Quadient to roll out 5,000 parcel lockers in the UK
Quadient, a global parcel locker operator and customer communications technology provider, has announced it will install carrier-agnostic parcel lockers at large scale in the UK.
Over 500 parcel lockers this year, and 5,000 in the coming years, will be made available to all UK carriers and retailers to offer convenient parcel pickup and drop-off locations and an exceptional shopping experience to their customers, with a flexible choice of pickup times and locations.
Quadient teams have ensured technical integration with the systems of key carriers in the UK and have secured
hundreds of prime locations for locker units to quickly scale. Quadient’s ambition is to establish a dense, large
and scalable network to consolidate first and last mile deliveries, especially in urban areas where there is medium
to high delivery density.
Having readily available open access to a large parcel delivery network alleviates the
mounting pressure experienced by carriers and retailers to scale to increasing demand and parcel volumes.
Geoffrey Godet, chief executive officer at Quadient, said: “We believe that building and growing a large, dense,
and open intelligent locker network with an agnostic approach is the best way forward to address the challenges
of large and growing e-commerce markets such as the UK, the third largest global e-commerce market. Our
approach is to offer a common infrastructure available to any carrier or retailer for a volume-based fee, ensuring
it is financially viable for all parties. Building upon our extensive experience managing large open networks,
particularly in Japan, we are confident that customer adoption and usage will increase rapidly as we work with
our partners to grow our footprint, enabling us to deliver the service in a profitable and sustainable manner.
“We are creating the most compelling out-of-home delivery offer for the UK market, and we have already secured
the commitment of one strategic partner, kicking-off the 500 first installations to be completed by the end of
2022. With our proven experience, ourscale in the parcel locker business globally, and with the support of a strong
team in the UK, we are ready to onboard other major market players in the coming months as our network
grows.”
Quadient’s carrier-agnostic Parcel Pending by Quadient intelligent locker network will significantly contribute to
reducing stops and missed deliveries, achieving cost savings, and consolidating drop-offs, returns and pickups to
one stop via secure, 24/7 accessible lockers. Maintaining clear and transparent chain of custody is ensured thanks
to a secure and centralized tracking and parcel management system. The lockers also offer the capacity to
manage returns and Consumer to Consumer (C2C) parcels, helping retailers and carriers to address the increasing
customer demand for simplicity and convenience when shipping, returning or picking up their online shopping.
“Our main focus is on convenience and cost-effectiveness, making sure that each unit in the field is in the right
place for easy access and has the right capacity based on our partner carriers’ data and experience,” said Duncan
Groom, chief operating officer for DACH, Italy, UK & Ireland at Quadient.
“Quadient’s Parcel Pending technology is modular and scalable, capable of adapting to customer requirements and evolving while volume grows. With limited space available in urban areas, not only it is important to preserve public space from multiple proprietary parcel locker networks, we also believe that consumers should be able to receive their parcels in their preferred location, regardless of the retailer or carrier they choose. We absolutely trust that making our solution available to all retailers, carriers and users will accelerate parcel locker adoption and contribute to reducing environmental impact, while providing the peace of mind of 24/7 parcel pick-up and drop-off.”
