The Post Office in the UK will trial Evri’s pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) service to provide a safe and convenient location from which customers can send, collect and return their parcels.
The trial will use Evri’s ParcelShop self-service device, which will have a dedicated area within branch, and will take place in 50 post offices before Christmas. According to the Post Office, this is the first time in its 360-year history that it will be directly selling end-to-end delivery products that are not fulfilled by Royal Mail. The partnership is intended to encourage people to return to their local high street and reduce the environmental impact of vans making multiple stops to drop off parcels.
Nick Read, chief executive at the Post Office, said, “Evri is a household name and we’re delighted to be working with such an established and successful company to expand the wide-range of parcel services that we can offer customers. This is the first time in our history that Post Offices will be selling products for end-to-end delivery with another carrier. Last January we had no carrier partnerships, and we’ve now grown our Click and Collect capabilities fivefold, which is a real testament to the size and reach of the Post Office network and the accessibility it affords consumers. We now look forward to trialling Evri Parcel Shop services in 50 of our branches ahead of Christmas.”
Martijn De Lange, CEO of Evri, said, “Our ParcelShops are key in our commitment to offering consumers both convenience and choice, enabling them to send, return and collect parcels at a time and place that suits them. These new locations will complement our existing nationwide network of 10,000+ locations and give Post Office customers a new fast, reliable and cost-effective way to send and receive their parcels. We are excited as to where our partnership might lead moving forward.”