8 Ways Scheduled Delivery Can Benefit Your Business

Curious about how you can benefit your business just by delivering goods?

Businesses have tons of options when it comes to delivering their specific products to customers. With the rise of many digital platforms, delivery is now becoming headache-free and hands-off for a number of companies.

As a business owner, you may have looked into scheduled delivery as an option for getting products to your buyers. Scheduled delivery can actually do a lot for your business beyond just getting goods to customers in a timely fashion.

Read on to learn more about how scheduling your product deliveries can positively impact your business.

1. Maximize Customer Satisfaction

Giving your customers the option of selecting a scheduled delivery for the goods they're purchasing means that they get to choose a set time and date for those goods to show up on their doorstep.

You, of course, get to decide what those times and dates are based on warehousing capabilities and shipping areas. However, most scheduled delivery times are fast, convenient, and work with each customer's given schedule.

With scheduled deliveries, your customers don't have to wait around hoping their package will show up sometime soon. They also don't have to constantly track their package in hopes that it will arrive when they want it.

Your customers will know exactly when they are receiving what they paid for. As a result, your company's customer satisfaction rates are likely to increase. Who doesn't like timely deliveries?

2. Transfer Goods in A Secure Manner

Transporting products in a secure manner is important for your reputation as a business and provider of goods.

Scheduled deliveries rely on professional carriers to take charge of your shipping and get your packages to the right doorsteps when your customers want them. These carriers, like A1Express Courier, use highly secure means of shipping so that packages arrive in pristine condition.

Carriers will sometimes require signatures from recipients upon package arrival to ensure secure shipping. They also will stay on top of shipping confirmations so that packages have a guaranteed arrival time and date.

3. Save Time and Money

Shipping products can take a lot of time and money, especially if you operate a small business or a startup. In fact, many big businesses routinely lose money on shipping costs.

As shipping costs get more and more expensive, and as e-commerce gets more popular, businesses are constantly looking for ways to cut costs and time spent waiting in line at the post office.

Scheduled delivery services can do just that. You'll save money on packaging and shipping costs by hiring a professional courier to ship goods on the right time and schedule.

Because you are hiring a delivery service, you don't have to waste time putting packages together and sending them off. You can direct your valuable attention elsewhere.

4. Influence Purchase Decisions

When you give your customers the option of scheduled deliveries, you will have to let online shoppers know their deadlines for making a purchase in order to guarantee a delivery by a certain time.

By telling customers that they only have two hours to make a decision if they want to get something by the next day, you can subtly influence purchases. Customers may be more likely to follow through on a purchase if they know they have a deadline.

5. Find Another Marketing Solution

Scheduled deliveries offer a convenient and fast option to customers for shipping. As a result, you can use this option as a form of marketing.

You can advertise the fact that you offer scheduled deliveries in your promotional materials. This is similar to some companies advertising free shipping on certain orders or during certain windows.

Customers continue to be lured by shipping offers, especially during the holiday season.

6. Stay Competitive

Many online shoppers seek out ways to save money on shipping or get goods delivered to their doorstep on their schedule. Businesses can stay competitive simply by giving their customers the option of scheduled delivery.

You can keep ahead of your competitors simply by hiring a professional courier to take care of your shipping needs and schedule out deliveries as requested.

7. Streamline the Shipping Process

Scheduled deliveries are routine, guaranteed, and easy. You'll know exactly when goods are being sent out and when they are set to arrive in a postal box or on a doorstep.

You'll be able to establish pick up times by phone, email, or app. You'll get price quotes immediately as well as email notifications of pickup and delivery.

When you hire a professional courier, you choose an efficient and streamlined shipping process. You'll be able to track the path of any package with confidence. You will also have the luxury of clear communication throughout the entire process.

Organizing shipping needs and costs with your company maximizes your business's overall efficiency.

8. Have Options

It's important to have lots of shipping options at the ready as a business owner.

Scheduled delivery gives you the options of refrigerated deliveries, warehousing, air freight, same-day, rush, and home deliveries. No matter what you choose, you'll have licensed and professional couriers taking care of it.

You get to decide what your customers need. Professional couriers will give you the means to do this.

How Scheduled Delivery Can Benefit Your Business

Delivery is an important factor of customer experience. It can make or break your customer base, lead to increased profit margins, and even help you expand as a business.

When determining delivery options for your customers, it's important to choose an option that will benefit you the most as a business owner. Scheduled delivery is at the top of the list for options that can make your life easier and make your customers consistently happy.

Scheduling deliveries helps save time and money, streamlines the shipping process, and guarantees the secure transfer of goods. It can influence purchasing decisions and improve customer satisfaction, leading to a larger customer base and increased profit margins.

At ASAP Courier, we understand the benefits that scheduled delivery can bring to your business. We provide professional courier service that includes warehousing, rush and on-demand, air freight, refrigerated delivery, and more. Our expert service has been giving peace of mind to businesses since day one.

Contact us today to get a free quote or learn more about how you can harness the power of delivery to jumpstart your business!

How Can Final Mile Delivery Benefit Your Business?

How Can Final Mile Delivery Benefit Your Business?

Once a product leaves the final shipping station and leaves for delivery to the customer, it's known as the last mile.

This phase in the process is when the customer sees the dreaded "on the way to your location" message. Your delivery is now in purgatory, an untrackable land that both exists and doesn't.

There is a better way to handle Schrodinger's parcel.

Final mile delivery takes the guesswork out of the process.

What is this delivery service and how can it help your business? We're glad you asked.

What Is Final Mile Delivery

Instead of waiting for your delivery, it gets picked up directly from the shipping station. The service allows you to skip the last part of the delivery process.

The delivery arrives at your home or office, taken to the room you want it, gets unpacked, and in some cases, set up. The best part is the cleanup of all the packing materials!

What Are the Benefits?

Predictability

You shouldn't have to guess when a delivery will arrive at the office. With final mile delivery, you can get on with your day.

The idea is simple: since someone is picking it up and delivering it straight to you, you'll have an idea of the exact time it's coming. If you need it early in the day, that's when you'll get it.

If the delivery is for a customer, this benefit is crucial. Customers expect to have an accurate pickup time.

Financial Savings

The least effective and highest costing step in the delivery process is the final mile.

Getting the delivery from the distribution center and warehouse to a business increases costs. Fuel, labor, and storage costs are a part of your bill; the longer the delivery process, the more you pay!

Final mile delivery solves this problem by cutting out part of the process. Delivery specialists can pick up deliveries at the location that provides you the most savings and get you your product faster.

Item Protection

Mistakes happen. The more times your delivery moves from one person or place to another, the chances of mistakes increase.

Final mile delivery cuts out many of the steps, eliminating much of the risk.

Think about this: UPS and other delivery drivers are always under pressure. Their company monitors their every move, trying to determine how they can edge seconds off of delivery times.

Drivers know that they have around 150 deliveries or more each day. If they work a twelve-hour shift, that's 12.5 minutes per delivery including drive time!

Do you want your cargo to be in the hands of a driver that can't stop to breathe for five minutes? This system lends itself to errors and accidents.

Final mile delivery doesn't have this problem. Delivery specialists can focus on your package, ensuring its safe arrival.

Real-Time Tracking

If you track a delivery from most companies, you'll get a generic message such as "arrived in Memphis" on your screen. This information is a small fraction of what you need to know.

When is the package expected to leave? Are there any weather or equipment delays? Many customers don't realize that it's up to them to notice lost deliveries!

These are problems that final mile delivery answers with real-time tracking. Your time is too valuable for you to sit around and guess when something will show up.

Convenience

When you get a delivery, the best case scenario is that the package makes it inside of your business. Worst case, it's left outside for you or someone else to bring in.

If the delivery is breakable or sensitive in nature, this is an obvious problem. It increases the chance that something will break because another person is handling it. Sensitive materials run the risk of theft or misplacement.

Once the delivery is inside, there's still the problem of setting it up. This step requires more time most businesses don't have.

Final mile delivery is a holistic approach to delivery. Not only is the delivery made, but the items are set up in your business.

Retail companies get their delivery and have displays up right away, increasing their customer's exposure to the items.

Companies save money and their sales increase. It's a win-win for everybody.

The Service Is Always Evolving

Delivery logistics offer special challenges for small businesses. Large corporations often manage the flow of their products from one distribution center to the next.

For a majority of businesses, this level of control is not possible. These companies are reliant upon pre-existing distribution routes that set their own pricing.

Final mile delivery continues to take steps to solve these problems. Many services are now using delivery lockers that hold products for customers to pick up at a location of their choice.

Drones and other new delivery methods are being implemented as well, increasing the speed of service. This revolution will increase the speed of small package deliveries from a day to a few hours.

The service is also creating extra streams of income for truckers and other delivery personnel. These workers perform the delivery and set up. They enjoy working without many of the cumbersome regulations traditional delivery services face.

With better technology, the service will get cheaper than it is today. Small businesses will see increased ability to manage their costs and compete with the big-box retailers that plague them.

Deliveries within an urban area are of particular interest. Parking and the close proximity of businesses make delivering goods challenging. Many of these improvements improve service and productivity in these areas.

We Have the Answers to Your Logistics Problems

Customer's demands increase every year. They expect their product to arrive on time and in perfect condition. Meeting this demand keeps them coming back for more and relies upon your deliveries running smoothly.

If you rely on deliveries to keep your business running, we have the perfect solution for your needs.

From final mile delivery to rush courier and on-demand services, we offer services designed with your business in mind. We've spent the last 70 years helping companies with their shipping needs.

Get a free quote on final mile services and start saving money and time today!

Amazon and Alibaba Compete for Dominance in Southeast Asia

Amazon is exemplifying its dominance in several areas worldwide, and now has its sights set on Southeast Asia. However, China's leading e-retailer Alibaba is robust as well in its online retail, facing off with Amazon and ready to compete.

Via Bloomberg News, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Amazon.com Inc. are about to clash in Southeast Asia Internet Retailer says. Lazada Group SA, which Alibaba bought this year for $1 billion, is Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce site and is rolling out several initiatives anticipating the arrival of Amazon next year. It will also be expanding its delivery network within the region and beyond, via partners in China and Korea.

Southeast Asia has become a prime location for online retail. The article mentioned that although it lacks the transport and payments infrastructure crucial for adopting e-commerce, the area has become the world’s fastest-growing internet arena, with a combined populace of 620 million people becoming more comfortable with online shopping. “It’s a jungle out here,” Lazada CEO Maximilian Bittner said. He went on to say, “We are looking forward to seeing how they will differentiate themselves.”

“Both of them will want to dominate Southeast Asia,” said Thompson Teo, an associate professor at NUS Business School. “Alibaba has acquired companies to shorten the learning curve and grow faster. It’s going to give Amazon a good fight.” It isn't known as of yet what Amazon will be implementing there, but some predict Amazon Prime delivery service and Amazon Fresh to Singapore in the first quarter, which involves Same-Day Delivery in a big city. Then, Amazon will springboard into the rest of the region. “Grocery is seen as notoriously difficult one to do online, but it’s the largest market representing 60% of overall Southeast Asian retail,” Egan said. “Customers are much more engaged. They visit twice a week so the frequency allows you to develop a deep relationship with customers.”

Amazon already dominates the US with its current same-day delivery option--Amazon Prime. Prime members have it as a free service in a total of 27 major US cities. These cities include San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, Boston, New York, Chicago, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Washington DC, Nashville, Raleigh, Richmond, Tucson, Orlando, Tampa, and Atlanta. Amazon has free same-day delivery in Toronto and Vancouver as well. The inevitable is that Amazon will be using drones in every major city nationwide as well. Now, the retail giant is headed for Southeast Asia.

With both e-retailers having same-day delivery in common, it is certain that other retailers will need to jump on board in order to thrive in the coming years. One way to do that is to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to increase salves online, as more and more shoppers enjoy the convenience of being able to make online purchases from wherever they are. Brick-and-mortar stores can't depend solely on traffic in a growing world of e-commerce. A New Jersey Courier that can provide same-day services nationwide is the direction to go in.

Reference: 12.14.16, www.internetretailer.com, Bloomberg News, Amazon and Alibaba’s Lazada prepare to face off in Southeast Asia

Neiman Marcus Has Quarter Loses Due to Distribution Challenges

When a luxury retail department store leader like Neiman Marcus makes tech adjustments in its' distribution system, it is clear that traditional warehousing is not what will succeed any longer. Distribution has moved to a more sophisticated approach to managing inventory and shipping, especially when faced with robust Amazon. The e-retail giant has mastered distribution and used Same-Day Delivery to revolutionize how we ship.

Yet, Neiman Marcus recent announcement shows that the retailer has some improvements to be made. Internet Retailer discussed in an article how thre retailers has had first fiscal quarter losses for 2017 due to the distribution problems that it is facing. Neiman Marcus had challenges implementing a new cross-channel merchandising system, which costs Neiman Marcus up to $35 million during its fiscal first quarter. This impacts sales revenue from the holiday season. Neiman Marcus reported online sales accounted for 29.2% of overall sales in the first quarter, which ended October 29th, at $315.1 million. This number is slightly down from $315.7 million from the previous year.

Neiman Marcus stated, “These issues primarily related to the processing of inventory receipts at our distribution centers, the transfers of inventories to our stores and the presentation of inventories on our websites. These issues prevented us from fulfilling certain customer demand in both our stores and websites that we estimate resulted in approximately $30 to $35 million of unrealized revenue.” Efficient distribution matters not only for physical stores, but also with online business. Without having the product in stores, it can effect sales, and without correct inventory to fulfill online orders, it effects on-time shipping. This then creates the inability to keep up with demand on both fronts.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Neiman Marcus revealed problems that related to the implementation of NMG One, its new cross-channel merchandising and distribution system. It resulted in a negative impact on online and offline sales. More specific numbers mentioned in the report were Neiman Marcus' earnings, which included:

• A year-over-year total comparable sales decline of 8.0%, compared to a 5.6% decline last year.
• Net revenue of $1.079 billion, down 7.4% from $1.165 billion.
• A net loss of $23.5 million, compared to a net loss of $10.5 million.

One way to improve omnichannels to facilitate online and offline sales is same-day delivery, which is what companies like Best Buy, PetSmart, Toys-R-Us, and others are doing. One prime example is Macy's, which uses its' physical store locations as close proximity warehousing and get product to shoppers fast. Macy's offers same-day delivery in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Chicago, New Jersey, Washington DC, and more. With over 880 store locations, Macy's can fulfill online orders on a national scale, alleviating some of the pressure on its' distribution centers.

Neiman Marcus can do likewise, partnering with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to develop a same-day solution to move inventory between stores, as well as fulfill online orders to customers. The Orlando Courier also has a nationwide footprint and can handle the volume Neiman Marcus needs. Like Macy's and Amazon, Neiman Marcus can generate sales growth with same-day delivery, turning more inventory and order fulfillment to their stores.

Reference: 12.15.16, www.internetretailer, Matt Lindern, Distribution problems cost Neiman Marcus during its first quarter

Amazon's Prime Air Same-Day Delivery Via Drone Is Done

There isn't a retailer in the country that is in front of Amazon, especially with its' latest announcement of its first successful drone flight for Same-Day Delivery. It isn't something that CEO Jeff Bezos just had for an idea in 2013. It is now a reality.

Fox News has reported that Amazon has officially launched its' Amazon Prime Air via drone in Cambridge, England. This first drone delivery was actually performed on December 7th last week. The drone completed the delivery in a matter of 13 minutes, which even Amazon mentioned in the article that none of them will take no more than 30 minutes. For this level of fast delivery, drone use can revolutionize the way same-day services are used to expand online retail globally.

The article stated that the drone delivered an Amazon Fire TV and some popcorn, which weighed less than 5 pounds. Guided by GPS, the drone is unmanned and able to be loaded with the purchased items, then flies direct to its destination. Amazon's drone flew no higher than 400 feet, as well as drones have to occupy separate air spaces to avoid planes. When Amazon first began to test drone use, there were several FAA regulations Amazon had to contend with, but Amazon Prime Air is proving to be able to literally take off.

Amazon does only have a few customers in the UK that is privy to using drones. However, the e-retail giant has hopes to expand it to a larger demographic. The article also mentioned how Amazon is careful not to use the drones in rain, snow, ice, or other types of inclement weather. The weather can definitely impede drones flight patterns, and most importantly, harm the drones themselves.

"One day, seeing Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road," Amazon says. This means that we could potentially find drones flying in various parts of the country at one time making deliveries. Shoppers will be able to have their online items delivered right to their front door within 30 minutes. Drone delivery will be satisfying for the customers, however, it may have an adverse affect mall traffic and other physical store retailers without a heavy focus on e-commerce.

Until Prime Air expands, even into using them in the US, Amazon will continue to utilize its' current same-day delivery option--Amazon Prime. The fast delivery service is working, not to mention Prime members have it as a free service in a total of 27 major US cities. These cities include San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, Dallas-Fort Worth, Boston, New York, Chicago, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Washington DC, Nashville, Raleigh, Richmond, Tucson, Orlando, Tampa, and Atlanta. Amazon has free same-day delivery in Toronto and Vancouver as well. The inevitable is that Amazon will be using drones in every major city nationwide.

There is no telling where drone delivery is going to catapult e-commerce to. What retailers can currently do to compete is to partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to shift their e-commerce into more of a core competency to generate sales. The Boston Courier has the courier expertise to create the level of same-day logistics needed to attractive customers and compete online, especially as Amazon continues to spearhead e-commerce innovation.

Reference: 12.14.16, Fox News, Lulu Chang, From high-flying dream to reality: Amazon fulfills its first order using a drone