Logistics

Dutch fulfillment company Active Ants has announced that it is opening its fifth distribution center in September. After two sites in the Netherlands and an expansion to Belgium and Germany, the company will now take on England. "Coming to Northampton will allow us to increase our presence. Ultimately, we want to become the best fulfillment company in Europe", says co-founder Jeroen Dekker.

Same-day delivery courier Gophr is integrating with Metapack, a delivery management software company. The partnership offers ecommerce retailers more same-day delivery options across the United Kingdom.

Logistics provider Direct Link has announced its launch in Turkey. The company is owned by PostNord, the Swedish and Danish national post company. It is already globally active, but will now also set up operations with local personnel.

Shipping platform Shippo has entered Ireland with the opening of its new research and development center in Dublin. This is the company's first office in Europe, while it already offers its services in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. It wants to expand further internationally.

Fulfillment startup Warehousing1 has raised more than 10 million euros in seed capital. The logistics company wants to use the money to double its employees. In addition, the Berlin-based business will further develop their fulfillment service.

This week, Amazon UK announced that it no longer packs products in single-use plastic delivery bags. The company has switched to recyclable paper delivery bags and cardboard envelopes for orders shipped from its own fulfillment centers.

French logistics provider Bigblue has raised 13.66 million euros in a Series A round. The funding will be used to expand further internationally. In order to do so, the company plans to hire 100 new people in the next 12 months.

As of today, Dutch shipping software provider Sendcloud integrates with Mirakl Connect. The integration allows for easier selling on platforms and fast, flexible delivery. Marketplace sellers can now manage all their shipments in one place.

The Catalonian Ministry of Labor is considering to approve a new law that will regulate and limit the delivery times of home deliveries. By limiting the delivery times of couriers, the ministry wants to minimize competition between physical and online retail.

While Dutch parcel deliverers saw a strong growth in order volume last year, Dutch consumers are increasingly expecting fast deliveries for their online purchases. The demand for same day delivery grew with no less than 69 percent in 2021.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is opening its first logistics centre in Belgium. The location is planned for the end of this year. Amazon recently opened a site in the Netherlands and announced plans for German expansion.

Belgian postal company Bpost is starting a trial today. Customers can hand over returns to the postman, instead of bringing the package to the post office. The trial will take two months and it is set to happen in several Belgian cities.

Cardboard boxes, plastic bags and padding: Dutch packages provide 87 million kilos shipping material per year. The majority ends up in the garbage bin. The waste stream of parcels has not been mapped before.

Last-mile delivery scale-up Budbee has doubled its revenue in 2021 compared to the year before. The past year the company made 80 million euros in turnover. In home country Sweden, Budbee’s market share even grew to 1 to 5 percent.

Amazon Logistics has won the top spot in MoneySavingExpert's (MSE) annual UK parcel delivery poll. It's the first time that Amazon Logistics is considered the best carrier by consumers in this poll. The company replaces last year's winner DPD Local.