Yodel resumes collections after Black Friday delays

The company was forced to halt collections from clients last week as a result of the higher than expected volumes and has used the weekend to process the outstanding parcels.

It said retail promotions held during Black Friday and Cyber Monday led to a 26% increase in volumes over those forecast by its clients, which include Marks & Spencer, Shop Direct and Mamas & Papas.

In November, Yodel bulked up its workforce with a 5,000-strong dedicated ‘peak planning team’ to handle the anticipated surge in orders. At the time Yodel said it expected to handle 15% more parcels than in the same period in 2013 and had “invested heavily in its operation to meet demand”.

The delayed parcels are now in the company’s network of local service centres for delivery between Monday and Wednesday this week.

Yodel warned that new parcels entering its network may still be subject to a 24-48 hour delay, which it said is reflective of normal Christmas peak operations.

After liaising with its retail clients, the company said it expects a slowdown in the number of consignments to be sorted over the next week.

“This means parcel volumes will be at the levels originally forecast and the Yodel Christmas network was designed to handle,” said Yodel in a statement. “We will be closely monitoring this situation to ensure that all parcels are out for delivery before Christmas.”