News

Where delivery is improving: why it will improve further.

This article provides an update on some of the trends in delivery; observes how some of these initiatives relate to the emerging multi-channel supply chain structures and provides an update on the Gold Delivery Standard, IMRG’s exciting work to help the industry provide the best in delivery.

The UK’s carrier companies are doing a great job to improved delivery performance. First and foremost, reliability is key. The simple job of providing a service that meets its commitments. While quality differs around the market place the overall standards are improving. Remarkably many carriers have achieved this while providing services at a lower cost.  

New carrier services include time confirmation.   A customer buys a service that can be delivered between 8am and 5 pm (say) and on the day they are told the actual hour slot when the parcel will be delivered. This reduces staying in time and hopefully, with experience, allows the buyer to estimate pretty much when their delivery will be made. There are also plans to introduce an “avoid the school run” delivery which allows parents to get out of the house to manage school pick-up and drop-off. Specific time slots are available but they remain relatively expensive. Same day has gained wider support in 2009 and looks set to continue and there is the reemergence of evening delivery services.

The Snow Valley Delivery Report confirms a continuation of trends. These are particularly noticeable amongst larger retailers (who are gaining a greater share of eCommerce). Smaller retailers need to keep abreast of these developments. Delivery Options continue to be extended: although the extremes of offering more than a dozen different options have been reigned back in. The standard offering of economy and premium is being extended with Super Saver. Premium services are Saturday and perhaps evening or timed slots. Nominated day or Day Specific is growing rapidly amongst larger retailers (50%) but static at 15% amongst smaller retailers.

More retailers are linking their delivery services and helping the customer with self-service and pro-active delivery management. Most sites now offer a despatch email and increasingly this provides the ability to click through to tracking information. Tracking via the web front end is becoming more popular and status updates (your parcel is on schedule, your parcel is being delivered today etc) can also be found on many of the leading sites. Of course the best retailers manage their processes well enough to be able to contact their customers before a problem occurs. This type of customer service investment has an immediate pay-back as well as ensuring loyal and satisfied customers.

Multi-channel eCommerce is benefiting from the evolution in delivery. Clearer visibility helps retailers to source and despatch product from different locations, while maintaining a high delivery standard. Supplier home delivery will be the area of greatest development over the next five years. Maintaining a wide stock range with suppliers and dispatching as required meets loyal customers’ expectations and maintains service standards. A supplier can  ship on a nominated or indeterminate carrier, provide retailer branded tracking and delivery advise  to the customer, and provide complete visibility for the retailer’s customer care team. In a similar fashion, products can be shipped from one store to another, or from store to the home, with perfect visibility and customer information that can be accessed on line, via email or through customer service. And with far more carriers offering a competitive price to move individual parcels from “A to B” all of these options become feasible.

With so much going on in the delivery industry it’s good to know that IMRG’s Delivery Forum are maintaining their leadership position and keeping all of these strands together. With particular help from Andrew Starkey of Spiral Strategies and Peter Rowlands of e-fulfillment and logistics magazine, the IMRG Delivery Forum is introducing a new Delivery Gold Standard. This standard helps e-retailers to aspire and to achieve the best service in delivery. The standard covers all of the main areas in delivery: web browsing; buying; transit; delivery and returns. It also takes account of the key services, such as letter box deliverable, signed for and time-specific. In a very helpful way it provides an interactive front-end so that retailers can benchmark their offering. Most importantly it explains what needs to be introduced to meet the standard. So there are no excuses and since first time delivery success also means lowest delivery cost, there is every reasons to meet the highest standards.

Patrick Wall
CEO
MetaPack
February 2010