Evri rolls out Microsoft 365 E7 across UK business

Evri is adopting Microsoft 365 E7 across its business and plans to deploy 6,000 licences over the coming months.

The move makes Evri one of the first organisations in the UK to adopt the package, which became available in May. The rollout will include Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Agent 365 and the Microsoft Entra Suite.

Evri says it has invested more than £3.5 million in artificial intelligence to date, building on an initial commitment of £1 million several years ago. The latest rollout will extend tools already tested in parts of the business and broaden their use across more teams.

Evri delivers more than 1 billion parcels a year and has expanded its workforce as the business has grown. The company says artificial intelligence will help staff find information more easily across the organisation and reduce the risk of siloed working.

Wider rollout

According to Evri, the software will cut manual work, support day-to-day decision-making and improve communication between teams. Employees will also be able to build agents to handle routine tasks and use data from VeriSnap to improve delivery quality.

Evri says Microsoft 365 Copilot is also intended to support staff with writing and grammar, which could help colleagues from different backgrounds communicate more effectively. The company linked that part of the programme to its diversity and inclusion efforts.

Evri says its existing technology architecture has allowed it to move early on the new Microsoft offering. Although Microsoft 365 E7 is aimed at large organisations, previous investment in artificial intelligence and related systems means it can scale the tools more quickly.

Security was one of the reasons for selecting Microsoft, Evri says. The system will operate within a secure closed environment at all times.

Technology plans

Marcus Hunter, Chief Technology Officer at Evri Group, outlined the company's rationale for the investment.

"Our investment in Microsoft 365 Copilot E7 marks an exciting milestone in Evri's AI journey. We've been building our capabilities in this space for a number of years, and this allows us to take the next step - putting powerful, secure AI tools directly into the hands of our people.

"This is about empowering all our people through technology. By removing manual tasks and unlocking insights from across our organisation, we can help our teams work smarter, deliver better service, and continue to scale as our business grows.

"Microsoft is a trusted partner for Evri, and together we're ensuring that everything we do with AI is secure, responsible and delivers real value for both our colleagues and our customers," said Marcus Hunter, Chief Technology Officer at Evri Group.

Evri Group was formed following the merger of Evri and DHL eCommerce UK. The combined business also handles a further 1 billion business letters a year. The group includes UK Mail and customs clearance specialist Coll-8 alongside Evri's core parcel operation.

The company says it has more than 12,000 employees and more than 30,000 self-employed couriers, supported by a network of more than 12,500 ParcelShops and lockers and more than 500 hubs and depots. It describes its Barnsley site as Europe's biggest dedicated parcel delivery facility.

The latest investment adds to a broader effort by logistics groups to apply artificial intelligence to internal workflows as parcel volumes rise and networks become more complex. At Evri, the programme initially covers 6,000 licences and more than £3.5 million already committed to artificial intelligence.