Later collections mean longer ‘opening hours’ for online retailers

As part of its ongoing commitment to further enhance the quality of its customer service offering, Walker Logistics has announced that it has reached an agreement with two of its main courier partners – Hermes and Royal Mail – that will see out going orders collected from Walker’s Berkshire-based fulfilment centre as late as 23.00, seven days a week.
This means that the cut off time for same-day pick, pack and dispatch of online orders has also been extended, which allows Walker’s clients to offer their online customers the option of next-day delivery of orders placed later into the evening.
William Walker, sales director of Walker Logistics, comments: “Today’s technology-enabled online consumer is becoming ever more demanding and retailers and their supply chain partners have to keep pace.
“By extending the traditional mid-afternoon cut off time for next day order delivery to late afternoon or early evening and introducing weekend shifts to dispatch orders with a guaranteed Monday arrival date, we believe we are giving our customers a significant commercial advantage over their competitors.”
He continues: “We realise that all retailers are under constant pressure to ensure that they service their customers’ needs and we are constantly seeking to develop and implement new working practices and adopt solutions that allow us – and our clients – to succeed in the digital age.
“For example, to allow us to introduce our new extended cut off times, sophisticated modifications to to our warehouse management system were carried out to enable delivery notes to be printed as required once picking and packing tasks are complete. This streamlines the administration process and, importantly, eliminates the need for administrative staff to be on site during the late evening shifts.”
This year sees Walker Logistics celebrate its 20^th anniversary. The company offers a comprehensive range of bespoke logistics services that includes both retail logistics and consumer direct order fulfilment to a broad range of clients.
“By focusing on personalised relationships and a continuous improvement culture we aim to offer highest levels of service within the industry,” adds William Walker.