Yodel increases fleet capacity with private hire company

Yodel has agreed a deal with Arrow Cars to increase its fleet capacity as more people turn to online shopping during the coronavirus crisis.

An initial three-month trial, between the parcel carrier and private hire company, started last week, with five Arrow Cars each carrying up to 120 parcels daily for Yodel across the West Midlands. It will also provide a ‘flexi-cover’ solution to Yodel’s operation.

Yodel says the deal gives it the ability to potentially draw on up to 1,000 drivers at Arrow Cars.

Carl Moore, chief operational officer at Yodel, said “significant growth” in e-commerce had led to an increased demand for its services in recent weeks so the company was “delighted” to be joining forces with Arrow Cars to provide some “additional resource”.

Nationwide figures show a surge in online retail sales in March 2020, with 74% growth in average transaction volumes compared with 2019, according to data from ACI Worldwide.

Yodel has reported a 25% spike in trade compared to forecasts, and has had to introduce new, agile initiatives to ensure it is able to meet this excess demand.

“We’re constantly working to develop new agile options to cope with extra volume,” said Moore. “Our priority is to ensure that our customers can receive their parcels in a safe, secure and timely fashion.”

Arrow Cars was established more than 40 years ago, specialising in airport transfers, and is the official taxi partner at five UK Airports including Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands, Birmingham and Bristol.

Daniel Graham, managing director at Arrow Cars, said the private hire company was “excited” to be working with the team at Yodel.

“As taxi usage dropped off completely at the end of March, we researched the best national couriers that we could offer our services to and got in touch with Yodel,” explained Graham.

“Our expertise lies in local knowledge, our multi-site operations and our large capacity so we are well positioned to support with seamless deliveries.

“We look forward to making a success of the partnership and being able to build a long-lasting relationship with Yodel.”

Yodel, handles more than 145 million parcels every year and has a relationship with 85% of the UK's top retailers.

The company is headquartered in Hatfield and has more than 50 locations across the UK, including three central sorting offices and some 47 customer delivery depots.