last Mile Brief 08/06/2023: DHL to take on PostNL by undercutting on some mail deliveries
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In today's Last Mile Brief, we bring you news interesting news on the postal market in the Netherlands, plus info on Instacart's attempts to harness AI and why Australia Post is suspending some services in Alice Springs.

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Today’s headline story: DHL to take on PostNL by undercutting on some mail deliveries
According to reports in the Netherlands, DHL is challenging “monopolist” PostNL by undercutting its competitor’s price for sending envelopes with a weight under 500 grams.
As wnl.tv writes, from Q2 of this year, consumers in the Netherlands will have access to mail deliveries via DHL on top of the existing PostNL service.
In order to try and woo customers to its services, DHL is reportedly set to charge €2.95 for the delivery of an envelope weighing under 500 grams. This is lower than PostNL’s prices, which can stretch to over €4 for envelopes weighing over 350 grams.
Interestingly, Deutsche Post, the owner of DHL, was previously active in the Dutch business postal market under the guise of Selektmail. In 2011, the company was sold to Sandd before it changed hands again to PostNL in 2019.
Europe round up
- EV charging infrastructure specialist Mer has produced a guide to help last-mile logistics managers properly understand the process and ensure that their fleet electrification plans don’t get stuck in a bottleneck.
- Swiss Post has called for mandatory CO2 labelling on all parcels.
- Ahead of international Women’s Day, DHL Parcel Polska has said that 40% of its employees are women. Women occupy nearly 50% of managerial positions and constitute 40% of the management board.
- LTIMindtree has announced the inauguration of a new delivery centre in Krakow, Poland, as part of its strategy to expand its presence in Eastern Europe.
- The Royal Mail share price has risen 7.59% over the past week after the Communication Workers Union agreed to a new framework for talks with the company’s management team led by the board.
- Tristan Thomas, CEO & co-founder of Packfleet, says that it’s a constant struggle to acquire electric vans.
- Over 27,000 meals have been provided to food banks in the Trussell Trust’s nationwide network by Deliveroo customers across Glasgow since April 2022.
North America round up
- USPS has just suspended operations in several states.
- HelloFresh’s forecast 2023 profit is below analysts’ expectations.
- DoorDash is working to step up its analytics and ability to forecast the slowing economy’s effect on future earnings, in a move to expand the business and improve the efficiency of its divisions.
- Kroger deployed its on-demand sushi and floral delivery service through a partnership with DoorDash in mid-December 2022 and will now add Olo’s software as a service platform to bring the offering nationwide.
- Amazon is expected to complete the first phase of its new Virginia headquarters in June, but it’s pausing construction on the larger phase of the project across the street.
- The US Supreme Court declined to consider whether former FedEx Corp. employees who live and worked outside of Pennsylvania can opt into a federal collective action accusing the multinational shipping company of robbing them of overtime pay.
- Logistics giant DHL recently began cargo flights out of its new $55 million facility at the Felipe Angeles International Airport just north of Mexico City.
- DHL Express’ CEO John Pearson talks about why he takes a long-term view on lay-offs amid a looming recession and why he feels morally responsible for his workers’ happiness.
- CBS News has taken a behind-the-scenes look at Chick-Fil-A’s rest area for delivery staff.
- Instacart has announced that it is building an ‘Ask Instacart’ feature in partnership with Open AI.
News from the rest of the world
- Australia Post has suspended mail and parcel deliveries indefinitely to hundreds of homes in Alice Springs after a series of allegedly violent attacks against one of its veteran posties.
- The Competition Authority of Kenya has announced plans to investigate online food delivery and groceries platforms in Kenya following consumer complaints.
- Korean consumers put price over reviews when ordering food online, new research has found.
- Australian delivery platform, Zoom2u has launched a new SaaS marketplace, Drivers2u, to help businesses tackle deliveries.
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Photo: Marcelo Campi / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0