New and innovative technology is revolutionising nearly every sector, including courier dispatch. With the e-commerce industry booming, courier companies across the globe must meet increased demand by implementing smarter technology into their existing business processes. But how exactly is this technology impacting the courier industry as a whole?
Reduced Delivery Times
Reduced Delivery Times
Delivery times have become much shorter in recent years. Most couriers now provide a next-day delivery service and many also offer same day delivery to their customers. This is made possible through route planners that do a great job of helping delivery drivers plan the most time-efficient routes, automatically.
Better Delivery Tracking
Making customers wait all day for delivery is extremely inconvenient. In the past, couriers would often provide vague delivery estimates, for example, between 9 am and 3 pm on Thursday.
But now thanks to the use of GPS tracking, couriers can provide customers with more specific time slots – often as narrow as an hour. Customers benefit from receiving more regular updates as opposed to just one notification informing them that their delivery is minutes away.
GPS tracking has also enabled customers to track the location of their assigned delivery driver. This provides them with exact information on the number of deliveries a driver is due to complete before they reach their specific address. Customers can even receive SMS updates to inform them when their delivery has been made.
On the other hand, courier companies can accurately monitor and assist their employees as a result of GPS tracking, thus improving the efficiency of their delivery service. Furthermore, in the unfortunate event that a delivery vehicle is stolen; the courier has a reliable method of tracking its location when they report the incident to the authorities.
Drone Delivery
Although drone delivery is more of a concept at this point in time, projects like Amazon’s PrimeAir provide a glimpse into the future of courier services. Using drones would reduce delivery times even further since they don’t have to worry about traffic and could fly straight to a dedicated landing zone, for example, a customer’s back garden. They also help to reduce the overall carbon footprint by decreasing the number of delivery vehicles needed on the roads.
That being said, drone delivery is not quite ready to hit the mainstream as yet. The first hurdle that must be overcome is that of deliveries being stolen or interfered with before they’re in the customer’s possession. In addition to this, bad weather may cause damage to the drones, disrupt their flight patterns, and possibly ground them altogether.
But despite these challenges, drone delivery looks to be a promising step in the right direction for the future of the courier industry.
Smart Technology Will Continue To Revolutionize The Courier Industry
The courier industry has benefitted tremendously from the implementation of smarter technology. It has helped to significantly reduce delivery times through next-day and same-day deliveries. The introduction of GPS tracking has proven to be extremely effective for both customers thanks to more accurate delivery windows and courier companies alike as a result of improved monitoring and management. In addition to this, drone delivery services are set to be a game-changer as they will increase efficiency even further and provide a more sustainable solution to road delivery.
This article was written by Gophr, a London-based courier startup creating data-driven, smart technology for B2B last-mile delivery.