Delivery speed has become more critical than ever, thanks to the surge in online shopping and buyers’ expectations.
Faster delivery isn’t even enough. Superfast or instant delivery is the need of the hour. Grocery delivery companies like Gorillas and Getir promise to deliver groceries in 10-15 minutes.
Long story short, today’s customers want their packages delivered NOW or NEVER.
The competition is fierce. And you need to keep up with customers’ changing delivery expectations to stay in business.
So, how can you deliver packages faster than ever while keeping your wallet fat and happy? Keep reading to find out.
Table of Contents
What is Delivery Speed?
Delivery speed refers to how quickly goods or services reach their destination. It depends on factors like transportation efficiency, processing times, and distance.
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Why the Speed of Delivery is Important?
Dispatchers are under constant pressure to guarantee a fast delivery time by reducing the days to get a package from the store to the customer’s location.
The speed of delivery is essential because of the current business climate:
Increased Online Shopping
More customers are turning to online stores for purchasing household goods, clothing, groceries, and electrical appliances. According to a report, up to 88% of those buyers will continue to use online stores rather than brick-and-mortar businesses.
According to a survey by Deloitte, over 70% of online shoppers state purchasing from e-commerce sites is more convenient, saving them time and money. The same customers report getting better deals online.
More online shopping means more deliveries. But you can’t take up a lot of delivery gigs unless you finish current deliveries quickly.
Fast Delivery Expectations
According to a report by Statista, Up to 40% of online shoppers prefer waiting two days for orders delivered via fast shipping. And 18% of shoppers are willing to wait to receive their products within 24 hours.
Stay Ahead of Competitors
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, swift delivery can be a decisive factor in setting your business apart. Customers often compare the delivery speed when making purchase decisions.
If your business consistently delivers faster than the competition, it can win over potential customers and gain an edge in the market.
Consumers Don’t Accept Excuses
Satisfied customers are likelier to leave positive reviews and recommend your business to others. Rapid delivery can result in glowing testimonials and word-of-mouth marketing, which are invaluable for attracting new customers.
On the contrary, delayed deliveries can lead to negative feedback, potentially harming your reputation.
According to the EY Future Consumer Index, only 21% of online consumers in the U.S. are willing to accept delivery failures or disruptions. Most shoppers simply aren’t forgiving or ready to take excuses from online retailers for delayed deliveries.
Reduced Inventory Costs
Faster delivery contributes to efficient inventory management. When products are delivered quickly, you can maintain lower inventory levels without the risk of stockouts. This leads to cost savings and improved cash flow, as less capital is tied up in excess inventory.
Makes a Business Agile and Responsive
Consumer demand can fluctuate rapidly. Businesses that can adapt to these shifts by delivering products quickly can capitalize on changing market dynamics. Whether it’s responding to seasonal trends or unexpected surges in demand, fast delivery enables businesses to be more agile and responsive.
How to Deliver Packages Faster
Customer loyalty and delivery speed are ultimately the cornerstones of your delivery business if you want to stay at the forefront of your industry.
Here are some tips to help you deliver packages faster.
1. Optimize Delivery Routes
You can save significant time and money by optimizing delivery routes. Plan your delivery routes so that weather, traffic, or other constraints cannot affect the delivery.
Manually using pen and paper for route planning could be challenging. You will end up spending hours but still may be unable to plan the perfect route.
Therefore, adopt a last-mile optimization solution to automate route planning. Such software considers traffic, weather, sunrise and sunset times, roadblocks, one-ways, and more constraints that could slow your drivers down.
The best route planners will take the headache of manually identifying the best routes for your delivery drivers. Plus, it helps you schedule deliveries in advance.
An advanced route planner like Route4Me also comes with several valuable features, such as:
- GPS tracking to help you monitor your vehicles on the road and ensure they stay on schedule to make deliveries on time. It also helps avoid reckless driving and ensures driver safety.
- Customer portal to help your customers track their delivery status on their own.
- Customer alerts and notifications feature to notify your customers whenever their package is out for delivery or near their location and helps avoid failed deliveries.
- Geofencing automates check-in and checkout so drivers don’t have to carry paper logs, save time at stops, and make more deliveries. Learn what geofencing is.
- Geocoder that automatically identifies and rectifies any wrong addresses entered into the multiple stop route optimizer. It ensures that drivers don’t waste time visiting incorrect addresses, which could jeopardize all subsequent deliveries.
2. Stick to In-demand Shipping Choices
It’s tempting to offer your clients a wide range of shipping choices. However, this can result in more confusion.
Try to become known for being the best at your work, delivering goods reliably and fast. Identify and offer your clients the most popular shipping choices.
These include 24-hour delivery or same-day shipping. By limiting your delivery services to the ones most in demand by online retailers and their customers, you can fine-tune your performance to perfection.
The benefits of sticking to in-demand shipping choices mean you can focus more clearly on all aspects of your business that can drive profits.
3. Hire a Reputable 3PL Provider: Outsourcing Fulfillment
Hiring a third party to handle parts of the delivery process has many benefits. Shipping companies often outsource to 3PL providers to streamline transport and logistics processes.
It’s often the most affordable way of ensuring you can offer your clients the most efficient shipping choices. Using a 3PL provider limits the time your company needs to focus on every aspect of delivering goods.
4. Look After Your Employees
While your drivers are the crucial link in your delivery process, you want to look after all your employees to ensure secure and fast delivery of goods.
Efficient delivery speed relies on all employees involved in the process. This includes the tea lady who replenishes your workers throughout the day, warehouse staff receiving and storing goods, and drivers on the road.
Looking after your employees makes them feel valued and committed to your mission of offering the best delivery services.
Hiring well-qualified staff from the beginning is vital for improved workplace productivity. Learn the best practices for hiring delivery drivers.
Sending employees to ongoing training is also essential for keeping up-to-date with the latest developments in your industry. An efficient workforce ultimately determines the success of your delivery business, so take good care of your workers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Delivery Speed
What is delivery time?
How can I increase my product delivery speed?
Final Thoughts about Delivery Speed
If you want your business to thrive in today’s fast-paced market, remember that delivery speed is your secret weapon.
Speedy deliveries delight your customers, set you apart from competitors, and keep you agile in a changing world.
So, use Route4Me to optimize your delivery speed, secure customer loyalty, and stay ahead.
Want To See For Yourself How Route4Me Can Help Improve Delivery Speed and Deliver Packages Faster?
