Italian postal service provider Poste Italiane has launched a new refrigerated food delivery service called PosteGoFresh. The service is being done by MLK Fresh, which is a joint venture between Poste Italiane subsidiary MLK Deliveries and Mazzocco, — a company that specializes in refrigerated transportation.
Refrigerated products can now be transported along the entire supply chain — with temperature control. The service is powered by technology. Customers can schedule a delivery at a time of their choice.
Convenient food delivery
“PosteGoFresh simplifies and makes the collection methods more convenient since the recipient will have the possibility to book the delivery appointment by choosing the time slot, will be able to monitor the arrival of the product on the map and opt for a collection in a refrigerated, alternative collection point to home delivery, in which the package is stored at the right temperature,” Poste Italiane says in a statement.
The service is available in more than twenty cities including Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Verona, Bologna and Florence. PosteGoFresh will gradually be rolled out through the rest of Italy.
Also Read: Postal industry: Newsmakers 2023 and trends for 2024
Investing in delivery for the postal industry
Postal companies are investing in ways to make the postal experience easier and more convenient for customers.
In the UK for example, we see DPD and Evri partner with Royal Mail Group and UK Post for parcel delivery.
Through this offering, post office customers can walk up to a counter in select branches and choose to send their parcels with DPD or Evri, depending on which carrier suits their needs best. This service will widen the choice for postal customers and give them peace of mind knowing packages will arrive safely.
Countries like Australia are now offering delivery to customers on Saturdays through its AusPost Metro Service. This is available to most residential addresses and parcel lockers within its metro network in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
The company has also formed a three year partnership with Myer. This will see Myer online customer experience enhanced, and the postal company as its e-commerce fulfillment partner.
European postal service market
Research and Markets reports the European postal service market is estimated to grow at an annual compound growth rate of 4.05%. “There are numerous players operating in the EU’s postal and delivery industries, providing a greater significance in the industry. The universal service providers, rival companies engaged in the letter delivery industry, logistics and express companies (like UPS and FedEx), and alternative delivery companies (like Amazon) are among them.”
Another side to the postal industry is that of returns. Companies have realized the importance of providing good returns options. Locate2uNews published a report summary by Post & Parcel which says 84% of merchants believe their returns are either good or very good.
Logistics providers are finding ways of making the returns process good. This is evident in UPS’ acquisition of reverse logistics firm Happy Returns. The Los Angeles-based company provides no-box, no-label returns to merchants and customers. Its network consists of over 10,000 box-free return locations in the US.
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About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
