Parcel and Postal Technology International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Automation
      • Business Diversification
      • Construction / Development
      • Cross-border
      • Delivery
      • E-commerce
      • Expo
    • F-O
      • Freight
      • IT & Systems
      • Last Mile
      • Lockers / PUDO
      • Logistics
      • Mail
      • Operations
    • P-R
      • Packets
      • Parcels
      • Peak
      • Retail
      • Returns
    • S-Z
      • Sorting Systems
      • Staff / Personnel
      • Sustainability
      • Technology
      • Vehicles / Fleet
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • March 2025
    • September 2023
    • June 2023
    • March 2023
    • December 2022
    • SHOWCASE 2019
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Analysis
  • Awards
    • 2025 Awards
    • Previous Winners
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Parcel + Post Expo
LinkedIn YouTube Twitter
  • Sign-up for Breaking News Emails
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
Subscribe
LinkedIn Facebook
Parcel and Postal Technology International
  • News
      • Automation
      • Business Diversification
      • Construction / Development
      • Cross-border
      • Delivery
      • E-commerce
      • Expo
      • Freight
      • IT & Systems
      • Last Mile
      • Lockers / PUDO
      • Logistics
      • Mail
      • Operations
      • Packets
      • Parcels
      • Peak
      • Retail
      • Returns
      • Sorting Systems
      • Staff / Personnel
      • Sustainability
      • Technology
      • Vehicles / Fleet
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. December 2024
    2. September 2024
    3. June 2024
    4. March 2024
    5. SHOWCASE 2019
    6. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    April 2, 2025

    In this Issue – March 2025

    Online Magazines By Web Team
    Recent

    In this Issue – March 2025

    April 2, 2025

    In this Issue – December 2024

    December 5, 2024

    In this Issue – September 2024

    September 19, 2024
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Analysis
  • Awards
    • 2025 Awards
    • 2024 Award Winners
    • 2023 Award Winners
    • 2022 Award Winners
    • 2021 Award Winners
    • 2020 Award Winners
    • 2019 Award Winners
    • Previous Winners
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Parcel + Post Expo
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Parcel and Postal Technology International
Analysis

ANALYSIS: Cost, capacity, and carbon: why door to door cannot continue to dominate in the new last mile

Marek Różycki, Last Mile Experts By Marek Różycki, Last Mile Experts August 22, 20234 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email
Credit: Quadient

With the rapid rise of e-commerce, carriers have been increasingly challenged to balance delivering a good door-to-door service while reducing operational costs and maintaining capacity. Free or low-cost deliveries and returns are great for consumers but create significant cost challenges for carriers. While passing costs along to consumers via surcharges might work in the short term, this is not a tenable solution. Moreover, in the increasingly important re-commerce space, this is simply not an option due to the low value of the items themselves.

“It’s unsustainable in the long-term for door-to-door delivery to carry on as it is. The carriers we speak to are all reevaluating their out-of-home strategies – how they can maintain their customer experience and convenience, but also drive down the use of delivery vehicles,” says Gary Winter, vice president, strategic initiatives at Quadient.

Matters are further complicated by the fact that many countries are considering “green last mile” regulations to reinforce climate initiatives. This means carriers have an urgent need to rethink their first- and last-mile strategies. Any developments must also account for pressure from consumers who want fast, convenient deliveries or returns, and also to reduce their environmental impact, if possible. In fact, a recent consumer study revealed that this affects a significant number of people as demonstrated in the chart below:

Credit: Quadient

The above would seem to confirm that door-to-door delivery is no longer a sustainable delivery method and carriers must leverage out-of-home (OOH) options to strategically address operational costs, increased delivery and return volumes, and environmental impact.

In the UK market Royal Mail, DHL, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, Yodel, DPD and Evri are the key CEP actors moving the largest volume of deliveries and therefore carry the most weight in first- and last-mile delivery innovations. Their demands (and those of the customers they serve) set the stage for the logistics industry as a whole.

The challenge, today, is that few open networks exist, with InPost and Amazon operating what is effectively a closed network. Collect+ and, recently, The Post Office offers an open PUDO network but is unable to offer parcel lockers which are highly sought after by the end customer. Part of the reason for this is that D2D has worked well, with ‘leave with neighbor’ having unparalleled acceptance in this market. Unfortunately, while giving very good first-time delivery rates, the service still cannot ensure multiple drops per stop, nor standardized and easily accessible pickup or drop-off for couriers.

The Quadient survey also revealed that 72% of consumers are open to using smart, secure parcel lockers as an alternative to home deliveries – these numbers add up to big benefits quickly.

Indeed, the survey has shown that, if given the choice, consumers would replace 47 home deliveries a year with “on my way” (trip chaining) or “slipper distance” collections from a suitable OOH point; that’s equivalent to an incredible 1.4 billion miles a year driven by carriers across the UK alone.

Open locker networks are an emerging solution for convenient, secure deliveries and returns – for carriers, businesses and consumers. Parcel Pending by Quadient, for instance, has sought to satisfy demand – the company is in the process of rolling out a 5,000-location agnostic network in the UK to complement its almost 7,000 lockers in Japan and over 1,000 in France. Other open networks include the largest locker network in the world, Hivebox in China, MyFlexBox in Austria, Smartmile in Finland and Pick in Singapore.

Efficient OOH networks offer CO2  benefits and cost savings due to better courier efficiency. For example, an InPost courier in Warsaw, Poland, is able to deliver up to 1,300 parcels in one day compared to about six times less for even the most efficient D2D carrier.

By leveraging a forward-looking open OOH network-based approach to first- and last-mile delivery, carriers can realize significant operational and environmental benefits and consumers can also reap significant advantages, including the ability to safely and securely collect and send parcels while out of home, ideally in locations that are “slipper distance” from their homes or “on their way” somewhere.

Not so long ago, I was told that “the UK is a home delivery market” in which out-of-home has little chance of success. It seems that this is about to change … and fast.

Share. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
Previous ArticleVIDEO: Will DPD’s Czech Republic locker network expansion give it the means to take on local competitors?
Next Article Amazon introduces fee for Prime traders who don’t use its logistics services

Related Posts

Analysis

ANALYSIS: How will the Evri-DHL deal shake up the UK parcel delivery market?

May 22, 20251 Min Read
Analysis

ANALYSIS: What does PostNord’s announcement mean for the future of letter delivery?

May 15, 20251 Min Read
Analysis

ANALYSIS: From needlessly oversized boxes to labelling, how can parcel packaging be improved?

May 8, 20251 Min Read

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Latest News

DPD Germany to open ultra-modern parcel sorting center in Kaiserslautern

May 23, 2025

Pos Malaysia reports revenue growth for first quarter of 2025

May 22, 2025

Customer demand is biggest influence on switch to alternative energies in fleets, report finds

May 22, 2025
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertiser
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Breaking News Emails
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
Supplier Spotlights
  • Prime Vision B.V.
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Notice & Takedown Policy
  • Site FAQs
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe GDPR Cookie Consent plugin sets the cookie to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie records the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie stores user consent for cookies in the category "Others".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie stores the user consent for cookies in the category "Performance".
elementorneverThe website's WordPress theme uses this cookie. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
JSESSIONIDsessionNew Relic uses this cookie to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesCloudflare set the cookie to support Cloudflare Bot Management.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

CookieDurationDescription
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded YouTube videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
uidsessionThis is a Google UserID cookie that tracks users across various website segments.
vuid1 year 1 month 4 daysVimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos on the website.
_ga1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors.
_ga_*1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

CookieDurationDescription
OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
OAID1 yearCookie set to record whether the user has opted out of the collection of information by the AdsWizz Service Cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysYouTube sets this cookie to measure bandwidth, determining whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYoutube sets this cookie to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverYouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverYouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

CookieDurationDescription
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA5 months 27 daysDescription is currently not available.

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by