Carriers walking carefully into a winter wonderland
Simon Veale, director at parcel and carrier management company Global Freight Solutions (GFS) assesses the challenges and opportunities of the Christmas season in the UK parcel market, after last year’s widespread weather disruption The festive party season is in full swing for office staff across the country but, for those employed by Britain’s big parcel carriers, there’s barely a chance to relax at the moment.
This week sees what is arguably the biggest single peak in parcel traffic in the UK at any point of the year as internet orders placed on or around the so-called ‘Cyber Monday’ feed through into delivery networks and off to customers.
There was a time, not so many years ago, when December would be extremely busy but not see carriers working as hard as they do now to get packages to their destinations ahead of the holiday season.
However, the last half decade in particular has seen a significant shift in the seasonal work they undertake, caused in large part by the continuing popularity in e-commerce. It’s reckoned that this month, British customers will generate some £7.75 billion in internet sales, a 15 per cent increase on the same period in 2010.
A year ago, of course, parcel firms, their clients and their customers in turn were all affected by the weather. Two bursts of heavy snow, a fortnight apart, meant that even those shoppers inclined to venture onto the high street were forced to stay indoors and go online to buy their Christmas gifts.
That further increased the strain on carriers already battling against the elements. The result was a backlog of parcels which was not entirely cleared until New Year’s Eve.
Lessons were undoubtedly learned by delivery firms and their retail clients. Both spent months reviewing their procedures and putting contingency measures in place to mitigate the possible effects of more blizzards this December.
The chance to acquire even more of the business offered by internet retail is even more of a temptation given a prevailing economic climate every bit as Arctic as the actual conditions on the roads during the last festive season. Those carriers opting to handle that trade have done their utmost to make sure that they are as ready as possible for the massive volumes in parcel traffic likely to head their way.
Some, though, have been pragmatic, making their delivery capabilities clear to clients. That, in itself, is a step forward from last year, when problems in communication meant retailers continued to urge their customers to shop even after the point when couriers realised presents would probably not arrive in time for December 25th. By appreciating their limits this time around, carriers and the firms which they serve know that they can realistically get the job done and avoid the sort of complications which compounded the woes caused by last year’s wintry weather.
Carnage
The positive strides in the last 12 months have been made in full knowledge of how heavy snow can almost shred delivery schedules. As something of a veteran with nearly four decades in the parcel business, I had never previously witnessed such carnage, something which no-one could do much about, regardless of the amount of resources they threw at the problem in an attempt to provide a solution. This year, everyone went into their Christmas preparations with eyes not only fixed on volumes, prices and timetables but the Met Office forecast too.
“As something of a veteran with nearly four decades in the parcel business, I had never previously witnessed such carnage
Their clients, both large and small, have apparently taken heed of what happened last year. This Autumn, we decided to give our multi-carrier delivery management and ‘track and trace’ software, GFS Selector and GFS Seeker, available without charge following a demand from a range of companies wanting to have more flexibility in their delivery processes and not catch a cold – both literally and metaphorically – as many did last year.
We all now know that internet retail is fuelling almost a paradigm shift in the parcel industry – trying to embrace growing B2C traffic in a model which had traditionally been largely about B2B packages. More than online shopping in itself, we’re seeing the effect of major high street retail brands – which for years had accounted for the November peak as they stocked shelves in anticipation of the pre-Xmas rush – closing stores, driving even greater numbers online.
We should remember, of course, that online retailing still only accounts for 15 per cent of all custom generated in the UK during December but as high street cash takings, it seems, gradually slip even more, there’s a greater emphasis on delivery companies finding ways to manage both the B2B and B2C elements of their work.
There is, though, no reason for parcel firms not to be confident about their place in the evolving parcel landscape. If, as retail analysts predict, the surge of those people who do their shopping online continues, the retailers which receive that business will need capable partners to deliver the goods.
That bodes well for those with the know-how and systems to match, whatever the season.
Simon Veale is director at West Sussex-based GFS, which provides a parcel delivery management system offering a single despatch and tracking platform for multiple carriers in the UK. GFS customers shipped over 4 million parcels last year.
