Parcelhero is set to launch its Parcelhero Pro SaaS (Software as a Service) platform in Q2, which aims to help transport and storage companies enable their retail partners to reduce their carbon footprint and interact more effectively with customers.
The group is currently looking for investors to back the launch, via an equity funding campaign on fundraising and investment platform Floww.
David Jinks, Parcelhero head of consumer research, said: ”The launch of Parcelhero Pro this spring will give retailers and transport and storage companies the means to cut emissions by significantly reducing missed deliveries.
”The platform will also enable them to interact with customers and provide new services – while avoiding large-scale in-house tech initiatives and spending.
‘With Parcelhero Pro, businesses will be able to ship in bulk, optimise cost and completely outsource their after-sales customer support.
”Parcelhero Pro is set for launch in Q2 2024 and investors are now able to fund the growth and marketing of the new platform.”
Jinks added: ”The Parcelhero Group has already outpaced all its competitors with 21% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue between 2019 and 2022, making it the UK’s fastest-growing logistics comparison group.
‘Parcelhero is looking to achieve initial funding of £700k to ensure Parcelhero Pro’s successful market debut. For the first time in its history, it is offering investors a chance to back this established, highly profitable logistics business.”
Jinks said Parcelhero Pro SaaS will help the transport and storage operators catch up with other sectors in the use of AI and also help the sector catch up with other industries in delivering carbon cutting services to their customers.
He pointed to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which show that while more transportation and storage companies have a net zero emissions target than any other sector (8%) transportation companies have introduced fewer green initiatives than most other sectors.
Jinks said: ”In fact, compared to similar business sectors such as manufacturing and retail, transport companies have taken fewer steps to electrify their fleets (7%), adjust heating systems (16.8%), install smart meters (10.8%) or introduce renewable energy sources (2.1%).”
The figures also show that logistics companies are falling behind in the adoption of AI. Jinks noted that, while one in seven (14%) of businesses reported that they are using some form of artificial intelligence technology, up from 10% in December 2023, fewer transportation companies are using AI technologies than any other business sector, with 91.3% of transportation & storage firms not using any form of AI.
He said: ”While a significant 31.1% of retail companies are using AI to provide or personalise their products and services to customers, the number of transportation companies using AI for their customer services or as a way of gaining new customers was so small it failed to register as a result in the survey.
”Retailers of all sizes want to see smarter and more informative post-sale logistics and final mile communications with customers but, currently, their transport partners are lagging behind in this area.
”That situation doesn’t look like it’s getting better any time soon. Fewer transport companies are planning to authorise capital expenditure to reach new customers than any other sector except construction, real estate and support services. Crucially, transport and storage sector companies are the most likely to say cost is the reason for not adopting new tech such as AI (11.5%).
”The figures highlight just how far transport companies are lagging behind similar sectors. For example, 16.8% of manufacturers have developed their own AI projects and 24.5% are using external or SaaS software.
”Similarly, 5.5% of retailers have developed their own AI projects and 27% have bought off-the-shelf or SaaS programs. In comparison, the amount of transport companies adopting these technologies, either in-house or externally, was again so small it didn’t register.
”Retailers will be anxious to ensure that their post-sales service and communications, which are often in the hands of their delivery partners, don’t fall significantly short of their overall customer experience,” Jinks warned.
