NetDespatch powers Collect+ to win top 3PL award

NetDespatch customer Collect+ has won the “Third Party Logistics Provider of the Year” at the Retail Week Supply Chain Awards 2011 for its easy and convenient returns service using local corner shops. The company was also “Highly Commended” in the “Online Fulfilment Initiative of the Year” category in recognition of its partnership with ASOS, the UK’s largest independent online fashion and beauty retailer. Collect+ is also a finalist in eCommerce Awards “Innovation in Delivery Award” category; the winner will be announced at this year’s eCommerce Expo in October.

Collect+ is the UK’s fastest growing UK-based parcel returns and collection service and it uses NetDespatch web services to integrate retailers, PayPoint terminals in the shops and parcel-carrier tracking systems. Each day, thousands of customers of major UK retailers, including Shop Direct Group (brand owner of Littlewoods.com, very.co.uk and Woolworths.co.uk), use the NetDespatch powered Collect+ service to return unwanted items. Tracking returned items begins by scanning the parcel at the in-store terminal and continues through the parcel carrier’s system to the goods-in department at the retailer.

Customers can also arrange, through a growing number of retailers and on-line stores, to have their parcels delivered to their local store for collection during the extended opening hours. They can also use the www.collectplus.co.uk website to print a label and send a parcel from their nearest store to a home address or to another Collect+ store. Customers pay online using the secure PayPoint.net card processing system.

The NetDespatch Collect+ platform provides multiple methods of integration for retailers, including manual and automated data imports, as well as real time web services, website secure label production, credit/debit card payment through PayPoint.net, point-of-sale integration with PayPoint in-store terminals including signature capture, and fully detailed tracking of parcels from despatch to delivery. It automatically collates and stores the data and provides an electronic trail for full end-to-end traceability, as well as operational and accounting reports. An innovative secure identification method devised by NetDespatch is used to ensure that a parcel is collected and signed for by the intended recipient.

Users can choose automated alerts by email or SMS text message at every stage of the process to keep them informed of progress. Both sender and recipient may receive an alert when a parcel is first processed, and then again when it is delivered to its destination store. The system reminds the recipient to collect the parcel and then sends a confirmation to the sender after the parcel is collected.

Quelle: www.netdespatch.com