Hermes UK, the leading consumer delivery company, has been chosen by Volkswagen as its first partner to trial a UK-first in-car delivery service.
The Hermes in-car delivery service is being trialled in Milton Keynes and is designed to boost first time delivery rates and provide further convenience for consumers.
Once trials have been conducted and feedback collated, it is envisaged that the service will be rolled out gradually across the UK. The service would allow Volkswagen owners with cars produced in 2019 and beyond, equipped with the We Connect Plus package. Customers can sign-up for in-car deliveries using their Volkswagen ID.
Registered consumers for the service will receive an SMS or email when one of their parcels arrives at the delivery depot, giving them the option to have it delivered to their car. If they accept they authenticate themselves using their Volkswagen ID, which enables the courier to see which deliveries have been converted to in-car.
The courier is then given a one-time, time-specific access to open the car which can only be used by Hermes, and only for the time specified. GPS co-ordinates for the parked car are sent to the courier who provides photo evidence of the successful delivery and confirms that the boot is securely locked.
Adrian Berry, Innovation Product Owner at Hermes UK, said: “At Hermes we are constantly looking to develop innovative products and services that improve convenience for our customers.
“We are really pleased to be partnering with Volkswagen UK and look forward to working with them to develop this further. It is the first trial of its kind in the UK and supports our mission to make parcels more personal. Further to this, we envisage that in-car delivery services will increase first-time delivery rates reducing the number of delivery vans on our streets.”
Claire McGreal, Brand Strategy and Mobility Services Manager at Volkswagen UK, said: “We are excited to have Hermes on board as our first courier partner to trial We Deliver in the UK. Feedback from users in Germany, where the scheme is already live, has been consistently positive and we hope to begin rolling out gradually across the UK by late 2020.
“Security is of course high on our list of priorities which is why delivery details are traceable to specific individual couriers. Should the delivery be unviable on the day for any reason – for example, there is insufficient space in the boot or the courier can’t locate the car – then the delivery will default to the user’s alternative address instead.”
