TRADITIONAL DELIVERY MODEL STRUGGLES AT OLYMPIC HURDLE
Customers face extra costs
The weaknesses of the traditional delivery model will be exposed during the Olympics as extra costs are passed onto customers who happen to live or work in the wrong postcodes, an industry figure has warned.
Stuart Miller, Chief Executive and co-founder of ByBox warned that traditional carriers are struggling to meet the Olympic challenge of working around onerous traffic restrictions without passing on extra costs to customers.
Many roads around Olympic venues in London will be closed during the day, with massive ramifications for day-time deliveries in many postcodes.
“People who through no fault of their own live or work in areas affected by the road closures will find themselves paying surcharges for deliveries as carriers are bound to incur extra costs,” said Mr Miller.
“The Olympics presents an almost insuperable hurdle for carriers who traditionally deliver during the day as those are the times the roads will be closed. Some routes will be impossible and others very restricted.
“They will have to change rosters, put on extra vans and take on extra staff in order to make the most of the times when the roads are actually open during the day – and all that comes at a considerable cost.
“Customers will soon be asking if there is not a better way to receive their deliveries – and there is. Here at ByBox we have always believed the traditional model of delivery has its limitations – the Olympics is really going to show these up.
“We are anticipating a surge of interest from customers in our locker solutions that will side-step many of the difficulties presented by this summer’s pinnacle of sporting excellence for day-to-day deliveries.”
ByBox’ innovative approach is to deliver overnight, 365 days a year, including Bank Holidays, to an expanding network of lockers at convenient locations in the UK, ready for collection by customers when it’s convenient for them.
This approach has proved so popular that in the space of 12 years ByBox is now attracting internet shoppers who want delivery to be as easy as ordering online.
ByBox is reliable, secure and ideal for people on the move who do not want to be pinned down to waiting at their home or office all day for a parcel to arrive.
Mr Miller commented: “While the Olympic Games are very exciting and a huge coup for the UK, they are undoubtedly going to interrupt everyday life in London and other host cities.
“ByBox gives consumers a shortcut for Olympic deliveries. Rather than paying a premium they can simply choose delivery to a ByBox locker and pick up their parcels at any time of the day or night.
“We already routinely deliver through the night so our network should be robust throughout the Olympics and Paralympics. We have been planning for the Olympics for months to make sure we have a winning formula.”
Conveniently located in shopping centres, petrol stations, self-storage locations and railway stations, the lockers are quick and easy to use and in preparation for the Olympics, ByBox will deliver to the lockers within the Olympic disruption route at earlier times of the night than usual to avoid difficulties with early road closures.
Founded in 2000, ByBox has rapidly grown to become a £51 million company, winning a host of awards along the way, including being listed in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and Sunday Times International Track 100.
The company is investing £2 million this year doubling the number of locations across the UK.
