On-demand and instant deliveries have taken over the logistics industry in a way that has left many companies wondering how to properly respond. Adding to the pressure is the shortage of warehouse spaces and the overall need for more automation and more flexible solutions. We spoke to Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO and Founder of Parcelly about the role of micro-hubs, technology and what to expect from Parcelly during the Micro-fulfilment & Warehousing Conference on the 8th March. Watch the full interview below.
We spoke nearly half a year ago about micro-hubs and micro-fulfilment. How do you think the field has changed over that time?
It is a very challenging time right now. Yet, from a professional perspective, it is very successful for Parcelly and for the micro-hub and warehousing solution we are rolling out at the moment. We continue activating through mobile technology excess space in commercial real estate for all sorts of different logistics and e-commerce solutions.
It’s a model that started as a B2C proposition where individuals can utilise their local convenience store as a pick-up and drop-off point for parcels – fully carrier and retailer agnostic. It has grown into what Parcelly is today – a full end-to-end omnichannel logistics platform.
We are also facilitating the main drivers of on-demand and instant delivery such as Hyper-local Warehousing and instant returns.
Is it becoming easier for companies to work in the area of Hyper-local Warehousing?
The entire micro-hub space has transformed over the last two years, and COVID has been an accelerator for that in many ways. Micro-warehouses are making, in many ways, instant delivery services more seamless and affordable – a kind of breather for fulfilment congestion in urban areas as well.
And then last but not least, optimising the efficiency and speed of online order fulfilment while taking, in many ways, the load off the retailers storing and managing the inventory on their own.
So it’s not a surprise that huge investments have happened.
Do you think it is a sustainable model?
Well, if we talk about sustainability, we would need to differentiate what area we want to be looking at. Financially, it’s obviously something that needs to prove its ground in many ways, incredibly cost intensive and asset heavy for many platforms.
But then if we talk sustainability from an environmental perspective, for example, it is potentially the answer to our main challenges and major trends right now in e-commerce and the reality that there is reduced warehouse space, that there are millions of square feet of additional warehouse space needed solely for online fulfilment.
Parcelly is being part of our Micro-fulfilment & Warehousing Conference on the 8th March. What can we expect to hear from you?
We will have a few big announcements and we would love to utilise your platform to share this with the world. Then a large proportion will also be about our vision for this micro-fulfilment space and hyperlocal fulfilment when it comes to how e-commerce and logistics might utilise that solution in the future.
You can watch the full video interview with Sebastian now. Don’t miss the event on the 8th March where you can learn more about micro-hubs and micro-fulfilment from Parcelly. Other participants include Fizyr, Cranfield School of Management, BotsandUs, and Mango Logistics. Register here! ✷