Same-day delivery services are now changing the way consumers choose to shop. This super-fast delivery option can give customers the instant gratification they get from shopping in person on the high street but without the need to leave the comfort of their home.
With advancements in modern technology, traditional couriers and logistics companies are now offering their customers the convenience of online booking and collection services that guarantee the same day delivery of urgent letters, parcels and goods that rival the shopping experience of a traditional brick-and-mortar store.
Same-day courier services have been offered for many years in large cities. These are used by businesses that need to get urgent paperwork across town to be signed, or time-sensitive goods such as medical supplies, food and fresh flowers delivered urgently.
However, more recently, there has been a massive shift from manufacturers and retailers to offer same-day delivery services all across the country by building distribution centres in major road network hubs.
Reduced delivery times for improved customer satisfaction
Giving customers almost immediate access to the goods they want is a winning formula that online retailers are set to profit from. It also offers their end customers greater convenience, and even with the extra expense of a same-day delivery service, the products they buy can often be found cheaper online.
More brick-and-mortar retailers are seeing the massive opportunity of offering a same-day delivery service to their local customers. It can help build customer loyalty and win back old customers that have since switched to online shopping.
How does a same day service work?
Many traditional logistics and courier service providers have adopted new technology and refined their services to include a same-day delivery service. There are three main operating options that delivery firms are taking up.
The first involves existing courier and logistical service hubs adding more delivery fleet vehicles and courier staff. This can include switching to small, swift delivery vans, motorbikes and mopeds to travel quickly over short distances.
The second involves using a broker platform to schedule a delivery with the next available courier service provider to book a same-day delivery.
The third involves large retailers providing their own fleet of local same-day delivery vehicles and drivers operated directly from their network of retail stores.
What appears to be the most cost-effective same-day delivery option for most small and medium-sized businesses over the long term is to use established parcel logistics providers that already have integrated logistical solutions in place.
Time constraints
While same-day delivery services effectively combine the immediate gratification that customers are looking for with the convenience of online shopping, there are often many logistical time constraints to meet to deliver a successful service.
Yes, consumers are willing to pay extra for fast delivery. Still, suppose they are ordering something that needs a lot of physical picking and packing to fulfil. In that case, this needs to be considered when guaranteeing a specific delivery time.
There needs to be a realistic cut off time for any same-day delivery service, regardless of whether a customer is ordering one product or multiple items from the same retailer. Many retailers work 24 hours a day to prepare and pack goods ready to distribute at a moment’s notice.
Retailers also make good use of technology to handle delivery orders in Real-Time. However, customers will still need to meet with a set cut off time for guaranteed same-day delivery, even if there is a distribution centre within a reasonable distance from their home.
Regardless of the service’s challenges, same-day delivery is now being seen as the next evolutionary step in parcel logistics.
