Featured in Supply Chain Brain.
You have likely spent a lot of time and resources building an all-encompassing routed delivery operation. But as your business has grown, you have likely experienced setbacks, especially in recent years: clogged supply chains, increased consumer demand, and a backlog of orders and deliveries. And your inventory sits in warehouses and distribution centers while trucks idle and strained capacity continues to make headlines in the transportation industry.
As you face these challenges, it may be time to think about supplementing your current operation with an experienced delivery partner. Working with a trusted delivery partner can give you back time and resources, while they tackle the main logistics.
They Provide Alternative Capacity
Hiring an established company to support your operation means you don’t need to hire more drivers for your fleet. The hiring process can be time-consuming and potentially delay the process of getting trucks onto the road.
A third-party can provide dedicated, professional capacity for the retailer. These professional drivers and haulers, have been vetted and background-checked already, provide their own vehicles, and are ready to assist with delivery and hauling needs right out of the gate.
They Provide Trucks
Purchasing your own trucks or fleet as a retailer can cost a pretty penny. On top of that, owning your own fleet requires a place to store all the trucks. You’ll also be putting resources towards building out teams for vehicle maintenance, fuel expenses, insurance, and more.
However, working with a third-party partner that utilizes the gig economy provides a way to tap into unique capacity. These drivers own their own vehicles and wants to use them for work. Ranging from pickup trucks to cargo vans to box trucks, you’ll always have a ready fleet to supplement your current operations no matter the delivery situation. Plus, you don’t have to worry about additional vehicle maintenance or fuel costs. Win-win.
They Handle Insurance
Insurance isn’t sexy, but it is necessary to protect your drivers, vehicles, and your products. When working with a final-mile delivery partner, you shouldn’t have to worry about additional insurance. A great partner will sweat those details. They should provide some sort of damage protection program and commercial liability insurance. In addition, occupational insurance for their drivers, ensuring safety for all those involved in the delivery process.
They Manage Growth
An experienced final-mile delivery partner knows how to effectively manage and scale as your business expands. Including, how to easily integrate into your current routed delivery operations and how to help you optimize quickly. As your company grows and continues to evolve, connect with a partner that not only has the capacity to handle this increase, but also offers the knowledge needed to adjust your delivery strategy swiftly and efficiently as your needs change.
Get Started with a Routed Delivery Partner
If you own a retail company, you know that having a secure routed delivery strategy can help you elevate your delivery process, operations, and customer service. And you can easily advance your program even further by working with a third-party delivery partner—optimize and simplify your current routed delivery operation in ways that will help you drastically improve or supplement your current delivery service, speed up delivery times, and skyrocket customer satisfaction.
Jay Sackos is an experienced supply chain sales professional dedicated to exchanging value through creative, client-centric solutions. Jay is a natural leader who empowers teammates through clear communication and collaborative objective setting while fostering accountability.
