DPD trials autonomous last-mile delivery robot with B&Q

Home improvement company B&Q is trialling a new last-mile delivery service for small parcels with DPD using a fleet of autonomous robots.

According to Retail Week, customers will be notified that their order will be delivered by robot in advance, and once they confirm they will be home to accept the parcel, a robot will be dispatched. The delivery will be tracked and the customer notified when the robot arrives; they will then use an individual code to unlock the delivery compartment to retrieve their parcel. The robot will then return to the depot ready for the next delivery.

Amélie Gallichan-Todd, B&Q’s supply and logistics director, wrote on LinkedIn, “Our aim is to give customers more choice of speed and location, while at the same time fulfilling our commitment to reduce our impact on the environment.

“We’re already the second-biggest liquified natural gas fleet in the country and are adding electric vehicles to our home delivery fleet later this year. We’re also trialling alternative ways of delivering products to home, such as our trial in Milton Keynes with DPD UK to deliver customers’ orders to home using autonomous robots.”

Deliveroo partnership

The company has also announced it will offer customer delivery in as little as 25 minutes thanks to a new partnership with Deliveroo starting later this month.

According to Gallichan-Todd, London-based customers will be able to order interior and outdoor paint, decorating, painting tools, plumbing, electricals, bathroom essentials, as well as tools and hardware, at the touch of a button from the nine B&Q Local stores, for delivery in as little as 25 minutes.

Gallichan-Todd wrote on LinkedIn, “We’re constantly looking at how we can help make home improvement projects easier. This includes helping customers to get their home improvement products in the most efficient and convenient way possible by meeting increasing consumer demand for speed, convenience and mobile access.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Deliveroo to test on-demand delivery for our customers, served by nine of our B&Q Local high street stores in London.”