reduced to one or two business days for parcels that go to Austria or the Benelux region. Parcels to most other neighboring countries will take about 48 hours.

Swiss Post has acquired the Swiss startup Notime, which provides bicycle courier services. The acquisition should help Swiss Post with gaining more ground in the fast-growing market of same-day deliveries and fast, flexible deliveries in urban areas.

Members of the European Parliament have adopted a proposal to make the cross-border parcel delivery market in Europe more transparent and competitive. The European Union will implement new rules, which should lead to lower delivery costs for online consumers.

Issues with stock levels are a major factor that affects the consumer's decision to shop online. In the United Kingdom, more than half of consumers immediately turn to a competitor if the item they want is out of stock.

K-Group, a major retail company from Finland, has started a pilot with automatic parcel terminals. The new service allows online buyers to have parcels from online stores from everywhere in the world to be shipped to a terminal at a K-Group store.