From 1st May, 2012, the service will allow consumers to place an order for a product online before 1.30pm on weekdays and expect to receive it the same evening, between 6pm and 9pm.

The two companies said the service would meet the increasing demand from consumers for fast, reliable delivery.

For online merchants, the Sameday Delivery service aims to provide their customers with the convenience of e-commerce but the immediacy that can be found purchasing goods in-store.

Both companies are focusing the new service on larger online merchants.

Jack Heijkans, the director general of Waalwijk-based Docdata, said: “Our mission is for the online stores of our customers to excel. So we are always thinking about the customer – for example, how to make their online shopping as easy as possible.

“With Sameday Delivery, we are responding to the need from a large proportion of consumers. One of the biggest disadvantages of ordering products online is that the consumer has to wait for his purchase and does not know when the order is being delivered to his home. With this new service, the product is in the home on the day of purchase.”

Willem Prinsen, managing director at TNT Express Benelux, said his company was applying many years of experience in delivering consignments according to consumer appointments.

“At the moment, usually the owners of online stores select which purchases can be delivered next day or on following days,” he said. “But consumers want to choose from multiple delivery options for their online purchases – as efficiently as possible, and quickly if necessary.”

Source: Post&Parcel/TNT Express/Docdata

Tags: B2C parcels, Docdata, ecommerce, Netherlands, TNT Express