There are some areas of business that are made for each other. Agriculture and hospitality is a great example, where food goes from the farm to diners’ plates. Delivery companies and ecommerce are another natural fit, but their alliance is a more recent phenomenon. The explosion in demand experienced by online stores has provided couriers with a lot of business.
It is estimated that, by 2020, global online retail sales will top $4 trillion. Annual growth has consistently remained above 10% in recent years, fuelled by online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, as well as many retailers with their own ecommerce operations. The future for ecommerce on its own certainly looks bright, but what about courier firms?
Rescue Packages
The connection between ecommerce and delivery is that all of the packages ordered online need to be shipped between warehouses and customers’ homes. This is where delivery firms have enjoyed some success. With other delivery services such as postage seemingly in decline, ecommerce has come to the rescue, giving many companies a new lease of life.
Many of the biggest companies now have bespoke business delivery services, targeting companies who have their own online stores. Whistl have a business delivery service for companies large and small. Services like these are likely to flourish in years to come, thanks to an increasing appetite for online shopping and developments in delivery technology.
Some of the technology behind many Brisbane courier firms has kept pace with the growth of ecommerce and, in some instances, even surpassed it. The extensive use of GPS technology is a prime example – when paired with delivery addresses, it enables drivers to map out the fastest route from warehouse to front door in a matter of seconds.
Continued Development
One of the newest innovations in the delivery sector is the use of drones for smaller packages. One retailer is looking at housing thousands of them in beehive-like hubs. This technology is still to be perfected, but as more businesses are looking at drones and other futuristic means of delivery, some exciting developments seem to be on the horizon.
The overall picture for courier firms and ecommerce is really bright. Soaring demand for online retail has supplied delivery specialists with plenty of work and will continue to do so if current trends prevail. Meanwhile, both sectors’ tendency for constant technological evolution suggests that if any challenges lie ahead, they will be well-placed to deal with them.