Delivery giants start ‘unrivalled service’

A new giant has entered the optical home delivery market this week through a partnership of two of the biggest names in the British parcel arena.

With internet shopping now booming in the UK, a delivery brand has been created by Parceline and Parcelnet and its directors are confident that its service is ideal for the optical sector.

Called homecall, the service is aimed at business customers who send up to 600 parcels per night, with collections made by Parceline’s 1,700 vehicles which work from 42 depots, while deliveries will be handled by Parcelnet’s 143 sub-depots and its 5,000 local couriers.

‘Internet shopping has seen home delivery volumes rise from 15 million to 420 million shipments in the last six years,’ said Parceline sales director Dwain McDonald.

‘We know it is of critical importance to the optics sector that home deliveries are made through a reliable, secure network, at a cost-effective price - and importantly that Saturday deliveries are available. Our partnership with Parcelnet means we can offer an unrivalled service to this important sector.

’Parcelnet, a specialist in ‘final mile delivery’, makes 85 million dispatches per year for household names such as Next, Cotton Traders and Boden, though homecall means the company can now carry goods for smaller companies who need a home delivery service.

‘Final delivery to home addresses is a real challenge,’ said McDonald. ‘What impressed us about Parcelnet is that their 5,000 couriers, each with a small postcode area, have exceptional local knowledge.

‘They know when their customers are most likely to be at home, or even if they can meet them in the school playground to make a delivery.’

Parcelnet was formed following the merger of catalogue groups Freeman’s and Grattan, and is a distribution division of Otto UK, part of the global network of retail sales and financial services.

Parceline is a subsidiary of Geopost SA, the express delivery arm of French company Groupe La Poste, employing 4,000.