VCG re-architects and designs infrastructure for Evri expansion

Evri (formerly Hermes) is the UK’s largest dedicated parcel delivery company, offering 7‑day delivery services and working with 80% of the country’s leading retail brands, including Next, ASOS, and John Lewis. A global logistics leader, Evri operates across importing and exporting, fulfilment services, and parcel distribution, supported by over 30,000 self‑employed couriers and employees. Following a significant rise in online retail driven by the pandemic and increasingly digital lifestyles, Evri rapidly expanded its UK depot network to meet demand. This growth created 10,500 new roles, added 2,500 vehicles to the fleet, and onboarded 13,000 additional couriers. As the number of depots and workforce grew, managing multiple services across the operational infrastructure became increasingly challenging.

The scale and speed of Evri’s growth created operational complexity across a larger, more distributed workforce. Managing a growing network of depots, vehicles, and couriers placed increased pressure on internal teams to maintain productivity and efficiency while continuing to support business‑critical logistics operations. The organisation needed greater agility and scalability to support both current operations and anticipated future demand.

To support continued growth and improve service management, it became clear that Evri needed to re‑architect its core networking and infrastructure platforms. The company sought a more agile, scalable, and secure approach to managing multiple services, including core operational infrastructure, network security, and site connectivity. As a result, Evri initiated a search for a Managed Services Partner capable of delivering a transformative approach to managing these services and supporting the next phase of business growth. Following a rigorous tender process, Evri selected VCG to support this transformation.

High‑Performance Connectivity Design

To support the scale and complexity of Evri’s operations during the pandemic, VCG designed and implemented a high‑performance connectivity solution to address the limitations of the existing infrastructure.

Resilient Full‑Fibre WAN Deployment

A high‑speed, resilient, full‑fibre wide area network (WAN) was deployed, connecting all depots and sites to head office, with VCG’s MPLS network at its core. This provided the speed and bandwidth required to support both immediate operational demands and future growth.

Secure and Reliable Site Connectivity

The solution included direct interconnects to the most appropriate operators, with each site connected via dual, dedicated internet‑facing IP circuits. This ensured Evri’s critical workloads and operational traffic could run reliably and securely across the network.

Built on Cisco infrastructure, VCG adopted a software‑defined approach to Evri’s core network. This enabled automated service delivery across locations, consistent workload performance, and simplified processes for opening new depots. The design delivered greater visibility across the network, enhanced security controls, and improved infrastructure performance analytics. It also allowed Evri to scale rapidly, supporting new site deployments while maintaining operational consistency across the estate.

VCG enabled Evri to bundle services into a repeatable, ‘depot‑in‑a‑box’ model, allowing new locations to be deployed on a site‑by‑site basis. Each deployment included resilient, ultra‑fast fibre connectivity with integrated security, enabling new depots to become operational in a matter of days. The fully managed service incorporated a 24×365 security overlay, with continuous monitoring, threat detection, and remediation. This removed Evri’s reliance on in‑house specialist resources and ensured protection against an evolving cyber‑threat landscape, while supporting increased operational efficiency and business resilience.