November 2000

DTS Logistics is ramping up its offering in the e-fulfilment and home delivery sector. Having taken on the north-west London agency for next-day parcels delivery network NCN, the company has just added a new customer to its home delivery client list ­ e-tailer Little Black Dress.

Services provided to the company include hanging storage, labelling, picking, flat-packing and final delivery. Packing in branded "black boxes" is deferred until a maximum of 15 hours before delivery to minimise creasing, and unusually, every packer is required to "take ownership" of each item, which is tagged to show his or her identity. Historically, DTS has been known best for its national storage, pre-retailing and distribution services for high-street brands such as Arcadia, Etam, Liberty and Mothercare, but latterly it has exploited that experience to expand into home delivery. It already works for Coppernob, Heather Valley, Classic Selection and Direct Wine, as well as catalogue retailers Freemans, JD Williams and Grattan. Chief executive Mike Daly says the company is happy working with smaller e-tailers or "acorn" businesses, adding: "We feel comfortable growing with them." Daly, who started DTS 20 years ago doing deliveries with small vans, says setting up a pure home delivery business would have been uneconomic, whereas the NCN franchise provided a kick-start by injecting delivery volume from day one.