UPS expands B2C cross-border delivery options
UPS today announced that more convenient offerings are now available to online retailers and consumers in the UK.
In order to meet the growing cross-border e-commerce need, online retailers and consumers in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK can now ship their goods ordered online directly to UPS Access Point™ locations in any of these countries as an alternative to home delivery.
For a UK consumer who prefers a residential delivery, but may not be at home at the time of delivery, UPS parcels may be re-directed to a UPS Access Point location, allowing them to pick up their packages on their own schedule and at their convenience. Delivery information notices, left by UPS drivers, will inform consumers that they can pick up their package the same day.
Consumers in all these countries can also use the UPS Access Point locations to drop off labelled and pre-paid UPS parcels, including returns. Depending on what time of day a package is dropped off, it will be safely stored at the UPS Access Point location and collected the same or the next working day by UPS.
“This additional service addresses the results of our 2013 Pulse of the Online Shopper survey in which consumers indicated that they want more control over when and where their purchases are delivered, and a convenient returns process”, says Paul Marks, director of sales UPS UK. “Additionally, it contributes to our sustainability efforts by reducing the number of return trips a driver needs to make to an address, which lowers carbon emissions.”
The UPS Access Point network today includes over 12,000 locations in 7 European markets, and has also been introduced in Canada, with scope for further expansion. There are currently 2,600 UPS Access Point locations in the UK.
