Mar 25, 2015

We've been literally about to burst desperately trying not to let the cat out of the bag! But now the day is here we can finally share our very exciting news…today we have launched wnCollect - the world's first click and collect solution. By leveraging our IT resource, global infrastructure and partner relationships we have been able to make the previously thought impossible possible.

wnCollect offers a single portal of entry from the retailer's site. We also take care of API integration on a country by country basis and manage tax and duty payments (through our innovative wnDuty solution) as part of the service. Local language communications, customer support and full tracking also all come as standard. Returns are just as simple; your customer simply places the unwanted item back into the locker it was collected from.

In the highly competitive retail environment delivery has become as much of a differentiator as the products themselves. Whereas home delivery and same day options were once seen as innovative the ever demanding consumer continues to drive the bar ever higher. Retailers now recognise that by offering flexible and convenient delivery options they can further differentiate themselves from their competitors. Many online stores offer the same products and, therefore, customers make choices based on product price and delivery options. By offering choice, flexibility and low cost, often free, delivery options retailers have been able to attract the online shopper; but to what cost? The consumer now expects their goods to be delivered quickly and efficiently in a time window that suits them; all for little or no charge. This trend is now being seen outside of the UK with international consumers expecting the same level of choice, service and cost effectiveness when it comes to delivery even though that parcel is traveling thousands of miles.

Click and Collect, or PUDO, solutions have continued to gather momentum as these work well for both parties. For the retailer this option can be more cost effective as parcels are grouped by location reducing the total number of 'drops' and there are less 'failed' deliveries. Customers are also confident that they will be able to go and collect their parcel at a time and location convenient to them. To date, however, the PUDO options have been incredibly localised and 'patchy' and far from comprehensive in terms of being an international solution. Until now. Until wnCollect.

Not only have we been able to launch a comprehensive global solution we have also managed to keep an eye on the retailer's P&L. By consolidating all of our volumes we can ensure that all of the retailers we work with are able to benefit from the most competitive rates. For niche or start-up brands this is vital as many logistics companies work on a volume basis - if you haven't got the volumes you won't secure the rates.

Commenting on the launch Chloe Harris, Head of Innovation said: "Shoppers are used to being able to order online at anytime, anywhere; as a result they now expect the same level of flexibility from the delivery options. We live in a busy world and waiting in for a delivery is met with increasing intolerance. Even specific time windows can present challenges for those whose schedule is subject to change. wnCollect represents the Utopian vision of an international delivery solution; the reality is even the most flexible delivery solutions can't compete with the round-the-clock availability of a locker bank. These solutions have gathered momentum but by being able to offer this on a global basis we really are changing the delivery game."