Yodel has said that it used Christmas peak 2019 as an opportunity to change perceptions around the business, both from a retailer and end-customer perspective.
Speaking to Logistics Manager Mike Hancox, chief executive of Yodel, said: “I am very lucky to join the business when it is on the way up. It has been a very good peak for us. And this is also a good opportunity to change people’s perceptions of the brand. It has been a little bit negative in the past, for various reasons.
“Peak volumes have seen us step up by 50% on our normally weekly volumes. This has given us the opportunity to change the perception for our client retailers and also the end-customer. Many people will only experience Yodel at Christmas. So it is really important to deliver a good customer experience during that time.
“We have had a very good year. We have kept in service, which is unusual for many parcel delivery companies during peak. It is a very stressful time, but we planned well for it. Going into peak this year we had more experience in our operations team that ever before. Over the past 18 to 24 months we have brought in more people who are more experienced, from all of the top businesses from UPS to DPD to DHL to Royal Mail.
“When I sat with the peak team it was clear that nothing would happen that this team had not already dealt with. Communication to our retail clients has been very strong and we put a lot of emphasis on forecasting accuracy with our clients. This is one of the most difficult things to do in retail but getting the information in quickly and acting on it quickly is something we have to do.”
Hancox joined Yodel as chief executive in September having worked previously at e-commerce retailers including Ideal Shopping Direct and Shop Direct. Most recently he was non-executive director of delivery software company Sorted. He replaced Andrew Peeler.
