Strong start
We are continuing to add new customers to our Later Acceptance Times offering for our Tracked 24 product, which enables us to accept items into our distribution centres until 1.30am.
The changes respond to the needs of businesses and their customers – who are ordering items later in the evening and expecting to receive them the next day.
This is part of our strategy to grow in parcels.
Online flower gifting company, Bloom & Wild, were the first company to sign up to the new service last month. They are pleased with the service they have received so far.
Henry Mower, Bloom & Wild’s senior operations manager, said they were previously on a next-day delivery Tracked 24 service, with a customer cut off of 5pm.
‘We saw later collection as an enormous opportunity. There are two main benefits. Firstly, it’s a huge benefit for our customers to be able to order up to 10pm for next-day delivery.
‘Secondly we now have an advantage over many of our competitors. The early stages have gone really well. We have seen a very good performance. We have been really happy with the communication we have had from everyone involved at Royal Mail.
‘The main advantage for us is an increase in our evening website and app conversion. We have seen an overall incremental increase in order volume. And we have had great feedback from our customers around the delivery offering and being able to order up to 10pm for next-day delivery, which is why we did it.’
More customers are already signing up for the service and we have a pipeline of others who will join them in the coming months.
The change to the Tracked 24 product affects our entire pipeline, including colleagues in Logistics, Process and Delivery.
The market is changing quickly and we must respond to that change.
Sue Whalley, CEO, Post & Parcels UK said: ‘Offering Later Acceptance times is an important growth opportunity for us. This is a key part of our agreement with CWU and we have been able to work together to make the changes to start offering this to customers.
‘We’ve had some really good feedback from our first customer and are working on bringing in others.’
