June/July 2004

Deliver2home is the voguish title chosen by Nightfreight for a new home delivery service focusing on large, heavy or awkward-shaped consignments.

It is being rolled out on the back of a major £17.5 million contract awarded to Nightfreight by DIY chain B&Q to deliver this type of product nationwide. This job will involve more than a quarter of a million consignments per year, and will be based on 19 "supersites" throughout mainland UK.

In the light of specially commissioned research, Nightfreight says it has identified a growing demand for home delivery of bulky goods from outside the traditional retail sector - notably from internet shopping businesses.

According to chief executive Rob Kelly, consumers have become accustomed to making relatively low-cost purchases on the internet, and are now moving towards buying larger, higher value items the same way.

"Some of these purchases may be straight from an online catalogue, others may be the result of visiting retail outlets and going home to measure up prior to purchasing on the internet."

Nightfreight has built its reputation on part on handling awkward "IDW" (irregular dimension and weight) consignments for business-to-business users, so this new service represents a natural extension. "We are ideally positioned to take advantage of this boom in internet shopping," Kelly says.

Deliver2home is backed by a dedicated call centre. Two-man teams trained in customer care will make timed deliveries to ground floor rooms specified by the customer.

The service will use a mixture of dedicated and network delivery vehicles from the company's 1,000-strong fleet. The B&Q operation will rely mainly on network vehicles.

Features of the service include what is believed to be a first in this industry. Every two-man team is equipped with camera phones that capture instant proof that the delivery was tendered as promised.

Pictorial evidence of delivery can be emailed along with the consignment number direct to the Direct2home call centre showing the items in situ, or the customer's door, to demonstrate arrival at the correct address.