Evenings with Amtrak

Amtrak this week rolled out an extended home delivery service across the the UK; it will deliver up to 8.30pm. Amtrak first trialled the service in London and then expanded to several other large cities for the past year, and trialled it before Christmas with a major customer, before rolling out nationwide. Amtrak says the move is in response to growing demand. MD Jonathan Smith says: "People want deliveries at a convenient time when they are already at home and for many that is not in the working day. Evening deliveries are pretty essential in our view and are a part of a range of services we are developing to tackle the home delivery sector."

Amtrak Press Release
1 Feb 05
Home delivery specialist Amtrak is to extend evening deliveries nationwide. The move is in response to the growing demand for home deliveries as retailers increase sales through catalogues and the Internet. Amtrak is the first express parcel company in the UK to offer deliveries up until 8.30pm as part of a standard service offering. 70% of Amtrak’s current deliveries are to home addresses and the company has led the move to more convenient delivery times for people at home. The company also provides special handling for fragile items such as wine, flowers and electrical equipment that Amtrak deliver on behalf of retailers like Comet, Virgin Wines and Simply Computers. “From the evidence of this last Christmas, people are increasingly buying goods from the comfort of their homes. According to the latest research online retailers have reported that half the UK population shopped online this Christmas spending more than £3billion and accounting for 6.8% of all retail sales. People want deliveries at a convenient time when they are already at home and for many that is not in the working day. Evening deliveries are pretty essential in our view and are part of a range of services we are developing to tackle the home delivery sector” says Amtrak’s Managing Director, Jonathan Smith. The nationwide evening service breaks new ground in the express parcel industry which has traditionally delivered only during normal working hours. Amtrak first trialled evening deliveries in London and the company has been providing evening deliveries in selected regions for over a year. The service has been most popular with companies involved in computer and electrical equipment where a small additional delivery charge has not proven to be an issue. With the new service the working day has been extended from 8.30am to 8.30pm and Amtrak can offer deliveries within a specific time window between 5.30pm and 8.30pm. The service marks the end of one of the most common complaints about home deliveries – the need for customers to wait in during the day waiting for a parcel to arrive.
Evening delivery is the latest in a series of new innovations and changes Managing Director Jonathan Smith has introduced since joining Amtrak in 2002. Investment in new technology and in particular a new online booking service has streamlined operations and improved services. In addition, the flexibility provided by the Amtrak franchised network with 100 regional offices gives Amtrak the ability to provide highly tailored services with deliveries by guaranteed times through an extended 12-hour working day. Note to Editors: About Evening Deliveries Express parcel carriers have been reluctant to embrace evening deliveries due to the high cost of extending the working day. It has been a particular problem with wholly-owned networks employing salaried staff. However, some carriers have offered evening deliveries on a per-contract basis but this has been a costly option for the shipper. Amtrak have taken a bolder approach by committing to evening deliveries as part of the standard Amtrak service available to anyone. A small additional charge is made per consignment which would normally be presented as an extra cost option for the recipient. Amtrak and their franchisees are taking a longer term strategic view, knowing that there is a wide demand for evening deliveries that will attract more home delivery customers. Amtrak Express Parcels Ltd is one of the UK’s leading and fastest-growing express parcels companies with a range of collection and delivery services that cover the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. It has more than 100 strategically located depots across the UK and operates a fleet of more than 1,000 delivery vehicles. Amtrak has an industry-leading reputation for outstanding service quality and value for money and surpasses the stringent BSEN ISO 9002 quality standard. For more information contact: Jane Hart at Amtrak Express Parcels, Tel: 0117 933 7725