Dubai-based last mile delivery start-up Forward Delivery (Fodel), which raised US$2.6 million from multiple investors including Saudi-based Al Rajhi family members last month, has officially launched its operations in the UAE to provide what it described as "a better solution to the delivery problem faced by online shoppers, e-commerce and logistics companies."
Cash on delivery offer
The investment will be used to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia where it has already secured 800 pick-up locations. Fodel is also partnering with a couple of international logistics firms to
offer a cash on delivery option for them.
In a statement, Fodel said its proprietary technology gives customers the option to collect their parcels from 1,000 pick-up locations across the UAE at a time most convenient to them.
Essentially a click and collect options, it aims to eliminate the uncertainty of delivery times for customers by providing them an alternative solution to home delivery.
Fodel’s vision: Transforming the last mile delivery scheme
Apart from Fodel's founder and CEO Soumia Benturquia, the company is headed by former FedEx senior vice president Europe, Middle-East, Africa and Indian Sub-continent, Hamdi Osman, who has been
appointed the company's chairman. Osman is a 33-year logistics industry veteran and a leading executive in the region’s express delivery sector.
“Fodel will gradually transform the last mile delivery model for the entire logistics landscape in the GCC," announced Osman, adding that courier companies can use its expansive pick-up network
"to deliver absolutely anything their customers need, and not just e-commerce parcels."
Fodel’s pick-up solution is already integrated with some of the region’s biggest logistics and e-retailers such as JollyChic, and its pick-up network includes many large chains such as Choithrams
and Al Maya.
Nol van Fenema
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