E-commerce is booming. According to Emarketer, the global retail market will exceed $25 trillion in 2019.
We live in an age where you can run a business successfully from the comfort of your home office. You can serve customers across the country and even across the globe with just a few strokes of a keyboard.
Our resources to reach the world also limit our ability to store and deliver our products though. If your business is just you and your computer, you need help moving the product from you to your customers.
Keep reading to learn about how outsourcing your last-mile delivery will make your business even better.
What Is Last-Mile Delivery?
“Last-mile delivery” came from telecommunications companies and not Amazon. Telecommunications engineers referred to the distance from the ISP to the customer’s location, be it a home or office, as the last mile, even if it spanned a few miles or less than a mile.
Nearly all businesses now use the term to refer to the distance between the delivery hub and the customer. So when you order a package, the last mile is not the distance from the warehouse in Portland to your home in Norfolk. It’s the distance from the distribution hub down the road to your front door.
Last-mile delivery services have one objective: deliver that package to the customer as quickly as possible. That’s their business. They serve both the customer and the business by filling a gap.
Outsourcing Makes Your Business Better
You can take your business from better to best by outsourcing your door-to-door services. This works especially well if you’re in the in-between stage of being small enough to not hire another individual to do your deliveries but big enough that you can no longer do them yourself.
Here are the ways outsourcing last-mile delivery can benefit you.
You Take Advantage of Technology
You know your business. You understand how to make what you make or do what you do. But you do not always understand the technology that can help streamline your business.
When you outsource the last-mile delivery, you can take advantage of all of the technology that helps your product make its way to your customers’ doorsteps quickly. You do not have to understand how the company moves it quickly or tracks it. You just take advantage of it.
If you’re looking to outsource any part of your business, then last-mile service makes the most sense. Your customers will notice immediately that you have fast and reliable service.
You can take advantage of all of the apps that last-mile delivery services use as well. Last-mile delivery services can customize an app specifically for your company that mainstreams delivery.
You Save Money and Time
If you deliver your own products, you understand the cost and time involved with delivery. You have to pay for fuel and car maintenance.
As your business grows, you’ll have to make big decisions. You’ll need to either hire extra workers to produce your product or hire a driver to deliver your products. If you hire a driver, you still carry the liability of a driver using your vehicle, and you still must pay for fuel.
If you outsource your last-mile delivery service, you’ll ultimately save money and time. You can focus on making your product amazing and not think about traffic patterns.
You also don’t have to worry about payroll and delivery deadlines. You don’t have to wonder if a driver is taking care of your car. You can just focus on your product while the delivery service focuses on their specialty.
You Can Track Your Orders
If you take care of your customers, they’ll stay loyal to your brand. An effective last-mile delivery service will have tracking services for your package. Your customers will be able to see exactly where their package is.
You won’t have to incur the cost for a tracking service since the last-mile delivery service will care for this. You’ll pay for the delivery service, and you’ll make your customers happier.
Customers care about real-time tracking. Recent studies indicate that 31% of customers care about real-time tracking.
You’re Insured
A good courier service will have insurance for your packages. They’ll cover it if a package is lost.
This removes your liability once the package leaves your possession. Insurance indicates you can trust the last-mile delivery service.
You Improve Customer Service
We live in an on-demand world. We can order a pizza and say when we want it done. Because of the commonality of on-demand services, customers are more demanding than ever.
The younger the customer, the more the demand. Studies are showing that approximately 56% of online consumers ages 18-34 years expect same-day delivery. As a result, the majority of consumers are willing to pay extra for same-day service.
As your business grows, you cannot offer same-day service consistently. You need a last-mile delivery service to ensure that your package arrives when you say it will.
Improving customer service means increasing the chances of brand loyalty. In short, when you serve your customers well by providing tracking, same-day delivery, and modern delivery technology, your customers will keep coming back and will recommend you.
Use Outsource as a Resource
Outsourcing is a good thing. It means your business is growing and you’re making wise decisions for your business.
When you outsource, you’ll ultimately save money and time. You’ll also show your customers you care because you’re allowing someone else to make your business even better.
For all of your last-mile delivery services, contact us.
