Logistics

Starting immediately, GLS Germany offers an advanced online returns solution, which makes the handling of returns easier. With the new online returns solutions, GLS Germany now provides three ways to create a return label.

German consumers may get the products they ordered online later than expected. Employees of Deutsche Post went on a strike this afternoon and it's still unclear when this will end. The strike is a result of the ongoing battle between Deutsche Post AG and the German trade union Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, better known under the abbreviation Ver.di.

The 35 parcel stores of Doddle will join the pickup network from DPD on June 22, which enables customers in the United Kingdom to pick up their DPD-delivered parcels at Doddle stores in railway stations and popular shopping centers.

April was a busy month for online retailers in the UK, if you compare it with the same month one year earlier. Online delivery volumes were namely up 11% in April of this year. The growth rate of delivery volumes for ecommerce in the UK year-to-date has now reached 10.9%.

DHL Parcel is ready to turn Berlin into the parcel capital of Germany and even Europe. It will expand its service offer for parcel recipients by opening new Packstations, Parcel Shops and parcel box units for apartment buildings.

Ebay is planning to expand its click and collect service across Europe. The American ecommerce company saw its buyers collect 1.5 million parcels from British store chain Argos during the first year and a half the service is running. Ebay noy wants to boost its presence in Europe by entering into several partnerships.

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and Migros are combining efforts. The two companies are planning a new service, where customers from Migros can order their products online and pick them up half an hour later at the train station. The project will run under the not so surprising name Click & Collect.

The Nordic Delivery Conference in Copenhagen was the setting for a debate between four big European couriers. Bring, DPD UK, PostNord and DHL discussed how delivery can be used as a competitive advantage. Here's what they said.

Consumers in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark shopped online for a total of 3.89 billion euros during the first three months of this year. Ecommerce increased by 7 percent compared with last year, although the Norwegian ecommerce showed some negative development. Nordic consumers are increasingly valuing the power of the recipient and want to choose the delivery method of the items they bought online.

Nimber, the Norwegian service which enables people to "ship anything with someone going that way anyway", is now also available in the United Kingdom. The Brits now can use the peer-to-peer service and send something from one place to another with the help of other people.

Logistics is a very important part of ecommerce. But this market is changing rapidly, so it's crucial to be aware of current trends in order to remain competitive. We have an infographic for you that shows the current situation and the future of logistics in Europe.

Ordering something online and then picking it up in retail stores or other locations is incredibly popular in the United Kingdom. Almost 3 in 4 online shoppers (73%) say they have used click-and-collect services. Another 10 percent of British consumers intends to use the service in the near future.

Ecommerce Europe wants the delivery and ecommerce sector in Europe to come together even more so e-logistics barriers can be tackled. The organization that represents 16 national ecommerce associations across the continent has published its vision on how to come to a better integrated European market for parcel delivery.

Pick up points are becoming increasingly popular in Europe. Locations where customers can pick up the packages they ordered online are ideal for consumers who want to choose where and whenever they want to have their goods. Here are the major pick up points in 7 popular ecommerce countries in Europe.

Venstr is a new service in the United Kingdom that has been launched to help online retailers find reliable and trustworthy suppliers, thereby saving them time and money. The name Venstr comes from the ability to give vendors a star-rating.