eCourier

{{DISPLAYTITLE:eCourier}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Use British English|date=July 2017}}

{{Infobox company

|name =

|logo = File:Ecourier logo.jpg

|type = Private

|genre = Corporate Histories

|foundation = London, United Kingdom ({{Start date|df=yes|2003}})

|founder = Tom Allason
Jay Bregman

|location_city = London

|location_country =

|area_served =

|industry = Logistics

|products =

|services = Same day courier services

|revenue =

|operating_income =

|net_income =

|num_employees = 230

|parent =

|divisions =

|subsid =

|owner =

|homepage = [http://www.ecourier.co.uk ecourier.co.uk]

|dissolved =

|footnotes =

}}

eCourier is a courier service based in the United Kingdom.

Courier positions are tracked by GPS and an intelligent dispatch system assigns orders via GPRS, improving efficiency in a traditional industry.Michael Trick's Operations Research Blog, 23 June 2006, [http://mat.tepper.cmu.edu/blog/?p=81 http://mat.tepper.cmu.edu/blog/?p=81]. See also articles from The Economist and Financial Times. A computer algorithm distributes orders to couriers in real time based on location, traffic, weather and demand. The algorithm was developed by a team of academics in Italy.Real-Time Fleet Management At Ecourier Ltd [https://archive.today/20130203163748/http://www.springerlink.com/content/v41525296n068264/ http://www.springerlink.com/content/v41525296n068264/]

The company stores the historical GPS positions of its couriers, and uploads this information to OpenStreetMap.Partners - OpenStreetMap [https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Partners https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Partners] This information is also offered to the public via an API under a Creative Commons license. As of October 2008, their data set included over 252 million historical positions.eCourier Location API [http://api.ecourier.co.uk/ http://api.ecourier.co.uk/]

The company was founded by Tom Allason and Jay Bregman, after event tickets were lost by a motorcycle courier. [http://www.ecourier.co.uk/pdf/eCourier_News_FT.pdf Moules, Jonathan: Couriers Have High-Speed Connection, Financial Times, 18 March 2006] The business won Allason recognition as a Growing Business Top Gun 2007, and Bregman from the British Computer Society as 2005 IT Director of the Year.Award http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/06959143451303647930/young-guns-2007.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828033446/http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/06959143451303647930/young-guns-2007.html |date=28 August 2008 }}[http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.1976 Medallists of the Individual Excellence Awards 2005]

Investors in the company include Esther Dyson and Stuart Wheeler. Venture Capital firm Logispring also owned a minority stake in the company."eCourier - Parcel Delivery in Color" Alarm Clock, 18 October 2006, available at [http://www.thealarmclock.com/euro/archives/2006/10/ecourier_parcel_deli.html http://www.thealarmclock.com/euro/archives/2006/10/ecourier_parcel_deli.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106043700/http://www.thealarmclock.com/euro/archives/2006/10/ecourier_parcel_deli.html |date=6 January 2009 }} In 2007, the company won the Evening Standard’s Most Inspirational Business award."The Winner: eCourier", Evening Standard, 2007 [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/itsyourbusiness/article-23383010-details/The+winner:+eCourier/article.do http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/itsyourbusiness/article-23383010-details/The+winner:+eCourier/article.do] In 2008, Allason left the company to pursue a new venture."eCourier.co.uk Founder Leaves to Pursue New venture" Press Release, 2008 [https://www.ecourier.co.uk/pdf/eCourier_Press_Release_13052008.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109010202/http://ecourier.co.uk/pdf/eCourier_Press_Release_13052008.pdf|date=9 November 2012}} and the following year, launched Shutl.{{cite web|url= http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/5092-tom-allason-on-e-commerce-delivery-startup-shutl |title=Q&A: Tom Allason on e-commerce delivery startup Shutl |author=Graham Charlton |date=9 December 2009 |publisher=Econsultancy |access-date=12 October 2012}}

In 2009, eCourier reached 6 on Deloitte’s list of UK’s 50 Fastest Growing Technology Businesses.[http://www.deloitte.co.uk/fast50/winners/winners-list-2009/ "Winners List 2009", Deloitte, 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416091341/http://www.deloitte.co.uk/fast50/winners/winners-list-2009/ |date=16 April 2010 }} and #53 on The Sunday Times Tech Track list of Britain's fastest growing private technology companies."Britain's fastest-growing private technology companies", Sunday Times, 2009 [http://www.ecourier.co.uk/pdf/eCourier_TechTrack100_2009.pdf] In November 2015, eCourier was acquired by Royal Mail, and now has one of the largest and most recognisable courier fleets in London and the South.{{Cite web|date=2015-11-19|title=Royal Mail acquires same day delivery company eCourier|url=https://ecommercenews.eu/royal-mail-acquires-same-day-delivery-company-ecourier/|access-date=2020-08-26|website=Ecommerce News|language=en-US}}