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Will Amazon's Local Collect deal make or break Britain's venerable Royal Mail?
THE privatised Royal Mail, once the postal service to the British Empire, entered into a partnership with its biggest rival, Amazon, to join its new "click-and-collect" parcel service, reports Atlanta area Air Cargo World.
Once it joins Local Collect agreement, Amazon will gain access to the 10,500 post offices Royal Mail operates across Britain, providing convenient, secure distribution points at which customers can pick up packages ordered online.
The Local Collect service will be similar to UK-based CollectPlus, which delivers parcels to a network of convenience stores, newsstands, supermarkets and petrol stations.
The Royal Mail agreement will make it easier for Amazon to grow faster in the UK without incurring the added costs of last-mile delivery to customers' doorsteps.
"And for Royal Mail, the benefits are - well, unclear at the moment," said Atlanta area Air Cargo World. .
Royal Mail in November said Amazon's parcel delivery network would reduce its annual growth rate from four to five per cent annually to just one to two per cent. Royal Mail saw its operating profit plunge 21 per cent in the six months ending September 28, said the reporter.
"Amazon's more rapid growth in Great Britain will most likely come at the continued expense of Royal Mail, which currently has less-convenient hours, is mandated to keep costs down and lags behind other click-and-collect services in IT and logistics services," said the report.
But Royal Mail sales chief Martin George said the Amazon deal is a good fit with the plan to modernise postal locations around the country. Today, about 2,000 post offices are now open on Sundays, while other postal stores are open an additional 85,000 hours each week, nationwide.
Once it joins Local Collect agreement, Amazon will gain access to the 10,500 post offices Royal Mail operates across Britain, providing convenient, secure distribution points at which customers can pick up packages ordered online.
The Local Collect service will be similar to UK-based CollectPlus, which delivers parcels to a network of convenience stores, newsstands, supermarkets and petrol stations.
The Royal Mail agreement will make it easier for Amazon to grow faster in the UK without incurring the added costs of last-mile delivery to customers' doorsteps.
"And for Royal Mail, the benefits are - well, unclear at the moment," said Atlanta area Air Cargo World. .
Royal Mail in November said Amazon's parcel delivery network would reduce its annual growth rate from four to five per cent annually to just one to two per cent. Royal Mail saw its operating profit plunge 21 per cent in the six months ending September 28, said the reporter.
"Amazon's more rapid growth in Great Britain will most likely come at the continued expense of Royal Mail, which currently has less-convenient hours, is mandated to keep costs down and lags behind other click-and-collect services in IT and logistics services," said the report.
But Royal Mail sales chief Martin George said the Amazon deal is a good fit with the plan to modernise postal locations around the country. Today, about 2,000 post offices are now open on Sundays, while other postal stores are open an additional 85,000 hours each week, nationwide.
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