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Escher releases The Future of Posts 2022 annual report showing the growing opportunities

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Escher releases The Future of Posts 2022 annual report showing the growing opportunities. Image: Escher
Escher releases The Future of Posts 2022 annual report showing the growing opportunities. Image: Escher
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The past few years have reshaped e-commerce, delivery services, and the postal industry in particular. Numerous world events and ever-advancing technologies are moving these industries into an unprecedented world of opportunities. Escher recently released the fifth edition of its annual industry outlook report, The Future of Posts 2022, exploring options and opportunities as the world and e-commerce marketplace settles into a relatively new normal. Featuring valuable industry insights from 284 respondents from 91 national post offices worldwide, this report analyses automation strategies, point-of-sales channel selections, key investment areas, future network
plans, and more.

Posts Continue Pushing Forward for Success in a New Paradigm

This year’s report revealed that the majority of postal operators have experienced improved revenue and profitability growth in the last year. However, Posts recognize how essential it is to continue seeking new innovations and are now focusing their strategies on serving a predominantly e-commerce-first customer.

With 83% of Posts identifying e-commerce as having the most significant impact over the next five years, many Posts are adjusting their investment decisions to prioritize parcel delivery. Comparatively, letter delivery and financial and government services are receiving a fraction of the investment priorities they once did.

Posts are turning their attention to key areas like last-mile delivery, which tops the list with 41% of Posts indicating it as the top investment priority over the next three to three years. Digital transformation, customer experience, and technological investments in parcel sorting and handling follow closely behind.

Some of the Major Themes Emerging Across Postal Landscape

Today, Posts have the resources, ideas, and technological infrastructures to significantly shape the new reality in e-commerce and parcel delivery. Here are a sample of the emergent themes from this year:

Inbound vs. Outbound Delivery Strategies

There is the now strong that evidence that the nature of the post office is beginning to change. Prior to the decline in letter volumes, customers used to go into the post office to drop off items to be delivered. Now, customers are increasingly using the post office, and looking for services that enable them to pick up items.

This shift is compounded by the increases in services that support using the post office and ancillary post office service locations (PUDO, smart lockers etc) as pick up locations. In fact, two of the top three retail strategies promote outbound post office services.

E-commerce Parcel Profitability

An important focal point for Posts is getting to profitable growth in the highly competitive e-commerce market without cutting corners or the expense of customer satisfaction.

There might never be a complete return to pre-pandemic “normalcy,” as 84% of Posts noted a massive increase of e-commerce parcels during the past few years, so the path to profitable growth likely lies elsewhere for Posts.

Cross-Border Challenges

While prioritizing e-commerce parcels is clear for Posts, there are some areas Posts are struggling with, such as cross-border shipping and e-commerce. Survey respondents stated that they plan to introduce strategies for increasing international parcel volumes. Still, challenges exist, such as real- time tax and duty estimation, transit times, cost transparency, and documentation difficulties.

Analytics Opportunities

When Posts can tap into the power of real-time analytics across their entire network, they can make better decisions and keep costs contained while ensuring customers are happy. From the Future of Posts report, 77% of Posts are using data analytics to understand operational efficiencies, 70% for exploring ways to boost customer service, and 69% for optimizing last-mile delivery.

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Logistics & Supply Chain

DHL Group to acquire Turkish parcel delivery company MNG Kargo

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DHL Group to acquire Turkish parcel delivery company MNG Kargo. Image: DHL
DHL Group to acquire Turkish parcel delivery company MNG Kargo. Image: DHL
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DHL Group has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Turkish parcel delivery company MNG Kargo Yurtiçi ve Yurtdışı Taşımacılık A.Ş. and its subsidiaries. MNG Kargo is one of the leading parcel delivery companies in Turkey, where the parcel and e-commerce market is growing rapidly. In addition to securing a leading position in this strongly developing domestic parcel market, this acquisition will create additional synergies for DHL Group, and its customers will benefit from unique logistics offerings within Turkey as well as cross border through the collaboration of the various DHL divisions already present in Turkey.

“Alongside sustainability, globalization, and digitalization we identified e-commerce as a megatrend in logistics and therefore made it an area of focus in our DHL Group Strategy 2025 over the last years,” says Tobias Meyer, CEO DHL Group. “E-commerce remains one of the biggest growth drivers for logistics services and especially for parcel volumes. We, therefore, continuously work to expand our footprint in the e-commerce sector – whether through organic or inorganic growth. MNG Kargo complements our business portfolio and will help further to strengthen our position in this sector.”

For DHL eCommerce, the newly acquired parcel network, with 27 mid-mile sorting centers and over 800 last-mile branches in all relevant cities of Turkey, is a perfect addition to the European parcel delivery network and thus becomes part of the business unit. Mainly driven by a young, dynamic population with a high affinity for digital communication, the e-commerce market in Turkey is expected to see double-digit growth in the coming years – significantly higher than in the EU markets. By combining DHL eCommerce’s network and digital expertise with MNG Cargo’s local footprint, DHL Group will be perfectly situated to benefit from the enormous growth potential of the Turkish market.

“Our aspiration at DHL eCommerce is to provide our customers with reliable, affordable, and sustainable e-commerce delivery services,” says Pablo Ciano, CEO DHL eCommerce. “The backbone of this is our extensive network operated by us or through partnerships and our digital expertise and capabilities. The acquisition of MNG Kargo will strengthen our network and help us connect our customers with the Turkish market, and vice versa.”

Amongst others, Turkey benefits from manufacturers’ strive for a more resilient supply chain setup and already has an established strong manufacturing base, such as the e-commerce-driven textile industry. DHL Express inaugurated a new, state-of-the-art hub at Istanbul Airport in 2021, and only recently, DHL Global Forwarding announced it would be intensifying its cooperation with Turkish Cargo. Despite MNG Kargo becoming part of DHL eCommerce, all DHL divisions and their customers will profit from the synergies of the newly acquired company. MNG Kargo, in turn, will benefit from DHL Group’s international logistics expertise and extensive global network.

The transaction is subject to merger control clearance by the Turkish Competition Authority as well as approval of the Turkish Information and Communications Technologies Authority.

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Logistics & Supply Chain

GEODIS announces integration of GEODIS eLogistics and Happy Returns

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GEODIS announces integration of GEODIS eLogistics and Happy Returns. Image: Geodis
GEODIS announces integration of GEODIS eLogistics and Happy Returns. Image: Geodis
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GEODIS, a world leader in transport and logistics, announced the integration between GEODIS eLogistics, the company’s digitally centered, truly scalable e-Commerce distribution and fulfillment solution, and Happy Returns, a PayPal company and leading returns software and reverse logistics company, is now live. With this integration, GEODIS eLogistics retailers will now have additional ways to recognize the entire e-Commerce lifecycle and enable a seamless post-purchase returns process to enhance the overall customer experience.

Happy Returns, a PayPal company, provides end-to-end returns solutions for online merchants through a unique combination of returns software and reverse logistics. With Happy Returns, shoppers can easily initiate returns and exchanges and drop off box-free, label-free returns using its network of nearly 9,000 Return Bar locations nationwide. Merchants using Happy Returns can provide seamless, intelligent returns experiences that encourage shoppers to make exchanges and complete new orders during the returns process, which has helped enable brands to retain up to 50% of revenue1.

As part of its commitment to delivering exceptional reverse logistics solutions, GEODIS eLogistics has joined Happy Returns’ Preferred Partner Program as its inaugural Elite member. The custom integration provides GEODIS eLogistics retailers with visibility into the journey of each return, including status updates on Return Bar returns as they are dropped off, consolidated at a Happy Returns Hub and then shipped back to the merchant. Because return shipments are aggregated with Happy Returns, GEODIS eLogistics customers can efficiently track return shipments and streamline processing once the shipments are received.

“Joining forces with Happy Returns reflects a shared commitment to providing a more seamless reverse logistics process for retailers and shoppers alike,” said Michael Lamia, Senior Vice President of GEODIS MyParcel and GEODIS eLogistics. “We see the integration with Happy Returns as a major competitive advantage for our GEODIS eLogistics customers as it allows brands to balance cost and speed while saving money and retaining revenue. This collaboration is truly a win-win solution for both parties.”

“We are always thrilled to power easy returns for shoppers and remove a traditional friction point of the e-Commerce journey,” said Andrew Pease, Senior Director of Growth for Happy Returns. “Our integration with GEODIS eLogistics helps deliver an intuitive returns and reverse logistics solution to merchants that can help boost shopper satisfaction and optimize operations for merchant teams.”

The benefits of this strategic relationship provide GEODIS eLogistics customers with a simple, intelligent returns experience and greater visibility throughout the return journey. Additionally, Happy Returns aligns with GEODIS customer service goals by initiating immediate refunds to shoppers and the company’s sustainability goals by offering box-free, label-free returns that are then aggregated and shipped from the Return Bar in reusable totes to reduce cardboard waste compared to traditional mail returns.

In an e-Commerce landscape where a difficult returns process can negatively impact customer loyalty and repeat purchases, the convenience and security that this integration offers GEODIS eLogistics retailers is a major competitive advantage in strengthening brand loyalty in today’s marketplace.

Introduced in late 2021, GEODIS eLogistics is a digitally centered, truly scalable e-Commerce distribution and fulfillment solution for e-Commerce businesses. GEODIS eLogistics offers innovative, tailored-made and simple fulfillment solutions for brands. Leveraging its 80-year history with large, enterprise brands, GEODIS introduced this innovative e-Commerce solution to cater to small and medium-sized businesses as well as enterprise brands that may require a faster, more nimble e-Commerce fulfillment solution to support their unique needs in today’s dynamic environment. With four strategic nodes in Nashville, Indiana, California and New Jersey, GEODIS eLogistics provides two-day shipping to 91% of the U.S. mainland population using standard shipping services. GEODIS eLogistics facilities complement the company’s more than 230 sites across the U.S. alone.

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Logistics & Supply Chain

Hongkong Post and Geek+ to deploy first robotic package sortation system

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Hongkong Post and Geek+ to deploy first robotic package sortation system. Image: Geek+
Hongkong Post and Geek+ to deploy first robotic package sortation system. Image: Geek+
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Hongkong Post and Geek+ have teamed up to implement its first robotic package sorting system. Combining Geek+’s advanced sorting and moving solutions with the development blueprint of the Hongkong Post project team, the new technology promises to transform and streamline the package sorting process in order to improve the efficiency for mail handling.

Geek+’s proprietary sorting and moving robots enabled Hongkong Post to simplify the overall workflow and achieve a more efficient and accurate sorting process in comparison to the traditional manual sorting process which is more labour intensive. The sorting capacity of the robotic system can reach up to 1,000 packets per hour, enhancing efficiency and maximizing output.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Hongkong Post on this groundbreaking project,” said Billy Siu, Business Development Director of Hong Kong and Taiwan at Geek+. “Our smart robots are transforming the logistics industry, and we’re excited to see how they’re helping to streamline package sorting operations with adaption of robotics technology and improving overall efficiency.”

“The robotics system with smart technology assists in sorting mail packages to individual delivery points throughout the territory, enabling more efficient and flexible postal operation. We seek to leverage robotics technologies to meet the booming of eCommerce opportunities,” Clare CHIU, General Manager (Management Services) of Hongkong Post said.

Geek+ is a global leader in robotic solutions for logistics. The company develops Autonomous Mobile-Robot (AMR) solutions to realize flexible, reliable, and highly efficient automation for warehouses and supply chain management. Geek+ is trusted by over 700 global industry leaders and has been recognized as the world leader in autonomous mobile robots.

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