MetaPack pleased with Royal Mail trial link-up

MetaPack has announced it will partner with Royal Mail over the operators trial of evening deliveries in the UK. Royal Mail has just launched a trial of evening deliveries as part of its drive to give shoppers even greater control over the delivery of items they have ordered online.

This trial is initially being carried out through the MetaPack delivery management system.

House of Fraser and beauty product specialist L’Occitane are taking part in the project, and Royal Mail is talking to other retailers who are already interested in joining the trial.

Nancy Tolhurst, business development manager at Royal Mail, said: “We’re working with MetaPack because they’re a supplier to many of our existing clients – solving the integration problem once for a group of clients, rather than for each individual client, makes a lot of sense for us.”

Patrick Wall, CEO of MetaPack welcomed Royal Mail’s initiative, adding that “time and time again industry research has highlighted the importance of delivery options and their role not only in customer satisfaction but in reducing costs for retailer and carrier alike”.

Wall said: “It’s great that companies such as Royal Mail have taken this information to heart and are really working to make online shopping a more pleasant experience for all involved and the new service is a welcome addition to our existing 608 options across carriers.”

The trial enables shoppers at House of Fraser and L’Occitane to ask, at the point of order, for items to be delivered in the evening between 6pm and 10pm.

Royal Mail already provides a range of options for customers who are not in to receive a delivery, either because the item requires a signature or is too big to go through the letterbox, and have recently extended opening hours across delivery offices to enable consumers to collect items at more convenient times.