City Link collapses, 2700 jobs at risk...

Jez said:
It's only getting cheaper, hermes will collect, provide tracking and insurance, and deliver anywhere in the UK including highlands and Islands for £2.99

How they do it I have no idea but I send absolutely everything via hermes now, I also notice more and more commercial deliveries coming via them too. Recent M&S and John Lewis deliveries for example.

Amazing for the consumer if they are making this work somehow :)
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The majority of proper parcel carriers can't sustain process like that though Jez. Hermes are a bit different because their operating model differs totally to the likes of UPS, DPD etc.

Moving stuff around properly isn't cheap.
 
Lopéz said:
The majority of proper parcel carriers can't sustain process like that though Jez. Hermes are a bit different because their operating model differs totally to the likes of UPS, DPD etc.

Moving stuff around properly isn't cheap.
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I know nothing about internal process at these places, but how do they differ and if their model is sustainable at £2.99 then why do other companies not follow suit?

Hermes have a fully tracked system, you see the scans at each stage - customer face wise the only difference between them and anybody else is that you usually get a local "man with a van" (or car) deliver and collect last mile. This is actually better for the consumer, my area is named for example (no house numbers in our post code at all). Couriers always struggle to find the houses around here, yet Hermes use the same local woman each and every time - she knows the area and is very personable.

I notice that internal logistics in the John Lewis group (click and collect to local waitrose store) is fulfilled by Hermes, as is the home delivery side - so they are obviously winning corporate contracts?
 
I want to see more Collect+ type services in the future. When I order clothes from ASOS or anywhere that offers Collect+ delivery then I choose that option. Much easier to get items delivered to a local shop/newsagent type place and go and collect it when I'm ready. No having to wait in for deliveries or sorry we missed you cards etc.
 
LeeUK said:
No having to wait in for deliveries or sorry we missed you cards etc.
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I tend use Amazon Lockers and eBays new "Collect at Argos" most of the time for exactly the same reason. The ebay version takes a few days extra than normal post but I know I can pick the parcel up when I'm ready rather than waiting in all day and getting a Ghost card from a courier and have to re-arrange yet again.
 
philip2009 said:
You're right ... the rest is government borrowing.
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And then the public sector go out and spend money in the private sector paying their wages (both through individual and corporate purchases).

The public sector is an enabling function anyway, without it the private sector couldn't function.
 
Good riddance I say. It's what happens when you try to profiteer from stealing parcels instead of delivering them like you're paid to.

Had about 99% of my items stolen by CityLink. Most of them used to get re-routed to a business address in Scotland.

The one or two times they didn't steal the package was when it had "CITYLINK MANAGER: MUST DELIVER!" stamped all over it :D

I'm sorry to hear about all the people trying to earn an honest living but there must have been a sizeable chunk of them who were criminals/fraudsters.
 
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I hated city link and always felt bad when it was revealed that they were the delivery company being used to deliver anything to me, glad to see them go, they should've tried harder.
 
Jez said:
It's only getting cheaper, hermes will collect, provide tracking and insurance, and deliver anywhere in the UK including highlands and Islands for £2.99

How they do it I have no idea but I send absolutely everything via hermes now, I also notice more and more commercial deliveries coming via them too. Recent M&S and John Lewis deliveries for example.

Amazing for the consumer if they are making this work somehow :)
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They don't operate in the same market.
They are not time sensitive deliveries and their profit margins are pence per delivery.
Nobody who actually wants their things to get there in a reasonable time uses Hermes.
They also do it by having no delivery staff, the screw self employed couriers into the ground on less than £3 an hour, working 10 to 12 hours a day seven days a day for next to nothing.

It's not going to get cheaper, prices are going up as companies realise that chasing volume at any cost is a bad business model, DPD, UPS, FedEX etc - are all putting price increases in in the new year.
They have all cut out bulky freight, long items- even TNT are now refusing items over 3 metres long, and they run lorries.
 
Hermes couriers aren't paid per hour and they certainly don't work 10 to 12 hours a day for 7 days a week considering only about 5 clients actually even offer Sunday deliveries...
 
Stewy said:
Hermes couriers aren't paid per hour and they certainly don't work 10 to 12 hours a day for 7 days a week considering only about 5 clients actually even offer Sunday deliveries...
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The "equivalent of"

And please, don't tell me what they do and don't do, I provide holiday cover for 6 of their drivers in my area, I know exactly what they earn and how long they have to work.

I say "me" I provide the drivers to cover the days off.
 
Said to a mate good ridance to a **** service and I got this reply..

they were trying to restructure and the RMT were involved...they were sold last year for £1 and the guys that fixed Everest put £40m in but there were 7 day strikes against any changes (RMT wouldn't allow any change in the interest of making a profit) they've been up for sale but no one will touch them)
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Hardly surprising they went under then if that is correct.
 
Never had any trouble with them myself, but havn't had a delivery via them in a long time.

Jez said:
It's only getting cheaper, hermes will collect, provide tracking and insurance, and deliver anywhere in the UK including highlands and Islands for £2.99

How they do it I have no idea but I send absolutely everything via hermes now, I also notice more and more commercial deliveries coming via them too. Recent M&S and John Lewis deliveries for example.

Amazing for the consumer if they are making this work somehow :)
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The "drivers" get 50p per delivery if they're lucky, and they operate out out of the back of a car. Company vehicle certainly not provided and no depot either, they drop the parcels off at the driver's home.

The only trouble I've ever had were with Hermes, managed to "lose" my delivery from Amazon despite tracking site stating it was "delivered", lord knows who to, it certainly wasn't me. At my mothers place once came home to find parcel "delivered" to back garden i.e. it'd been tossed over the fence and was lying in a puddle.
 
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Jez said:
I know nothing about internal process at these places, but how do they differ and if their model is sustainable at £2.99 then why do other companies not follow suit?
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I hope they don't follow suit because that model is awful - it's a race to the bottom and involves parcels being randomly dropped off by people in private cars etc, it's nothing like as good a service as the likes of DPD offer. I will actively pay more to receive an item via DPD than I would via a MyHermes type service.
 
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