Italian startup and Drop jointly launch the first facilitator for Proximity Logistics in the Fashion industry. The partnership aims to improve the customer experience thanks to a new Logistics concept that focuses on customer and environmental sustainability.
Milan, March 9, 2021
Drop, a specialist in eCommerce advisory, development and management collects the technological assist from GEL Proximity, a spin-off startup of the Politecnico di Milano that has developed a proprietary technology that allows the delivery of products purchased online through more than 30,000 Pickup Points present in Italy. This is a significant development with a view to an increasingly advanced customer experience in the delicate shipment & payment phase. From March 8, Drop will use GEL technology on the Save the Duck store, for which it is an eCommerce provider.
Analyses conducted by GEL show that 85 percent of Italian consumers require customized logistics solutions during the online shopping phase, stating that they want to choose from more time and place proposals within their daily proximity.
GEL Proximity involves the facilitation and exchange of information between thousands of Pickup Points or Lockers and the world of online sales where the consumer plays a central role. eShoppers will finally be able to independently decide where and when to pick up their purchases according to their convenience.
GEL Proximity’s new logistics experience directly impacts sales by reducing abandoned carts and technology costs borne by online stores. Access to the platform provides simple integration within the reach of any eCommerce.
GEL technology also has an important environmental sustainability spin-off by helping to reduce pollution associated with last-mile routes of delivery vehicles. In fact, GEL Proximity allows couriers to aggregate multiple orders from individual eShoppers into a reduced number of trips to Collection Points. The result is less use of heavy vehicles with consequent benefits for the road system and a substantial decrease in CO2 emissions.
The first Italian project officially started on March 9 at the Italian store of Save The Duck, the fashion brand known for its sustainable and nature-friendly policies. The decision to also make logistics eco-sustainable came about “naturally” as carved into the company’s mission statement, “Save The Duck cares for the environment and all its inhabitants, promoting a transparent business model that pays attention to responsible resource management.”
Drop and GEL have worked jointly to include a logistical customer experience “designed for human” at the Save the Duck check out. As a result, consumers will be able to decide for themselves how best to schedule a purchase pickup or return based on their convenience, proximity, or time availability. Starting March 9, 2021, Save The Duck will invite its customers to pick up their purchases by walking around the thousands of Pickup Points in proximity while enjoying the air made cooler by this innovative solution.
GEL Proximity is the world’s first platform entirely dedicated to Proximity Logistics. GEL is a technology connector offering tens of thousands of physical or automated Pickup Points with a potential network of 18 Italian players operating in Last Mile Logistics. GEL Proximity is a Spin Off Capital Company of the Politecnico di Milano that aims at sustainability and growth of the eCommerce channel by demonstrating a focus on the environment, urban logistics and emissions reduction by prioritizing the parcel collecting system.
Drop is a pioneer e-business provider in the eCommerce sector, a leader in the Italian scene thanks to a surprisingly agile approach that has allowed it to anticipate trends in many cases. For two decades it has been supporting and accompanying companies in the development and management of their online business: what today is defined as Digital Transformation.
Drop’s core business is in the design, implementation and management of e-commerce, especially – but not only – in fashion. Both on the B2C and B2B and B2B2C fronts.
Drop is an official partner of the B2C e-commerce Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, Adobe Magento, Pimcore DXP and Shopware.
