Shutl

Shutl was founded in London in 2008 by Tom Allason as a technology business focused on rapid retail fulfillment. Its model addressed the gap between consumer demand for faster online delivery and the limited ability of many retailers to coordinate local courier services. Shutl aggregated available courier capacity and matched it with orders from online and multichannel retailers, with an emphasis on deliveries made on the same day and over relatively short distances. The company raised £500,000 in venture capital in October 2009. The investors named in public reference material included Simon Murdoch, Paul Birch, Mark Zaleski and Big Bang Ventures of Belgium. Murdoch, who had previously served as a vice president of Amazon in Europe, joined Shutl’s board as non-executive chairman. Shutl made its public launch on 9 December 2009 at LeWeb, a European internet conference. Shutl initially operated only in London. Its first delivery transaction took place in March 2010, and the company reported an early growth rate of approximately 50% month on month. The platform generally served deliveries within about a ten-mile radius of a retailer’s premises, making it particularly suitable for retailers with local stores or nearby inventory. Argos was one of the first major retailers in London to adopt the service. The business expanded throughout the United Kingdom. It obtained a US trademark in August 2011 and stated that, by Christmas of that year, its network covered half of UK online shoppers. By mid-2012, Shutl was operating in more than 50 UK cities and towns and claimed coverage of roughly 70% of online shoppers in the country. This expansion positioned the company as an infrastructure and coordination layer for fast delivery rather than as a conventional parcel carrier with a wholly owned national fleet. Shutl began planning a North American launch in 2012. It secured a $2 million investment from the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, and Geopost, a wholly owned subsidiary of France’s La Poste, made a similar investment. The North American service launched in February 2013. Around the same period, Shutl received significant industry and startup recognition. It won the DHL Online Fulfillment Initiative of the Year award in 2012, ranked first in Startups.co.uk’s 2012 top-100 startups list, and won the National Business Awards Start-up Business of the Year award in November 2012. In January 2013, it won The Europas award for Best Transport, Travel or Environmental Startup. The company also attracted publicity through a proposed endorsement arrangement with Jamaican sprinter and Olympic champion Usain Bolt. In 2012, Shutl reportedly offered Bolt a one-percent stake in exchange for his endorsement. The available reference material does not establish the final outcome of that proposal. On 23 October 2013, eBay announced that it had acquired Shutl. The acquisition was linked to eBay’s interest in faster fulfillment and a stated ambition to enable one-hour delivery in the United Kingdom. Shutl subsequently became part of eBay’s corporate structure. As of 2018, Shutl Limited remained registered in London as a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay International AG. The relationship with eBay’s delivery operations later changed. In June 2019, eBay UK announced that it would change its delivery service provider from Shutl to Packlink, and eBay turned off its integration with Shutl in July 2019. Available reference material does not provide a definitive account of whether Shutl continued as a standalone commercial brand, was absorbed into eBay systems, or was later dissolved. Accordingly, the company’s current status cannot be confirmed.

• 2019

  eBay ends Shutl delivery integration

  [1]Shutlen.wikipedia.org

  eBay UK moves its delivery service relationship to Packlink and disables integration with Shutl in July.

• 2013

  North American launch

  [1]Shutlen.wikipedia.org

  Shutl launches in North America in February after receiving strategic investment from UPS and Geopost.

• 2013

  Acquired by eBay

  [1]Shutlen.wikipedia.org

  eBay announces its acquisition of Shutl on 23 October, linking the deal to one-hour delivery ambitions in the UK.

• 2012

  UK network reaches national scale

  [1]Shutlen.wikipedia.org

  Shutl reports coverage of more than 50 UK cities and towns and approximately 70% of UK online shoppers by mid-year.

• 2011

  US trademark granted

  [1]Shutlen.wikipedia.org

  The United States Patent and Trademark Office grants Shutl a trademark in August.

• 2010

  First delivery transaction

  [1]Shutlen.wikipedia.org

  Shutl records its first delivery transaction in March while operating initially in London.

• 2009

  Venture funding and public launch

  [1]Shutlen.wikipedia.org

  Shutl raises £500,000 in venture capital in October and formally launches at LeWeb on 9 December.

• 2008

  Shutl is founded in London

  [1]Shutlen.wikipedia.org

  Tom Allason establishes Shutl as a rapid fulfillment and local courier aggregation company.

A technology-enabled fulfillment intermediary focused on fast, local and same-day delivery for online retailers and store-based merchants.

• Delivery technology and courier aggregation · 2009

  Shutl delivery platform

  Shutl’s principal offering was a technology platform that connected online and multichannel retailers with local courier providers. The service coordinated rapid and same-day deliveries, generally over short distances from a retailer’s premises. Its value proposition was to make local inventory and nearby courier capacity available for e-commerce fulfillment without requiring each retailer to build an independent delivery network.

• Retail fulfillment service · 2010

  Shutl same-day delivery service

  The same-day delivery service enabled participating retailers to offer customers faster fulfillment by routing orders to suitable local couriers. The model was initially concentrated in London and later expanded across the United Kingdom, with retailers such as Argos identified as early adopters. Public sources describe the service as an aggregator rather than a traditional carrier operating an exclusively owned fleet.

• 2012Proposed Usain Bolt endorsement

  United Kingdom

  Shutl offered Jamaican sprinter and Olympic champion Usain Bolt a one-percent stake in the company in exchange for endorsement. The proposal was used as a publicity and brand-building initiative, although the available reference material does not confirm whether the arrangement was completed.

  Outcome. Final outcome not established in the available reference material.

  Source

• 2019

  eBay replaces Shutl with PacklinkStrategy

  Background

  eBay UK reassessed its delivery service arrangements after several years of using Shutl within its delivery operations.

  Action taken

  eBay UK announced that it would change its delivery service provider from Shutl to Packlink, and eBay disabled its Shutl integration in July.

  Aftermath

  The change ended Shutl’s known integration with eBay’s delivery workflow. The later legal status and any remaining operations of Shutl are not confirmed by the available sources.

  Source

• 2013

  eBay acquires ShutlM&A

  Background

  Shutl had developed a UK and North American rapid-delivery network and technology proposition, while eBay was pursuing faster fulfillment and one-hour delivery capabilities.

  Action taken

  eBay announced the acquisition of Shutl on 23 October 2013 and brought the business into its corporate structure.

  Aftermath

  Shutl operated as an eBay subsidiary; Shutl Limited was described as a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay International AG in 2018.

  Source

1. 1Shutlen.wikipedia.org