Yodel adds new service offering

   Yodel has unveiled a new service in response to changing conditions in the online delivery market and demand for increased flexibility.
   While pushing further into the online shopping business, Yodel, one of the United Kingdom’s larger delivery companies, has announced plans to alter its service in response to consumer service demands and increasing needs for flexilibity.
   The changes will include a six-day week for Yodel service, increasing to seven days in December, and the removal of premium charges for weekend deliveries. The company also plans to introduce standard pricing across the United Kingdom.
   Yodel will also extend its training programs to adjust service to peak levels and improve its customer service. Shoppers will receive email and SMS delivery updates as a standard feature, including time slot advice and the ability to track parcels using a simplified online service.
   Recent figures from Boston Consulting Group show the Internet accounting for £121 billion of U.K. GDP last year, roughly 8.3 percent. The research suggests this will grow to £225 billion by 2016, with online retail transactions reaching 23 percent of the total by the same time.
   “As the Internet shopping market grows so do the demands on our service. With online promotions and peak periods on a weekly and seasonal basis, we are increasingly required to flex, in some cases handling up to eleven times normal parcel volume, and this is a trend that is only set to increase,” Jonathan Smith, Yodel’s chief executive officer, said.
   The company also said Internet-based shopping has pushed the delivery market to a saturation point and Yodel must increase charges to continue to invest in offerings that will support Internet commerce as it grows.