Ecommerce delivery was largely driven by couriers from the pre-internet age accustomed to working business hours delivering to businesses who also had regular opening times. I recall a time when some couriers point blank refused to delivery to domestic addresses whilst other charged a premium as they know consumers can be out, live down little country lanes which larger trucks couldn’t navigate, and frankly were a pain compared to a goods in delivery bay or a company with a receptionist always available to sign for a parcel.
How times have changed, couriers have moved from 7.5 tonners to transit size vehicles and bite each other’s arms off for a lucrative ecommerce delivery contract but still their services have been too often chosen by what’s convenient for the shipper rather than the end customer.
Many couriers have vastly changed their services over the years to cater for ecommerce deliveries to domestic addresses, but the clear message presented by industry frontrunners at the recent Consignor Convention in Stockholm is that a more customer centric approach is needed. Online shoppers have become more demanding in regard to delivery and as Mikael Törnqvist, from Aditro Logistics noted that this means the logistics industry has gone from a cost focus to a customer focus. Companies should therefore see their logistics as marketing rather than a cost.
Tobias Henriksson, from Consafe Logistics agreed that online shoppers do indeed have huge demands and it’s not just about fast delivery, but about precise and customized delivery, for example if a customer wants home delivery between 5pm and 8pm on a Tuesday.
Currently customers adapt themselves to ecommerce deliveries, but the message from the Consignor Convention is that the industry needs to become more customer-centric with personalized and flexible services – ultimately give the online shopper more control over their delivery.
Next time you review your courier contracts, consider are you simply choosing the best price and a courier who offers a convenient pick up time for you, or are you choosing the service that give the consumer the experience that they really want. In all likelihood every consumer will want something different and that’s where solutions that can offer multiple delivery options will become ever more crucial.
