A Maidstone firm is at the centre of an industry first for the UK parcel industry by pulling together the biggest names in the sector to manage the nationwide collection and delivery of Covid-19 home-testing kits.

Kent-based The Delivery Group has created the Carrier Consortium which includes the likes of Yodel, Menzies Distribution, DX, Diamond and UPS Healthcare.

They will play a key role in collecting the kits and getting them into the testing laboratories.

The test collection programme feeds into a study coordinated by Ipsos MORI in partnership with Imperial College London for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to assist in understanding the prevalence of the virus across England.

Together, the consortium will provide access to over 10,000 vehicles, 200 facilities and a combined workforce in excess of 16,000 employees.

Working seven-days-a-week across the country, it will use strictly controlled temperature storage to ensure the tests remain constant from pick-up to delivery.

James Wilkins, operations and IT director of The Delivery Group, said: “Our consortium members and service suppliers have reacted magnificently and achieved the impossible, creating a new UK service from scratch and against the clock. Together, we will continue to improve processes and create an even better consumer experience as we progress through the next phases.”

Kelly Beaver, managing director of public affairs at Ipsos MORI, added: “With a solutions-focused, innovative team at the helm they have rapidly ensured delivery of what is a new and incredibly challenging logistics process at scale.”

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