The Post Office and DPD go global: it can only be this week's biggest retail technology stories

It's Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past few days, including Temu, Primark, Pinterest, Albert Heijn, Lowe's, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Manna, WHSmith, and PMC.

1. Temu inks delivery services deal with parcel lockers specialist Unisend covering Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia

Temu has formed a partnership with Unisend, a parcel locker network, covering delivery services for customers across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

"We are excited to collaborate with Temu to bring world class logistics solutions to consumers in the Baltic States. The partnership ensures fast, seamless, and reliable delivery services, enhancing customer convenience and satisfaction," says Laurynas Kazlauskas, management board member at Unisend.

Since its launch in the Baltic region, Temu has offered products across over 600 categories, including household items, electronics, and gardening tools. By connecting customers directly with manufacturers, it says that its model reduces middlemen costs and inefficiencies typically seen in traditional retail supply chains, without compromising quality.

“Our mission is to make quality products affordable to more consumers globally. By partnering with Unisend, we aim to provide a superior customer experience through reliable and efficient delivery services,” a Temu spokesperson says.

2. Primark notches up a social first as it goes live with Pinterest inspired Spring home collection

Primark is for the first time ever officially launching a Pinterest inspired new Spring home collection.

As new research (which involved a survey of 2,003 Brits) reveals a lack of money (51%) and a lack of inspiration (22%) are some of the biggest challenges when it comes to redecorating, the pair say that they are partnering to make it easier than ever to design and transform your space with stylish, budget friendly pieces.

The new collection, launching in Primark stores and available to purchase via Pinterest using Click & Collect, is inspired by the social media platform's search data and features products from Spring floral crockery, to soft pink frill bedding. The three hottest trends that have informed the collections are - Cosy Cottage, Minamaluxe and Dainty Décor.

To style the new collection before they buy it, people can head to Pinterest and use Collages -  an interactive tool to pull together their vision, using cutouts of products from the Primark range. It’s then possible to bag the collection in a new way, as the Collages link directly to Click & Collect, which is now available in over 130 Primark stores across Great Britain. Shoppers can also purchase the range in stores throughout March.

Sinead McDonagh, Head of Design at Primark, says: “Pinterest is where so many of us go for home inspiration, but sometimes turning those saved Pins into reality isn’t always easy, especially on a budget. That’s why at Primark Home, we’re committed to making trend led interiors affordable and effortless."

3. Univers selected by supermarket retailer Albert Heijn to accelerate its path to net zero

Univers has been selected by Albert Heijn, the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, to deploy its microgrid and energy management solutions.

The move comes as part of the Dutch retailer's broader strategy to integrate sustainability across its operations, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and navigate increasing complexities in energy management. This initiative is also pitched as being significant for its potential to influence Scope 3 emissions, with Albert Heijn leveraging its position to encourage sustainability across its supply chain partners.

4. FreshDirect notches up on demand delivery first as grocery retailer added to Uber Eats platform in NYC

Uber Technologies has announced an expansion of its grocery delivery offering with the addition of FreshDirect, the online fresh food grocer, to the Uber Eats platform in New York City.

The partnership marks the first time FreshDirect’s catalogue will be available for on-demand delivery on a third-party app.

“This collaboration with Uber Eats marks a significant step forward for FreshDirect,” says Metin Hacioglu, Deputy CEO, FreshDirect. “Our customers rely on us for the freshest, highest quality food and groceries, and now, with Uber’s technology and delivery expertise, we can offer them the same exceptional products they love—faster and more conveniently than ever.”

5. WHSmith partners with PMC as retailer looks to enhance in-store experience across UK and Ireland

PMC has announced an expanded partnership with WHSmith to deliver a new programme of managed services that will support the retailer’s ongoing transformation across its UK and Ireland stores.

It will provide critical service desk, application support and remote monitoring assistance to ensure operational stability throughout the transition and beyond.

“PMC’s deep understanding of our business and their ability to provide seamless support were key factors in choosing them for this project,” says Paul Rodgers, IT Services Director at WHSmith.

“Their commitment to empowering our store teams with efficient technology solutions is vital to ensure our colleagues can deliver the exceptional service our customers expect.”

6. Pecan AI expands leadership team with tech veteran Trevor Healy and former P&G CIO Andy Walter

Pecan AI has appointed Trevor Healy as Executive Chairman and Andy Walter as an advisory board member.

Healy is a technology entrepreneur and investor (formerly PayPal, Telefonica, Verisign). Walter was formerly CIO at Procter & Gamble.

“AI adoption isn’t just about having the right technology - it’s about making AI work for business teams,” says Healy. “Companies today have more data than ever, yet many still struggle to turn it into meaningful predictions. Pecan is changing that by making predictive analytics directly available to business teams, without requiring dedicated data scientists. That’s why I’m excited to help scale this transformation.”

Walter, who led P&G’s global analytics transformation, says: “Many organisations invest in AI but struggle to scale it beyond early stage pilots. Pecan is addressing this challenge by enabling business intelligence teams to apply predictive analytics where it matters, without getting stuck in complex modeling or technical bottlenecks.”

7. Here's why there's a dark cloud hanging over loss making retail technology trailblazer Ocado Group

There's a dark cloud hanging over Ocado Group and it goes by the name of Kroger. That's the view of Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.

Ladd was speaking as Ocado Group said it would scale back its research and development workforce in the UK and globally as it remained loss-making last year despite a strong performance from its online retail arm. The company specialises in robotic warehouses for other retailers alongside its Ocado Retail business as a joint venture with M&S.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: "I’m a fan of the technology created by Ocado Group, and I believe the company should be respected for pushing the grocery industry to think differently about how they operate."

"I believe Ocado Founder and CEO Tim Steiner, has fought the good fight to keep pushing grocery retailers globally to embrace the use of Ocado’s customer fulfillment centres (CFC), even as the company has experienced over $1.5 billion in losses, and encountered stiff resistance to their business model. Like Jeff Bezos when he launched Amazon, Steiner has learned that sometimes the only person who believes in a company is the founder."

He added: "For the eternally optimistic Steiner, there are many reasons to be cheerful. He points out that back in 2012, the average time for Ocado to fulfil an order was 25 minutes. Today an Ocado CFC is capable of fulfilling a 45 to 50-item order with around 10 minutes at 1/7th the cost of using human labour."

"Ocado has also expanded the use cases for CFCs to include fulfilling non-grocery items for retailers and orders for B2B clients, and the company is finding success."

But regardless of the improvements made to Ocado’s technology, or the expansion into other retail categories, Kroger poses a big problem. It is Ocado’s largest and most important customer. The goal is to build 20 CFCs, and eight CFCs have been opened. However, the eight CFCs actually convert into 13 standard sized Ocado CFCs with three more being built.

8. Lowe's invests in AI and emerging retail technology as Mylow home improvement virtual advisor goes live

Lowe's has launched Mylow, which is designed to help customers navigate the many questions that come with owning a home from project know-how, to how to advice to top-rated product searches and more.

This has been developed in collaboration with OpenAI.

"Home improvement is inherently complex and can feel overwhelming even for the most experienced DIYer - that's why Lowe's has invested in AI and emerging technologies to create solutions that truly help our customers," says Lowe's Chief Digital and Information Officer Seemantini Godbole.

"We're aiming to deliver the best customer service in retail and Mylow represents an industry leading step forward in helping us do that. This solution will not only help our customers be more informed, but our associates too."

"The development and introduction of Mylow exemplifies the tech forward vision of the Lowe's brand," says Lowe's Senior Vice President of Technology, Chandhu Nair. "We're doubling down with emerging technology collaborators like OpenAI to solve problems for our customers and because we want the home improvement experience at Lowe's to be a cut above."

9. Just Eat Takeaway.com global drone delivery partnership with Manna kicks off in Dublin, Ireland

Just Eat Takeaway.com has inked an international partnership agreement with Manna to roll out drone operated deliveries.

Customers will have the choice to receive their orders from participating partners via drones, which will be deployed from local delivery hubs operated by Manna. Once the food has been loaded onto the drone, they will receive their orders in as little as three minutes, it is claimed.

This service is now available in Dublin, Ireland. The aim is to roll this out internationally to more Just Eat Takeaway.com countries. Manna operates under the pan-European regulatory framework set by EASA (the European Union Aviation Safety Agency) and is developing roll-out plans in collaboration with partners, local authorities, and communities to expand its services to more countries in Europe. 

10. The Post Office and DPD expand tie up to include international delivery services

The Post Office and DPD have announced an expansion to their partnership with international delivery services. 

Following a trial at 300 Post Offices, customers wanting to send parcels abroad can now choose from ‘DPD Classic', ‘DPD Direct Lite' and ‘DPD Air Classic & Air Express' services. These are now available at 4,100 Post Offices across the UK. 

The partnership began in 2021 and already includes Click and Collect and next-day delivery services within the UK. 

Elaine Kerr, DPD UK CEO, comments: "We really value our relationship with the Post Office and introducing international services is the logical next step, with online and buy-in-branch now well established. We have the largest delivery network in Europe and deliver to over 200 destinations worldwide. Our approach is designed to make it easy and affordable to find the right international service with free tracking included and duty and customs made as straightforward as possible." 

Neil Brocklehurst, Post Office Acting CEO, comments: "As part of delivering our ‘New Deal for Postmasters' it's vital that we strengthen postmasters' offer to customers. Expanding our already successful partnership with DPD is a demonstration of this. In today's fast-paced world, customers and businesses expect international parcels to reach their destination in a matter of days and having DPD international delivery services available provides them with the options to meet their needs."

A trial has been running since February to get postmasters feedback on guides and other self-help tools to support them in selling and promoting DPD international services in branch.