Parcelhub is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the startup of the company in 2003. Now part of the Whistl Group, the business began as Mail Workshop from a site in Nottingham.
The Team
The business launched through offering customers a more competitive pricing for handling their post and parcels. Assisted by family members, partners Mark Rosenberg and Steve Riley hired office and warehouse space and began fulfilling customers’ orders.
As business grew, the Mail Workshop team identified a niche in the market, and knew catalogue publishers were an ideal customer, who needed their larger consolidated items sent out in a more cost-effective way than through the post.
Very quickly the team realised their customers wanted to be kept up to date with tracking and status updates on their items. Programmes to process data were written, and as this developed the team switched their focus to the customer service experience.
They contracted their first software development company in June of 2008 and with this saw the beginnings of “Parcelhub” being rolled out to customers by the October. The Parcelhub system was their very own labelling and tracking software that could be simply installed at a customers’ premises. Making it easier to keep tabs on their items.
Mail Workshop and the Parcelhub system became industry leaders. Mail Workshop continued to offer fulfilment and pick and pack working with 3pls, and Parcelhub would manage parcels, customer service and tracking.
In 2018, Whistl accelerated its expansion in parcels and fulfilment with the acquisitions of Parcelhub and Mail Workshop. and Parcelhub became the primary business and by 2019, Mail Workshop as a company was no longer, with everything now sitting under Parcelhub, although the hand fulfilment and pick and pack still operates in Nottingham. In 2020, Steve Marjoram was appointed Managing Director.
Steve Marjoram, Managing Director, Parcelhub said: “We are delighted to celebrate our 20th anniversary. From small beginnings to becoming part of the Whistl group, we continue to help shippers overcome carrier management challenges. Today, with regionally located depots throughout UK multi-channel retailers, brands and wholesalers now benefit from one point of contact for our flexible and scalable delivery management services.”
