Our CEO Sebastian was quoted in the latest industry report by the Capgemini Research Institute on 'The last-mile delivery challenge: Giving retail and consumer product customers a superior delivery experience without impacting profitability'.
The report shows that 'Consumer products and retail firms in the food and grocery segment have to catch up with consumer demand for better and faster last-mile delivery services while at the same time mitigating associated profitability risks. (...) close to three-fourths of consumers are willing to reward retailers who get the last-mile experience right with increased spend and loyalty while 40% consider delivery service a “must-have” feature.'
So how can retailers improve their last-mile delivery services without taking a profitability hit?
- Optimize fulfillment locations to lower delivery cost – retailers should equip stores for delivery, increase the use of dark stores for delivery, and encourage the use of last-mile storage and collection points.
- Automate delivery operations to boost profitability – automated warehouse operations, backroom automation for delivery and click-and-collect orders, and autonomous delivery vehicles provide some automation options.
- Encourage multiple avenues for fulfillment resources – retailers must collaborate with consumers for crowdsourced delivery platforms, encourage employees to deliver parcels for additional incentives, and use the gig economy for delivery during peak seasons.
- Enable consumer-centric fulfillment offerings – encourage customers to visit the store for returns, align their brand values with consumers’ expectations, and invest in customer-centric initiatives.
'SATISFIED CONSUMERS ARE WILLING TO PAY HIGHER DELIVERY CHARGES FOR FAST DELIVERY':
(page 14) Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO and founder of Parcelly, a technology company that converts redundant space in local businesses via a mobile application into carrier-agnostic parcel storage, believes that views on free delivery are changing. “Customers still expect free shipping when they purchase something, but this is changing, particularly among Millennials and Generation Z,” he says. “There will be a point in time when customers would consider free shipping as being very inappropriate from an environmental perspective, operationally, or just because it simply doesn’t exist as a market standard anymore.”
'OPTIMIZE FULFILLMENT LOCATIONS TO LOWER DELIVERY COSTS':
(page 27) Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO and founder of Parcelly, believes that PUDO points can certainly lower delivery costs. “The average success rate for a first delivery attempt is only around 90% in the UK, which means the delivery costs for a second or third attempt add up to the final delivery costs,” he explains. “The delivery success rate for PUDO locations is close to 100%, leading to significantly lower costs of delivery.”
The full report can be accessed via Capgemini's website below:
