Covid-19 accelerates need for wider e-commerce delivery options, as organisations expand their reach

Kern, the mailing and packaging equipment company, today announced an exclusive sales and distribution deal, allowing Meridian Digital Solutions to sell Kern's range of Smart Terminal automated lockers in the UK.

Part of Kern’s growth plans to meet increasing demand for contactless and out-of-home deliveries, the move will see self-service experts Meridian offer Kern’s lockers to the retail, logistics, property, transport and government sectors.

Already used by the likes of Shell, Allianz, Carrefour, City of Hamburg and Decathlon elsewhere in Europe, Kern’s smart terminal range includes city, home, refrigerated, freezer and laundry lockers, installed at shopping centres, universities, railway stations and offices, to name a few. Meridian Digital Solutions, experts in self-service digital solutions including kiosks, digital signage and logistics, was looking to expand its automated locker offering in the UK market.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating the demand for a wider choice of contactless, out-of-home deliveries, in addition to the existing drive for e-commerce delivery logistics to become more efficient by using smart lockers,” explained David Cox, Head of UK Sales at Kern. “Our partnership with Meridian Digital Solutions will help meet this demand and increase sales in a range of markets, while we also continue to sell direct. Experts in their field, Meridian bring great depth of experience to the relationship and we look forward to collaborating on exciting projects in the future.”

“Kern has one of the widest ranges of smart lockers in Europe, coupled with its impressive track record in logistics and automation so the company is a perfect fit for us,” commented Andy Viner, Managing Director at Meridian Digital Solutions. “We see huge potential for Kern’s Smart Terminal range as organisations expand their reach to give consumers more options in how, and when, they pick-up or drop-off items. Kern’s locker management software meets the needs of most pick-up, drop-off (PUDO) and buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS) projects off-the-shelf, which leads to rapid roll-outs. The options to integrate with customers’ other systems, such as e-commerce, CRM or point of sale is impressive too. This powerful combination delivers great flexibility for client projects.”

For more information please visit: www.kern.co.uk/.