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

Santa, where’s my parcel?

Opinion WritersBy Opinion WritersJanuary 16, 20184 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

Ian Kerr, founder of the Postal Hub Podcast, and Marek Różycki, managing partner at Last Mile Experts, take a closer look at the 2017 peak season

Another peak season has come and gone – and it was a record-breaker. Posti reported 15% growth in e-commerce parcels, Australia Post recorded its biggest month for parcels ever in December, and An Post delivered 1.74 million parcels in the five weeks before Christmas – an increase of 27% over the same period the previous year.

It’s the same in any market with strong e-commerce. But are carriers doing enough to cope with increasing parcel volumes and the ever more acute peak season? Is growth translating into profit?

Capacity
Around the world, postal and parcel companies hired huge numbers – in some cases tens of thousands of seasonal staff.

But dealing with peak parcel volumes is more than just a matter of packing delivery centers with new hires. Peak season highlights the need to find new ways to deliver B2C parcels. Residential delivery can be costly, and 21st century customers demand more choice, flexibility and reliability when it comes to parcel delivery.

Many postal and parcel operators delivered parcels on Sundays to clear excess parcel volumes, and drafted in non-operational staff to work on the frontline. But we’ve seen all that before – even before the e-commerce boom.

Alternative delivery options
In Finland, Posti opened temporary pop-up pick-up points for the 2017 Christmas season. This was in addition to its growing network of more than 1,500 service points, including 500 parcel lockers installations. Posti now plans to grow its parcel locker network with 1,000 new installations. It has also launched its new Smartpost parcel locker service, which can be installed in apartment blocks or business premises

Australia Post trialled the bundling of deliveries during Christmas peak. Customers who opted-in selected a single delivery window for all of their Australia Post parcels delivered that week. Parcels were held at the local distribution center and were then delivered together during the customer’s nominated delivery window.

Dealing with failed first-time deliveries
Australia Post ran parcel delivery trials during peak season focusing on failed first-time deliveries. In one local trial, failed first-time deliveries were forwarded to parcel lockers to await customer collection. In a nationwide trial, undelivered parcels were taken to a distribution center or hub that was open to the general public from 5:00pm to 7:00pm for collection on the day of delivery.

Australia Post also set up a drive-thru parcel collection point at a Perth shopping center in the state of Western Australia. Failed first-time deliveries were forwarded to the drive-thru collection point, which was open between 5:00pm and 7:30pm on weekdays.

For each of these Australia Post trials, any uncollected parcels at the end of the day were forwarded to local post offices for customer collection. Innovative approaches to handling failed first-time deliveries may help speed customer collection of parcels, but ultimately won’t eliminate the wasted delivery attempt.

Flexible workforce
Amazon’s flexible delivery unit, Amazon Flex, helps Amazon adapt to fluctuating parcel volumes. The delivery company that integrates a flexible delivery workforce with its existing delivery network will be in prime position to deal with variable parcel volumes.

Who are the leaders?
New ideas will come as last-mile thinking develops, but the winners will be those players willing to think outside the box and be proactive. The ones to watch are DPD UK, Amazon, and Omniva.

DPD UK has world-class interactive delivery management that can be controlled by the customer; Amazon has unrivalled customer knowledge that it puts to use via technology and its ever-growing competencies; and Omniva has succeeded in educating its market about using parcel lockers.

What about peak season 2018?
Parcel lockers and pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) networks seem to be the leading alternatives to residential delivery. Customers need to be given more control over their deliveries to ensure successful first-time delivery. For now, drone delivery isn’t as practical or secure as parcel lockers and PUDO points.

Bio:

Ian Kerr is the founder and host of the Postal Hub Podcast, the weekly podcast for the postal and delivery sectors.

 

 

Marek Różycki is managing partner at Last Mile Experts, specializing in CEP and e-commerce last-mile advisory.

Share. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
Previous ArticleChronopost France acquires refrigerated transport specialist ALP Group
Next Article PostNord catches thieves stealing from moving delivery vehicles

Related Posts

Analysis

ANALYSIS: Tariffs and turmoil – discussing the latest US last-mile developments

June 12, 20251 Min Read
Analysis

ANALYSIS: Which parcel delivery player is best placed to join the UK’s biggest operators?

June 2, 20251 Min Read
Analysis

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

May 22, 20251 Min Read

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


Enter your email address:


Latest News

Yeep! rolls out 1,000th locker in the UK

June 13, 2025

Sameday acquires private courier Cargus

June 13, 2025

THG Fulfil to increase sorting capacity with 430 Libiao robots

June 12, 2025
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertiser
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Breaking News Emails
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
Supplier Spotlights
  • Solution Net Systems
  • 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