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ILG is following all government and NHS guidance relating to Covid-19. We have activated our business continuity programme to minimise the impact on our clients and established three strategic priorities:
The wellbeing of ILG staff is our number one priority. We have taken a number of steps to minimise their exposure to risk while striving to stay as close as possible to ‘business as usual’.
ILG has completed a thorough risk assessment to ensure we minimise the risk posed by the virus. Read our Covid-19 Risk Assessment.
Thank you to our staff
Throughout the crisis, ILG’s staff are working hard to fulfil customer orders under challenging conditions. We thank all our people for their energy and commitment.
We continue to process as many orders as possible given the constraints of social distancing and the need to protect our staff from the ongoing threat of Covid-19. Our SLAs have been impacted, but we have taken urgent steps to realign our operations to help our customers fulfil their growth plans.
Reallocating resources
We have reallocated team members and recruited extra resource to support necessary employee absence.
Longer opening hours
We have remodelled shift patterns and extended opening hours at our largest warehouses to reduce headcount on site and maintain social distancing.
New warehouse facilities
We have invested in an additional state-of-the-art warehouse to bring extra space onstream ready for our peak trading period.
Virtual working
We use Teams and other technologies for internal comms and meeting our customers. Over 40 of our account management, HR, finance, sales and marketing people have switched from office to home working.
Help us to help you
Please tell us about your plans in advance so we are well prepared for any sudden demand peaks. You may be planning to supply a new retailer or run a flash sale. If so, please give us as much warning as possible.
These are unusual times but please keep in touch with us via the usual channels. If you need anything, contact your ILG Account Manager, our Head of Fulfilment or Head of Delivery. We still want to hear from you as much as possible, so don’t hesitate to update us with your latest plans, concerns or ideas. Don’t be afraid to over-communicate or give us too much information.
Theongoing Covid-19 situation has forced many airlines to withdraw scheduled flights. Regrettably, several of our carriers have told us they are having to implement temporary peak surcharges to help them cover their increase coperational costs.
All of our air Express, Import and Export couriers are facing significant increases in linehaul costs due to the current demand for freightcargo capacity within the logistics industry. Unfortunately, we are left withno choice but to pass on these surcharges at cost to our clients.
These surcharges are only applicable to our Global Export and Import services. European Road and domestic services are unaffected.
Fortunately, ILG’s relationships with multiple carriers and sophisticated courier tracking system allow us to dynamically route your parcels via the cheapest possible service with or without surcharges.
Please see below a summary of the surcharges being levied by DHLExpress, Deutsche Poste, UPS Express and Skynet until further notice.
Please see below for further information surrounding Skynet's surcharges by destination.
If you use our third country to third country service, please reach out to our delivery team via delivery@ilguk.com and we will provide you with a quote, including any relevant surcharges. These surcharges range from an additional £0.80 to £1.60 per kilo, depending on the origin and destination.
Please also note that following on from the joint announcement by the Mayor of London & TFL around temporary price increases and extensions to the London Congestion Charges, we have been notified of immediate surcharge increases from our UK Carriers. This will see DX have a +£0.10 per package increase and DHL have a +£0.65 per consignment increase. The following postcodes will be affected by this: EC1,EC2, EC3, EC4, N1, NW1 2, NW1 3, NW1 5, SE1, SE11, SW1, SW11, W1, W2 2, WC1,WC2.
Although the worldwide movement of freight is being compromised by reduced aircraft availability and temporary restrictions, the courier network is still operating.
By working with several carrier partners, we can offer you a number of options for deciding the best carrier to use for accessing disrupted parts of the network.
Several of our carriers have removed their consignee-only services so that items can be left safely if the driver finds the receiver is self-isolating. If this affects you, please reach out to your Customer Relationship Manager for more information.
DX has temporarily suspended its Service Guarantee (i.e. non-issuing of credits from the date of the letter), removed all timed delivery commitments with the exception of pre-12 on DX Courier and pre-1pm on DX Secure and has removed the current four hour ETA time window on DX Secure.
Operations via DPD Classic are expected to continue as normal, with delays of up to 24 hours expected in most countries, although delays between 48 and 72 hours are expected in Spain.
Operations via DPD Air Services are facing (in the main) 24-72 hour delays in most countries, although Australia, New Zealand and many countries in the Middle East are expecting delays of up to 96 hours, as a result of the reduced number of flights.
Please also note that DPD Air Services to India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan have been suspended until further notice.
Operations via DPD Direct are expected to continue as normal, with delays of up to 48 hours in certain countries.
We have received the following European postcode restrictions from DPD, covering Croatia and Italy.
We have received the following update from DPD Local, with its parcel collection, sortation and delivery operations continuing as normal.
DPD has implemented a process which involves staying two metres apart during briefings and for all operational procedures such as loading and unloading vehicles. Along with this, DPD has introduced a wave delivery programme which will stagger driver start times to reduce the number of drivers on-site at the same time and to minimise the contact of people.
For DHL updates regarding its international service, please visit its dedicated Covid-19 update page.
Following DHL's latest communication for 'Accepted at Delivery Point', it has now extended this to all deliveries. For more information, please view its latest update here. Currently, DHL is not expecting any delays to operations, either domestically or internationally. We have received the following update surrounding DHL Parcel. The delivery network is currently operating as normal, Hub Operations remain on plan and customer service queries are being responded to as normal.
We have received the following international service update from Hermes, with delays between 2-4 days expected in certain countries. We have also received the following update surrounding Hermes ParcelShop network. Hermes has implemented a new signature process: couriers will now be required to write 'HTC' (Handed to Customer) instead of 'Covid 19'. Please see here for more information.
We have switched off the Royal Mail POD service for both the Tracked 24 and 48 services. Royal Mail, along with many of the UK courier networks, is enforcing the 'force majeure' to all contracts and as such, PODs will not be obtainable, thus rendering the service obsolete through this period. We will continue to utilise the tracked services as per your tariff but will omit any POD option to ensure you are not spending money for a service not being adhered to until further notice.
For updates from Royal Mail surrounding its international service, please visit its international incidents update page. Due to the lack of available air transport to a number of countries, Royal Mail has suspended international deliveries to multiple countries. Please see here for more information. It will continue to deliver within the UK. Please see here for more information. From 30th March 2020, Royal Mail removed the estimated delivery window from their services to prevent customers from being misled. We have also received the following continuity statement, along with a list of Q&As from Royal Mail.
Royal Mail is experiencing delays in parcel deliveries across selected postcodes. This is due to the combined effect of exceptionally high parcel volumes and increased absenteeism resulting from employees self-isolating or falling ill from Covid-19.
Please note that 28 areas of England and Northern Ireland are affected currently:
Please visit the UPS website to find out how it is responding to the Coronavirus, along with a list of detailed FAQs. UPS is expecting a significant surge in delivery volumes in some areas of the UK and as a result, has implemented extra weekend operations to handle the increase in volume.We have received the following updated service update from UPS. It is expecting delays and restrictions to many countries across Europe. UPS has also directed us to a summary list, detailing the service level for each country. We have received the following update from UPS, containing more detail of its affected operations. We have also received the following International Ocean Operations update.Due to capacity restrictions in China, UPS has introduced a new process for managing your imports from China and Hong Kong for shipments over 100kg from a single supplier location. If you need to import over 100kg per day by supplier location, please contact collect@ilguk.com as soon as possible for us to set up and ensure collection and spot rates, as rates will be increasing from one location over and above previous notifications.
We have received the following service destination update from SkyNet, detailing each country's status for Air Express, Air Skysaver, EU road and premium mail.Due to a reduction in scheduled flights, Skynet can no longer guarantee the agreed transit times within its service level agreement for the Air Express, Air SkySaver and Premium Mail services until further notice. Skynet will continue to provide service to all destinations where there are no restrictions on imports of goods.
Skynet can no longer guarantee "Signed for" deliveries on all of its services to all destinations due to its last-mile delivery partners being unable to take photos of delivery locations. Regretfully, Skynet has informed us that no insurance cover will be provided outside of the Skynet network. Insurance will only be applicable to shipments that have been declared lost or damaged whilst within the Skynet network.
China has announced new export requirements which will affect all carriers. Please see here for further information. All of our carriers are advising as standard that PODs will not be obtained in an attempt to reduce contact and further risk to their employees and the public.
All of our carriers are prioritising deliveries into the medical and healthcare sector during this time. We are keeping our carriers informed of which of our customers fall into this bracket, however, please do tell us if this applies to your business for the foreseeable future. We will be liaising directly with them on a daily basis to ensure that these are prioritised.
Please reach out to your ILG Customer Relationship Manager so we can explore the best options to help in the short term and put plans in place for when things restart. If you are expecting delays to deliveries into ILG, any information you can share with us now will help us to be well prepared for when freight starts to move again.
We appreciate that many of our customers are launching ‘flash sales’ at this time. If you are planning promotional activities or increased volumes in the next 12 weeks, please share this information with us now.
Prior notice will enable us to factor in your requirements, plan resources across our sites in line with social distancing guidelines and give you the support you need.
Thank you to our customers
We are very grateful for all the kind messages and inspiring videos we have received during the crisis. Thank you!
"Thanks for the support which you and your business have shown to Nuvias during this unprecedented and challenging time across the world and the continued professionalism of your teams to our needs." Simon England - CEO Nuvias
Trinny Woodall – Founder of Trinny London
Every ILG Kickstart joiner benefits from six months of guaranteed paid work, tailored training and support with CV writing, job searching tips and interview techniques. ILG is delighted to be participating in the scheme and providing new skills and employment opportunities for young people affected by the economic fallout of the pandemic crisis.
ILG and Trussel Trust Food Bank
As the Covid-19 crisis unfolds, we continue to support charities and disadvantaged people in our local communities. ILG provides a dedicated delivery van and driver to pick up donated supermarket food and drop-off at the local Trussel Trust Food Bank. This food is packed into individual parcels and passed on to families hit hard by the financial impact of the pandemic. Our drivers operate free-of-charge, same-day weekly deliveries to ensure speedy collection and distribution to people in need.
"ILG has been a game-changer for us and Mid Surrey Community Fridges. Thanks to their daily pickup and deliveries we’ve been able to more than quadruple our weekly throughput of surplus food and support to many more families across the area" Grant Ashley - Head of Foodaid Brockham
