Scotland launches out oif hours logistics service
Making sure deliveries arrive at the right time can be problematic for retailers and other companies that are open to the public. The last thing you want to do is inconvenience customers with lorries taking up parking spaces or large items being delivered while they are trying to go about their business.
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The good news is that leading global logistics and supply chain operator GEODIS has brought an “out-of-hours” service to help busy retailers. This is already being successfully used in France and is now available in the five Scottish cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Stirling and Aberdeen. It is being aimed particularly at retailers, such as fashion stores that need to get new stock on to the rails and in the shop windows before they open so that staff are dealing with customers and not deliveries.
An out-of-hours service is particularly useful in city centre stores and shopping malls, with both the logistics company and the retailer benefiting. The retailer can restock the shop floor while it is empty, while the delivery company can drive outside of the rush hour, thus saving time and fuel consumption. Returns can also be made out of hours.
Benefits of out-of-hours deliveries
The Road Haulage Authority has highlighted the many operational, environmental and social benefits of early-morning or late-evening deliveries. These include better air quality, improved road safety, reduced road congestion, and a more efficient use of the fleet.
Celebrate your refit with customers
If you are planning a shop refit that will take a few hours rather than days, you could also do the work overnight so that you don’t have to close at all. Work could begin once the store closes and be ready to reopen the following morning. You can even have your new fixtures and fittings, such as rivet shelving, delivered when you are closed. You can shop around for products online from a company such as https://www.rackzone.ie/industrial-residential-shelving so that you don’t have to leave the shop to go looking for your new furnishings.
Your customers will not be inconvenienced but will notice the difference when they walk through the doors the following day. If you are having a major upgrade or new stock, you might want to celebrate by offering customers a glass of bubbly or mini breakfast baps.