Loss-making British delivery company Yodel, which has often been publicly criticised for poor service, today claimed a significant improvement in customer satisfaction and reported strong volume growth for the 2017 peak season.
The B2B/B2C parcels specialist said its TrustPilot rating increased by 1.2 points over the Peak period, from 5.3 at the beginning of November, to 6.5 at the end of December 2017.
Moreover, this TrustPilot feedback was also reflected in 82% of online shoppers, surveyed by the company’s Have Your Say survey, reporting they had a good or great delivery experience. Around 6,000 people per day rate the company’s deliveries.
Yodel, which operated seven days a week during the Peak period, also reported that it delivered 11% more parcels in the four weeks up to and including Christmas Eve, compared with the same period in 2016, and saw a 28% increase in parcels in the week before Christmas. In addition, it saw a marked increase in volume during Cyber Week, as the UK retail industry drove an increase in overall consumer spending during the extended Black Friday period.
The company opened its state of the art Business Control Tower in September 2017, which was used to plan and execute a successful Peak. “The centralised control centre provided 24/7 visibility of the entire UK operation. The team, based in the Business Control Tower at Hatfield, analysed insights and trends; harnessed big data to improve vehicle tracking, enhancing service levels; and reacted to changes – such as road closures or bad weather – taking pre-emptive actions, and informing clients in real time,” the company explained.
CEO Mike Cooper commented: “We’re delighted to see the increase in our TrustPilot rating over the Black Friday to Christmas period. Despite the snow and ice, and atypical shape of volume, which led to an unusually high number of parcels in the final week before Christmas, we were proud to successfully deliver millions of our clients’ promises.”
He pointed out: “We strengthened our operational leadership team earlier this year, recruiting some experienced former retailers to prepare for Peak and support our operational turnaround.” These appointments included Neil Ashworth, CEO of joint venture CollectPlus, as chief commercial officer, former Marks & Spencer home logistics chief Adrian Harris as Operations Director, ex-Amazon UK fulfilment manager Lucy Robertson as Director of Sort and Transport, and former Marks & Spencer and Asda operations manager Mike Watkins as Director of Operational Planning.
Cooper continued: “Over the past few months, we have seen consistently high levels of service, and the expertise of this new team has helped to progress our wider business transformation. As we continue our drive to improve service and customer experience, we are encouraged with how we performed over our busiest time of year, and enter 2018 with a renewed emphasis on driving improvements to the service we offer clients and to their customers.”
Yodel handles over 145 million parcels every year through a network of over 60 locations across the UK, including three central sorts and 47 service centres. Through its sister company, Arrow XL, Yodel can also offer a two-man service for white goods and large items up to 120kg.
Yodel Distribution Holdings, the parent company of Yodel and Arrow XL, remained in the red with slightly higher losses in the year ending June 2016, according to annual accounts filed in January 2017. Results for the year ending June 2017 have not yet been filed.
In 2015/16, the Yodel/ArrowXL group increased turnover slightly to £505.7 million from £504.7 million the previous year. But higher costs drove up the operating loss to £45.5 million from £44.7 million one year earlier, and the net loss increased to £58.2 million from £57.7 million.
