June 20, 2021

A reflection and review of 2021’s premier retail event: Quadient Click & Collect Forum

On April 14, 2021, Quadient hosted the first-ever Click & Collect Forum – a virtual event bringing together over 100 business leaders across 19 countries, representing companies including Pepsi, Joules, FedEx, and Royal Mail.

Attendees listened to speakers share their perspectives on the top retail challenges during this time of rapid transformation. Jordan Speer, Research Manager at IDC Retail Insights, used case studies to examine the crucial milestones retailers need to focus on to deliver the best, most convenient experience to their customers. The most popular session was a roundtable discussion about last-mile delivery, the impact on customer experience, and projections for the next five years. Clearly a hot topic, the Q&A portion went well past its allotted time, with questions continuing to arrive via chat following the event.

Daniel Malouf, Chief Solution Officer, Parcel Locker Solutions at Quadient, presented a snapshot of the past year and how Parcel Pending by Quadient has pivoted to meet the needs of today’s future-focused retailers. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, here’s a quick recap:

– 2020 took place in the shadow of the global pandemic. COVID-19 accelerated the growth in parcel volumes as consumers embraced digital shopping experiences. Global e-commerce grew from 3.4 trillion Euros in 2019 to 4.3 trillion in 2020. That caused year-over-year parcel volumes to go up by 22% in France, 34% in the UK, 25% in the US, and 26% in Japan, to cite but a few. The impact of all those parcels moving around affected consumers, retailers, and the environment.

– Retailers paid a heavy price for last-mile delivery, up to 41% of the total cost of the supply chain. Not inconsequentially, the additional time on the road for delivery services exacerbated CO2 emissions, which we should be working to abate. Consumers who overcame health concerns to go to the store to pick up their purchases were often dismayed after spending too much time at a collection counter, and returns could be even fraught. Post-COVID, 65% of consumers now expect safe, contact-free delivery—no more waiting in line for service.

– This was also the year that retailers discovered that parcel lockers are the only last-mile delivery solution that consolidates deliveries, is fully automated, speeds up the process, and provides improved convenience for e-commerce stakeholders and consumers alike. And Parcel Pending by Quadient is the only solution whose product range is designed to address the diversity of location types and parcel volumes. We provide modular, configurable, and expandable solutions for businesses receiving anywhere from 5 parcels a day to more than 80. If a retail chain has a variety of stores, some small, some large, but want to offer the same customer experience, we have the only solution designed to fit the available space.

– Our outdoor lockers have secure antiburglary locks that meet WK2 standards, stabilization mechanisms to combat the impact of earthquakes, storms, and typhoons, and air conditioning and heating controls to accommodate extreme atmospheric conditions.

When retailers install parcel lockers and give their customers the opportunity to Click-&-Collect, they improve the customer experience, which increases customer loyalty.

In 2020 alone:

  • 13,000 locker units with our patented technology were deployed globally.
  • 50 million parcels were delivered to our lockers.
  • Our smart parcel lockers served to reduce carbon gas emissions and carbon footprint for retailers and carriers around the globe.

One attendee to the forum said, “It was a fascinating education on the part lockers play in the Big Picture of the supply chain, omnichannel marketing, and of course customer experience. It was an inspiring look into BOPIL’s relevance to the present and future.” Another said the forum was “slick and engaging… the speakers were first-rate. They made a compelling case for brands to use parcel lockers as a means of transforming customer service, building loyalty, creating efficiency, and focusing resources on value-added and revenue-generating work.”

Following the success of the Click & Collect Forum, we will be bringing it back again next year for another round of insightful discussions on everything retail. We look forward to seeing you in 2022!

Whether you would like to relive the event, or you want to catch the sessions for the first time, head over to the link below for the free on-demand videos.