eCourier

eCourier is a courier service based in the United Kingdom.

ECourier
TypePrivate
IndustryLogistics
GenreCorporate Histories
FoundedLondon, United Kingdom (2003 (2003))
FounderTom Allason
Jay Bregman
Headquarters
London
ServicesSame day courier services
Number of employees
230
Websiteecourier.co.uk

Courier positions are tracked by GPS and an intelligent dispatch system assigns orders via GPRS, improving efficiency in a traditional industry.[1] A computer algorithm distributes orders to couriers in real time based on location, traffic, weather and demand. The algorithm was developed by a team of academics in Italy.[2]

The company stores the historical GPS positions of its couriers, and uploads this information to OpenStreetMap.[3] This information is also offered to the public via an API under a Creative Commons license. As of October 2008, their data set included over 252 million historical positions.[4]

The company was founded by Tom Allason and Jay Bregman, after event tickets were lost by a motorcycle courier.[5] The business won Allason recognition as a Growing Business Top Gun 2007, and Bregman from the British Computer Society as 2005 IT Director of the Year.[6][7]

Investors in the company include Esther Dyson and Stuart Wheeler. Venture Capital firm Logispring also owned a minority stake in the company.[8] In 2007, the company won the Evening Standard’s Most Inspirational Business award.[9] In 2008, Allason left the company to pursue a new venture.[10] and the following year, launched Shutl.[11]

In 2009, eCourier reached 6 on Deloitte’s list of UK’s 50 Fastest Growing Technology Businesses.[12] and #53 on The Sunday Times Tech Track list of Britain's fastest growing private technology companies.[13] In November 2015, eCourier was acquired by Royal Mail, and now has one of the largest and most recognisable courier fleets in London and the South.[14]

References
  1. Michael Trick's Operations Research Blog, 23 June 2006, http://mat.tepper.cmu.edu/blog/?p=81. See also articles from The Economist and Financial Times.
  2. Real-Time Fleet Management At Ecourier Ltd http://www.springerlink.com/content/v41525296n068264/
  3. Partners - OpenStreetMap https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Partners
  4. eCourier Location API http://api.ecourier.co.uk/
  5. Moules, Jonathan: Couriers Have High-Speed Connection, Financial Times, 18 March 2006
  6. Award http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/06959143451303647930/young-guns-2007.html Archived 28 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Medallists of the Individual Excellence Awards 2005
  8. "eCourier - Parcel Delivery in Color" Alarm Clock, 18 October 2006, available at http://www.thealarmclock.com/euro/archives/2006/10/ecourier_parcel_deli.html Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "The Winner: eCourier", Evening Standard, 2007 http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/itsyourbusiness/article-23383010-details/The+winner:+eCourier/article.do
  10. "eCourier.co.uk Founder Leaves to Pursue New venture" Press Release, 2008 Archived 9 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Graham Charlton (9 December 2009). "Q&A: Tom Allason on e-commerce delivery startup Shutl". Econsultancy. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  12. "Winners List 2009", Deloitte, 2009 Archived 16 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Britain's fastest-growing private technology companies", Sunday Times, 2009
  14. "Royal Mail acquires same day delivery company eCourier". Ecommerce News. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
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