Hermes UK wins home delivery contract for 3.5m parcels
Parcel delivery company Hermes UK has won a deal to deliver around 3.5m parcels and packets a year on behalf of British online retail and mail order company Express Gifts Ltd. Hermes will collect online and catalogue purchases each day from three warehouses in the North West of England before processing them at its distribution hubs in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and in Warrington, Cheshire. The Express Gifts contract does not include returns.
The delivery company, which has its headquarters in Leeds, has a network of more than 7,500 couriers providing final delivery.
Express Gifts Ltd switched to Hermes UK from a service that had been using Royal Mail’s last mile delivery, because of “uncertainty” surrounding the UK postal operator, the companies said.
Dave Sanderson, operations director at Express Gifts Ltd, which operates through the retail brands Studio and Ace, said he was confident the new delivery service would enhance the shopping experience for his customers.
He said: “Hermes was able to develop a home delivery solution tailored to our precise needs, that offered total visibility and peace of mind.”
“Best placed”
Part of an Anglo-German logistics group owned by mail order retail group Otto Group, Hermes UK has been expanding its national infrastructure considerably in the last year, adding a new hub in Warrington and three new depots around the country. It is planning on four additional hubs in 2012.
The company says it saw a 40% increase in its delivery volumes during the Christmas period.
Carole Woodhead, the Hermes UK chief executive, said: “The ongoing investment programme in our infrastructure and service offering has meant we are best placed to meet the precise delivery requirements of high street, catalogue and online retailers.
“We work closely with companies such as Express Gifts to create quality solutions that offer high levels of value, satisfaction and insight,” added Woodhead.
