Logistics

Last year, a lot happened in the world of logistics and ecommerce fulfillment. The coronavirus pandemic has boosted ecommerce in many ways, but also led to many companies having to make significant changes in the short term. What's the state of ecommerce fulfillment per country in 2021?

SmartRoutes, an Irish provider of delivery route planning software, has plans to expand its operations across Europe and the United Kingdom. It also plans to double its team for the second year in a row to meet the demand for its service.

Next year, DHL will have the largest parcel center in Germany. It's not building a completely new building to achieve this. Instead, DHL will expand its parcel center in Aschheim by building a new facility adjacent to the existing center. The two buildings will be connected through a tunnel for trucks.

ParcelSea, a last-mile tech startup from Estonia, has raised 935,000 euros to build a smart mailbox network in Estonia and foreign markets. The Tallinn-based company wants to expand production and continue building new features and services.

Chinese ecommerce giant JD will open a new distribution center in the Netherlands. The B2C online retailer will open a site that's 18,000 square meters big.

Logistics company Whistl has announced it will open three new fulfillment sites in the United Kingdom. To accelerate its expansion into online fulfillment, Whistl opens depots in Lutterworth, Northampton and Plymouth.

The coronavirus pandemic accelerated various trends in ecommerce logistics. Some things have drastically changed when it comes to shipments, consumer behavior, shipping fees and cross-border ecommerce. Here are some logistical developments to keep an eye on.

There has been a 40 percent growth in pick-up/drop-off points in the European Union and the United Kingdom since mid-2019. Especially in Poland there was a significant increase in the number of PUDO points.

Seven Senders, a German delivery platform for parcel shipping, has concluded a Series C financing round of 40 million dollars (33 million euros). The company wants to use the money to further support Chinese and US online retailers with their business activities in Europe.

Online shoppers from Denmark can now return their parcels by putting the box in a parcel locker from SwipBox. Logistics provider Bring, the international unit of Norway Post, is the first to offer this return service via the parcel locker.

Aldi Nord is expanding its ecommerce division. The German discounter is currently testing a delivery service in Spain and Portugal. Aldi is still not fully present in the ecommerce division, as neither Aldi Nord nor Aldi Süd deliver groceries. But that's about to change.

The Suez Canal blockage, from 23 until 29 March, doesn't just affect the Egyptian economy or the global shipping industry. Around 12 percent of global trade passed through the canal, so a lot is affected by the blockage. The delay will strongly impact on ecommerce orders placed by European consumers.

Parcel locker provider InPost has launched a returns solution that wants to simplify the process of returning items that were bought online. Customers no longer need to use or print labels, instead they use a QR code on their smartphone.

VidaXL, an online retailer from the Netherlands, will build two new fulfillment centers in Europe. One will open in the Netherlands, while the other will arise in Poland. The two fulfillment centers are part of VidaXL's growth strategy.

Cubyn, a logistics startup from France, has raised 35 million euros in funding. The Paris-based company wants to use this money to expand its fulfillment and delivery services across Europe.