Newsletter 39  July 2008/2

If you were thinking of adopting the term “PUDO” to describe a pick-up and drop-off service in America, you might want to think again. RedPack International, a company offering overnight express parts deliveries to field engineers, has told us it has registered the term there. One-time UPS executive Juan Sotolongo, who heads the operation, says there is no serious intent to enforce the right to the name, but the registration serves as a credential in a market where (unlike Europe) the concept is still little known.

RedPack acquired the rights to certain Collectpoint assets and technology a couple of years ago, and has been developing its business on both sides of the Atlantic. In both markets it is using manned over-the-desk drop-off points (provided by Office Depot in the US). In the UK it also works with RM Logistics and Unitrans. It has links with PickPoint in Germany and DropPoint in Australia.

In the UK the term “PUDO” has had a long if somewhat limited currency; MetaPack, for instance, was using it back in 2001.