What to Demand from Your Delivery Partner: A Comprehensive Guide for Retailers

About this whitepaper

According to the World Economic Forum, e-commerce deliveries rose by 25% during the pandemic. Over the past few years, retailers have invested increasingly in last-mile delivery networks. As a result, consumers have become more demanding: they want more control, flexibility and convenience. Today’s consumers can choose among faster and more convenient delivery options, which raises the bar for all retailers trying to meet their customer expectations. If you want to continue to fulfill your customer’s needs as a retailer, you need to have a reliable delivery network. In this whitepaper we will highlight all the factors that you can demand from your delivery partner.

First ask yourself: what do my customers expect?

Over 91% of consumers look for the available delivery options before reaching the check out. What’s even more interesting is that 68% of millennials choose a webshop solely because of its delivery options. In addition, 46% of basket abandonment is caused by limited shopping options. These numbers clearly show that the type of delivery options that your customers can choose from, have a big impact on the customer experience and satisfaction. While last-mile delivery options are growing and providers multiplying, can you say for sure you are making use of all delivery service options that are available on the market and you are not conceding on your customer satisfaction? In order to help you navigate these requirements, we have made a list on…

…what can you demand of your delivery partner:

1. Sustainable delivery

2. Improved Customer Experience
   Express delivery vs Same day delivery vs Same-evening delivery
   Track and trace options
   Delivery periods
   Option to change address
   Delivery success rate

3. Ability to quickly scale internationally

4. Client support

5. White labelled delivery

6. Fair delivery

Sustainable Delivery

According to a recent global study by Ipsos, 72% of individuals across 30 countries believe that they will be failing future generations if they do not take personal action to combat climate change. As a result, end-customers are increasingly demanding to have the option to choose a sustainable option for their product or service.

Today a 100% CO2 neutral and climate positive delivery is easily at hand for retailers and brands.

There are quite a few delivery service providers that have a sustainable delivery option, such as bicycle couriers and electric vehicles. However, there are delivery partners that only partially deploy carbon neutral vehicles and still use polluting vehicles for local deliveries. This is why you should always inquire about what type of vehicles are used in your delivery partner’s fleet if you want to be sure about the end-to-end sustainability of your supply chain.

This is why you should always inquire about what type of vehicles are used in your delivery partner’s fleet if you want to be sure about the end-to-end sustainability of your supply chain.

Improved customer experience

From the retailers perspective, nowadays there are actually a lot of delivery options available, for example, express delivery, same-day delivery and next-day delivery. Besides that, it is also possible to choose between ship-from-store or ship-from-hub. When looking for a delivery partner it is important to take all of these options into account. As a retailer you want to be in control of the last-mile delivery experience, since the last kilometers towards the customer’s front door are crucial. This is why we have made a useful checklist for you that helps you choose the best delivery options, so you can improve your customer experience:

Check the delivery options

Did you know that 68% of eCommerce buyers expect the delivery at their doorstep while 25% are willing to pay extra for same-day delivery? Offering a wide range of delivery options to your customers becomes increasingly important.

As a retailer you can consider the following options:

Same-day delivery

The demand for same-day delivery is increasing, especially same-evening deliveries: 38% of consumers in the Dutch market prefer to receive their package in the evening.

Express delivery

With express delivery you can offer your customers a premium delivery service where their order is delivered within 1 or 2 hours.

Next-day delivery

For those customers who have busy schedules, next day delivery is the perfect service to provide as it means customers are not continuously waiting for their parcels. By offering next day delivery you are ensuring customers can get on with more important jobs by not waiting around for their parcels.

Track & Trace options

Knowing exactly when their package will arrive is often more important to consumers than the total time of the delivery process. This is why it is important to check the track and trace options (both real time and with sms) of your delivery partner.

Delivery periods

Always check the delivery periods when choosing a delivery partner. The time frames in which delivery partners deliver orders differs. So make sure to choose a delivery partner that offers a time frame that is most beneficial to your customers and business.

Option to change address

Your customer wanted to quickly order something and have it delivered the same day, but in his haste he accidentally filled in the wrong address. Usually, the customer would have to contact the retailer. However, today’s delivery services can offer the functionality to change the address before the delivery in a few clicks.

Delivery success rate

Some delivery networks only offer one delivery attempt, while others offer multiple attempts. Customers want their packages to be delivered at their doorstep, so as a retailer it is important to consider the option to offer multiple delivery attempts.

In addition, always check the delivery success rate (also known as delivery rate percentage) of your delivery partner. In retail, first attempt delivery success can reduce costs involved in executing multiple deliveries (for the same order), storage of packages and management of personnel.

Ability to quickly scale internationally

If your plan is to scale internationally, or maybe you already have a product that covers sales in multiple markets, then it is important to look at what markets are covered by your delivery network. This will save you time when setting up your last-mile delivery operations each time you scale internationally.

Client support

“My package was not delivered” or “The package was sent to the wrong address.” You have probably heard either one of these quotes before. However it is not something you want to hear from your customers very often and rather not at all. Retailers sometimes choose to manage client support inhouse to be able to guarantee the quality level of client support. However externalising it to your delivery network is not only possible, it saves time, and can often guarantee even a higher bar of client support and satisfaction.

White labelled delivery

Several delivery networks offer tailor-made designs for electric vehicles, delivery bags and bicycle stickers. By personalizing your delivery through white-labelling retailers can increase brand awareness and trustworthiness.

Fair delivery

Lastly, if your company is committed to fair and collective growth, it is important to take into account how your delivery partner is performing on assuring proper working conditions of the delivery couriers. Low prices often come at the expense of reimbursements for couriers.