Exel A New Player In The E-Commerce, Direct Sales Fulfillment And Delivery Market

Furniture World Magazine

Exel announced the launch of Exel Direct, its business-to-consumer fulfillment and home delivery service. Excel Direct will help retailers, e-tailers and manufacturers open up new distribution channels by providing the often-missing piece of the e-commerce equation: timely and cost-efficient fulfillment and home delivery. Although newly named, Exel Direct boasts 30 years and 50 million deliveries as the former Merchants Home Delivery Service, which began operating in North America in 1970 and has been part of the Exel family since 1984. Exel Direct has the established technology resources, shipping networks and cross-docks needed to get customers up and running quickly. In North America, the company has more than 1500 delivery teams serving 240 operating sites in all 50 states and two Canadian provinces. International research conducted by Exel showed the acute and growing need by retailers, e-tailers and manufacturers for order fulfillment and home delivery. A majority of survey respondents indicated they wanted to begin selling via the Internet and other channels but lacked back-end fulfillment and delivery expertise. Exel Direct is Exel's solution. "Exel Direct combines Exel's long-established home delivery skills with leading-edge supply chain expertise, enabling us to respond to our customers' needs for e-commerce, technology and freight management solutions," said Bruce Edwards, Exel executive vice president. The first in a number of services Exel Direct will offer in the United States is the fulfillment and home delivery of items too large to be shipped through traditional carriers such as FedEx or UPS, such as furniture and appliances. In addition to fulfillment and home delivery, Exel Direct's services include installation, set-up and removal of old merchandise. Exel Direct customers may choose services on dedicated or network basis, depending on volume, delivery area, and other needs. Dedicated-service customers in the U.S. include JCPenney, Circuit City, Levitz, Wickes Furniture, Carson Pirie Scott, and hundreds of other companies. On a network basis, Exel Direct provides fulfillment, home delivery and transportation management services for several large national retailers, e-tailers and manufacturers, including Maytag and 1-800-Mattress. "We're serving a market that a lot of other logistics companies just don't have the established resources to serve right now," said Edwards. "We are helping our customers open up new distribution channels - such as Web, catalogue, and phone - by being a single source for getting their large-size and big-ticket products to customers with the level of speed, care and convenience customers expect." Launching initially in the U.S., Exel Direct will roll out in the United Kingdom and continental Europe during 2000, building on the operational experience of its home delivery contracts. In the United Kingdom, Exel has been providing home delivery service for Argos, a leading British retailer, since Argos launched its home delivery service in 1990. The operation, which started with just six products, expanded to more than 1,000 products and 23,000 deliveries per week in 1999. Exel's success with Argos is attributed to the experience level of the delivery staff, in-depth operational and customer service training, forecasting and analysis tools that ensure resources meet business requirements. In addition, Exel introduced a sophisticated vehicle-scheduling package that enabled the operation to handle a 20 percent increase in growth without adding additional vehicles. Exel also provides home delivery services for leading international retailer Marks & Spencer, supporting in-store kiosks in 22 Marks & Spencer stores. Using vehicles specially designed for food delivery, Exel provides home delivery so busy professionals can shop at lunch and receive delivery at home when it is most convenient for them. Exel Direct will announce additional business-to-consumer initiatives across the United States and Europe in the next several months, according to Edwards. "Strategic partnerships and alliances will allow us to offer even more value-added services to our customers, including e-commerce enablement and global distribution and connectivity," said Edwards. "We are dedicated to providing 'one-stop' e-commerce and supply chain solutions to our national and international customers." For more information about Exel Direct, call 1-800-599-9472 or visit www.exeldirect.com.