Sameday couriers for same day deliveries

A same-day delivery service means customers get their orders the same day they place them in the store. It is a service now getting more and more popular in time. This is big business all year round. Same-day delivery is a quicker option and is often done when the delivered item is perishable or time-sensitive. Customer satisfaction is key in and with this industry. This is why this is now such big business. It is also a big deal for a business to invest in this type of a service. It is perfect too for the consumer when buying gifts and other items. Sameday couriers can save no end of stress.

Sameday courier delivery has the potential to fundamentally change the way we shop. It integrates the convenience of online retail. It could also benefit an online retail in no end of ways too. Any online retailer in fact can be of benefit from this kind of a service. Sameday couriers are here to stay in terms of the ways they work. This is for both businesses as well as for the consumer / public as a whole.

What is likely in the future to come

Online retailers are expected to benefit from reduced delivery time as almost immediate product access improves their position versus stationary retailers, and makes the greater choice, higher convenience and often lower prices of online shopping even more appealing. Bricks-and-mortar retailers in turn have a unique opportunity to combine their existing local infrastructure. It can be done with an e-commerce channel to offer same-day delivery on a broad scale. A multichannel approach could enable them to win back customers who are becoming increasingly focused on online shopping. Three operating models have emerged to fulfill the logistics need. The first consists of incumbent parcel logistics providers with an additional delivery wave.

Second, retailers can use broker platforms that provide access to existing courier capacity to offer instant or scheduled delivery. And third, large retailers maintain their own fleet to handle same-day deliveries. In the long run, parcel logistics providers will be able to operate at the lowest cost. This is all while offering integrated logistics solutions ranging from orders through fulfillment to delivery and return. The opportunities ahead are huge. Logistics providers need to position themselves for the upcoming transformation, and adapt their existing networks accordingly. This report examines the drivers at work in the current landscape. The coming scenario, and the challenges the winning players will need to overcome.

This is a huge market

Today, the market for same-day delivery is moving toward the next stage of development. Following its pledge to be a truly customer-centric organization, Amazon, the largest online retailer in the world (USD 61 billion in revenues in 2012). It is actively promoting same-day delivery. In turn, it has already introduced the service in several cities. There are many other initiatives in the pilot phase, and only few of the players generate significant revenues from same-day delivery.

But many same-day delivery promoters have successfully launched new pilots and companies over the last few years. Moreover, other important multichannel and online retailers such as Walmart and Alibaba have same-day delivery on their agenda. The main centers of development are e-commerce-savvy cities. These are in both developed countries (such as San Francisco, New York, London, or Berlin) and less developed markets (e.g., Beijing or São Paulo).

In further detail

Similar to other evolutionary industrial developments (mobile phones, for example, or online banking), it seems reasonable to anticipate that same-day delivery will leapfrog day-definite last mile delivery and become the immediate standard for e-commerce in some emerging countries. Development on the supply side is driven by three groups of players. This is parcel logistics providers, brokers of courier capacity, and retailers themselves.

Overall

Same-day delivery requires a critical mass of consumers with sufficient financial resources to pay for such a premium service. Rising GDP per capita becomes even more critical when it applies to large metropolitan areas. Accordingly, the relevant economic units are metropolitan areas rather than nations. Yet the existence of densely populated areas with extensive buying power is not enough. A high level of e-commerce adoption is a prerequisite for same-day delivery to actually take off. In Western Europe, the share of online retail will almost double from 6 to 11 percent between 2012 and 2020.

The ongoing substitution of stationary retail sales by online sales will lead to a significant increase in B2C shipments. This is of which a share is likely to be delivered by same-day delivery. The availability of same-day delivery is actually expected to further support e-commerce adoption. Also, it should drive the online sale of product categories. For example, items not yet bought online on a large scale (such as groceries). With this, Sameday couriers are for sure here to stay. The market for Sameday couriers will for sure be likely to grow in time to come.