Someone at home with parcel delivery? Even more important during the corona crisis
Every year, the share of online purchases in our country is still growing considerably. And during the corona crisis, the Dutch are buying even more online. Not only more, but also larger parcels are delivered to their homes. The rapidly growing e-commerce market puts enormous pressure on the transport sector. Because of more and larger parcels, the busses of the parcel delivery companies become overcrowded and at the same time they can deliver fewer parcels. The importance of having someone at home to accept the parcel has therefore increased even more within a few months. Especially for ‘The Last Mile’. SMS messages help to complete that growing number of orders quickly and successfully. This saves a lot of costs (and irritation).
You hear it more and more often, the term ‘Last Mile Delivery’ or ‘The Last Mile’. This stands for the last part of the route a package goes through to deliver it to the consumer’s home. An important final phase in the entire supply chain. Not only because in this last stage it comes down to whether the order reaches the customer well and on time. Also because this part is the most expensive of the entire delivery process. It is estimated that the costs for ‘The Last Mile’ sometimes even amount to almost 1/3 of the total transport costs.
Pressure on the delivery and transport sector is increasing
If people are not at home when a parcel is delivered, this causes a lot of inconvenience and extra costs. Parcels are delivered to neighbors or a pick-up point. Or the delivery man has to come back again to deliver the parcel. Either way, not being at home costs money and is not efficient and customer friendly. Now that even more online purchases are being made because of the corona crisis, the costs become even higher. Because the size of the packages is also increasing. People order furniture, large toys (trampolines) and do-it-yourself articles massively via the internet. As a result, a parcel deliverer can transport fewer parcels in his bus. More buses will have to be used, which will increase costs. If the customer is not at home, this puts extra pressure on the delivery chain.
Reduce costs with SMS service
Transport companies are constantly looking for ways to improve the delivery process and reduce costs. One of those possibilities is as simple as it is effective: informing the customer by means of SMS messages. The use of SMS reduces the number of ‘no shows’ at the front door and increases customer satisfaction. For example, you can send an SMS message indicating a time lock of the delivery of the package. Or send an SMS with a link to the tracking information. And what about transport updates? This keeps customers informed about the exact location of the package and the expected delivery time.
SMS: indispensable in logistics
Spryng sees that the necessity and popularity of SMS services in the transport and logistics sector is still increasing. Especially at the time of covid-19 where many more people make online purchases. This is a good development, because sending SMS makes The Last Mile more cost-efficient for transport companies and offers consumers extra convenience and service.
Because even though a lot of people work from home and the chance of the door being opened is greater than before corona, sending an SMS is still a must for customer loyalty and cost savings. Especially now that the pressure on delivery services is increasing. Because even if, as a homeworker, you receive an SMS about the delivery of your parcel, you know where you stand and you feel less disturbed in your work. It’s nice, isn’t it?
One simple SMS API also interesting for you?
SMS service has become a fast and professional means of communication in the logistics process. Are you also interested in sending service messages by SMS to your customers? Test the SMS Gateway of Spryng free of charge and without obligation. Call us on (020) 770 3005 or send an e-mail to info@spryng.nl.
