The Final Push: The Growing Importance of Last Mile Delivery in Business

20 Jun by Rich Waryn

If you sell online and last mile delivery is new to you, then you may not be making all the money you could.

From 2013 to 2018 online sales should reach $1.35 billion, an increase of 28.8% for those years.

This shipping practice is what gives online retailers a way to provide faster shipping.

Better many times, where UPS and FedEx have not worked, with more sales and keeping more customers.

What is Last Mile Delivery

Last mile logistics is moving goods like supplies and equipment, from the main location to the final destination as fast as possible.

Most of the time the destination is people’s residents, medical clinics, and offices.

Last mile serves more than personal online purchases. If you can order it online, then there is a last mile logistics company that can deliver it to your destination.

It is built on delivering goods, whether it’s furniture, electronics or medical equipment, as fast as possible with excellent customer service.

Business Sectors

The fast growth of online businesses is making this style of transportation popular because customers like faster deliveries.

The popularity of fast deliveries is making many sections of business, like the food service industry, to rethink and improve their delivery practices.

GrubHub, DoorDash, and UberEats are examples of companies who use final mile delivery, that have started in the last few years.

They are so successful that the Investment firm Cowen predicts a 79% increase in the food delivery market by 2022.

While Amazon, who offers much more than food, leads the way with last mile delivery the rest of online companies are trying to find ways to catch up.

With $453.5 billion in online sales in the U.S. and double-digit growth in 2017, you can bet more businesses will take on this way of transportation.

While the medical industry is still developing this type of delivery across many parts of the industry, medical equipment and supply buyers are benefiting from white glove last mile logistics.

Challenges to Overcome

We know Amazon has made the last mile delivery look easy, but there are still big challenges.

Because of how fast things have grown the task of making it effective and keeping cost reasonable are big problems.

Technology that is new like supply chain automation, robotics and the internet of things is changing how customers want to be able to buy goods online.

Customers want to be able to track their shipments and follow the progress all the way to delivery.

We know people want to be able to track their package. But how this is incorporated into a supply chain, if done wrong, can add cost and reduce efficiency.

Reliability is The Difference

Last mile delivery is a great idea and changes the game for any company that can use this style of transportation.

Reliability matters a lot to customers. eMarketer reported 61% of people who shop online say they would pay extra for delivery on the same day they placed an order.

If you buy online, finding a reliable, honest last mile delivery service that has high standards and treats their customers right, is important.

Your velvet glove logistics specialist is here to serve you, contact us today!

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