With the sale of goods becoming revolutionised by online retailing, the delivery services that support the industry have had to develop and become more customer focused. Internet retail now allows consumer to not only shop from online retailers in their own Country but to buy goods from any number of international destinations. Sales platforms such as eBay have enabled local sellers to now offer their products to international consumers, given the consumers more choice than ever and retailers a larger market place than ever before.
Even Countries customs departments are entering new legislation that enables higher values of goods to be imported by private individuals without incurring import duty, such as the USA. Which in 2016 raised the personal import level of goods to 1,200 US$ without the individual incurring any import duty for European shipments. So if you are a follower of Italian fashion, you can now buy direct and have an Italian fashion retailer send a parcel to USA and have it delivered with 24 hours by an International courier service like FedEx.
To enable this is happen new technology is being used by courier services. Bookings are only being accepted through online portals, this enables the collections to be actioned in real time to drivers, or if another collection date is requested they can be route planned to minimise fuel and costs. Each parcel is now given a bar code that is scanned by each point of movement in the delivery journey. This process starts with the collection driver, depot, airport, customs clearance and delivery driver until the receiver signs for the goods. This information is available in real time to both customer service staff and both the sender and receiver through an online tracking portal.
The delivery route is also route planned once the goods are scheduled to arrive at the delivery depot, to estimate the delivery time, and plan the driver’s delivery route. To raise the amount of first time deliveries that are achieved, estimated delivery times are advised to receivers by email and text to allow them to arrange or a receiver to be at the delivery address when the delivery is attempted. Along with the text or email, is rescheduling options that enable the receiver to select and alternative date or leave instructions for the driver as to where to leave the delivery. This information is used real time to amend drivers’ routes, increase first time successful delivery attempts and minimise fuel costs.
The advances in technology within the courier industry are rapidly improving the customer experience, and will no doubt continue to improve as demand continues to grow.