WHISTL and One World Express have joined forces to offer e-commerce importers into the UK a tracked postal service, Insight, from 220 countries worldwide.
Under the agreement, e-commerce importers will be able to print one label for an individual item in the country of origin and track it through the various transit stages, including customs clearance.
When Whistl receives the item in the UK, it will be processed in the network and handed to Royal Mail for delivery to the end consumer.
Established in 1998, the then One World Express Group (OWE) started as a UK-based cross-border express carrier.
Today, it has become a data-driven IT platform.
In 2016, OWE started to extend its integration library, integrating with marketplaces such as Amazon, Ebay and Lazada, and various e-commerce platforms such as Magento, allowing its customers to manage orders from all their sales channels using a one-stop-solution through their technology platform 'Smarttrack'.
Whistl, with over £600m revenue, is a delivery management company that provides mail, parcels, leaflet advertising, fulfilment and contact services in the UK and globally.
Headquartered in Marlow, the Whistl group of companies operate across the UK, and handles in excess of 3.6 billion items a year.
Nick Wells, CEO Whistl, said: “With the unprecedented expansion of the e-commerce industry globally and the rise of imports into the UK, consumers are looking for greater transparency on the delivery journey from the country of origin to their home. Whistl is delighted that we will be working with One World Express to enable e-commerce importers from 220 countries to semi track every item they import into the UK before handover to Royal Mail via Insight.”
Atul Bhakta, CEO One World Express Group, said: “By collaborating with the leading delivery management company in the UK, global customers who are importing into the UK, now have access to the experts who understand the importance of the customer experience from origin to handover to the consumer. We look forward to building our Insight relationship together.”
One World is a leading cross-border distribution solutions provider. One World delivers its solutions through a single API connection into their technology platform Smarttrack, where over 130 carriers can be accessed for Omni-channel deliveries Worldwide.
Local councils now face four “nationally significant” cyber attacks weekly, putting essential services at risk.
Cyber-attacks cost UK SMEs £3.4 billion annually, with the North West particularly affected.
Experts recommend proactive measures including supplier monitoring, threat intelligence, and an “assume breach” mindset.
Cyber threats escalate
Britain’s local authorities are facing an unprecedented surge in cyber threats, with the National Cyber Security Centre reporting that councils confront four “nationally significant” cyber attacks every week. The escalation comes as organisations are urged to take concrete action, with new toolkits and free cyber insurance through the NCSC Cyber Essentials scheme to help secure their foundations.
Recent attacks on major retailers including Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Jaguar Land Rover have demonstrated the devastating impact of cyber threats on critical operations. Yet councils remain equally vulnerable, with a single successful attack capable of rendering essential public services inaccessible to millions of citizens.
The stakes are extraordinarily high. When councils fall victim to cyber attacks, citizens cannot access housing benefits, pay council tax or retrieve crucial information. Simultaneously, staff are locked out of email systems and case management tools, halting service delivery across social care, police liaison and NHS coordination.
Call for cyber resilience
According to Vodafone and WPI Strategy’s Securing Success: The Role of Cybersecurity in SME Growth report, cyber-attacks are costing UK small and medium-sized enterprises an estimated £3.4 billion annually in lost revenue. Over a quarter of SMEs surveyed stated that a single attack averaging £6,940 could force them out of business entirely. This financial impact is particularly acute in the North West, where attacks cost businesses nearly £5,000 more than the national average.
Renata Vincoletto, CISO at Civica, emphasises that councils need not wait for legislation to strengthen their cyber resilience. She outlines five immediate priorities: employing third-party continuous monitoring tools to track supplier security compliance; subscribing to threat intelligence feeds from the NCSC and sector experts; engaging with regional cyber clusters supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration ( UKC3) establishing standardised incident reporting processes aligned with NCSC frameworks; and adopting an “assume breach” mindset to stay vigilant against inevitable threats.
“Cyber resilience is not a single project or policy it’s a culture of preparedness,” Vincoletto states. “Every small step taken today reduces the impact of tomorrow’s inevitable attack.”
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