Their idea is to promote the development of "community recipients", who will take in parcels destined for people within their immediate locale, and will hold them for collection at a time that suits the customer. They might be small businesses such as convenience stores, but equally could be private individuals. The aim is to appoint a thousand by launch time this autumn, and up to 30,000 within five years.

These recipients will be able to sign up online to offer the service, and will be accepted subject to checks on their address and credentials. Users will pay online; a fee of under £2 has been mentioned, of which "most" will go to the recipients, the company says. A modest handling charge will be retained by the company itself.

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Eight years after ByBox first floated the idea of setting up box-bank pick-up points for internet consumer deliveries, the concept finally looks set to become a reality in the UK. And at the heart of the latest initiative is the idea of combining box banks with public phone boxes.

ByBox has signed an agreement to convert up to 1,000 BT phone boxes to hybrid phone box/ByBox pick-up points, starting with 300, which will be going on stream later this year. ByBox's own French factory will build the new installations, which will replace existing phone boxes. A full launch later this summer is planned.

"Call boxes are ideal for this purpose," says ByBox founder Stuart Miller. "They are in high-profile locations, and they already have power and communication links laid on." He has high praise for BT, which has reportedly pushed the concept through with enthusiasm.

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This April sees the launch of a new brand name on the UK fulfilment scene - Docdata. Braywood, the Witney-based fulfilment company that was acquired by Dutch parent Docdata 18 months ago, is now adopting Docdata group branding for all its operations - and it's on a determined growth path.

Andy Reedman, Braywood co-founder and now chairman of the UK operation, says the company is already in the market for another British-based fulfilment business to give it more wide-ranging national coverage.

The group has also spread its wings in another direction, taking a majority stake in a London-based web front-end development business, Hitura, which now becomes Docdata Commerce. In addition, it is expanding into payment processing, and has opened a UK branch of the existing Dutch-based payment processing business, Docdata Payments.

'We're now the only fulfilment company that can offer the full range of services, from web site development and payment processing to comprehensive storage, pick and pack and delivery,' Reedman says, adding: 'This all-round capability is becoming very important for retailers. It saves them countless problems with integration.'

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Professional Fulfilment Services, a fulfilment company based in Jersey, is on the point of establishing a mainland UK base. Sites in the Cardiff area have been examined, and a decision is expected soon.

According to director Michael Boarer, the move reflects the company's desire to confirm its position as a nationwide UK fulfilment business - one that can compete with any that emerged from mainland origins. 'We are already talking to several potential clients about mainland-based fulfilment operations,' Boarer told F&E.

Up to now, fulfilment companies based in the Channel Islands have tended to base their proposition around the attractions inherent in the VAT exemption available on low-value goods despatched from there. Whilst PFS already does offer this type of fulfilment, Boarer says it also aims to compete on equal terms for other types of traffic.

Strengths in the company's offer are said to include its process design capabilities, in-house IT systems and focus on stock-picking accuracy.

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