With delivery expectations rising, businesses need cost-effective ways to increase speed and performance in the final mile. Third party delivery services can be a fast and efficient way to improve operations and meet these rising expectations.
However, delivery service providers vary in quality and capability. Here are five important factors to consider when evaluating delivery providers.
1. Delivery services
It may seem obvious, but it’s important to start by assessing your delivery needs. In addition, you’ll want to carefully identify providers that can meet current and future customer expectations.
Here are some of the most common services offered by today’s leading final mile carriers:
- Omnichannel fulfillment
- Multiple service levels (e.g. first threshold to white glove)
- On-demand delivery
- Reverse logistics
- Batching and routing
- Customer support
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2. Delivery options
It may be crucial for some businesses to provide same-day delivery. For others, flexible scheduling and high on-time delivery rates are most important. Sometimes, it’s all of the above.
Consider what delivery options you have today, what your customers want and what you need to gain a competitive advantage. Ultimately, you need a delivery provider that can meet your business needs with cost-effective and reliable service.
Partnering with an on-demand delivery provider is one of the fastest and most effective ways to accomplish this. With service levels ranging from same-day to scheduled delivery, on-demand carriers can help you increase delivery speeds while shortening delivery windows for your customers.
3. Delivery performance
- On-time delivery rate
- Net Promoter Score (NPS) or customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
- Reschedule rate
- Claims rate
- Driver availability rate
Evaluating third-party delivery services?
4. Robust technology
To increase efficiency and automate manual logistics tasks, you need a tech-enabled delivery service provider. The leading providers offer powerful technology platforms and flexible integration options so you can decide what works best for your business.
Technology is fundamental for many third party delivery services, but the capabilities and functionality vary drastically across the industry. Here a few questions to ask when evaluating technology platforms:
- Is the technology proprietary?
- Can the technology be configured to meet our unique business needs?
- Do you provide real-time delivery tracking and live dashboards?
- How are you leveraging AI?
5. Flexible integrations
Integration is often one of the most important factors businesses need to consider in order to increase delivery efficiency and reliability. The right integrations allow you to automate more processes, reduce costs and uncover deeper insights.
Here are a few of the most popular integration methods:
- API
- EDI
- Web portal
When it comes to integration, flexibility is key. For instance, APIs offer tremendous upside, however, sometimes existing systems or IT backlogs prevent this level of integration. To ensure your program isn’t constrained by integration requirements, look for a delivery partner that offers multiple integration methods. The right provider is willing to meet your business where it is and help you get where you want to go.
Conclusion
There are a number of strong third party delivery services in the market today. Partnering with the right provider can be a big step in the right direction when trying to meet ever-increasing consumer expectations. Understand your program needs, ask the right questions and find a provider that’s committed to your business.
If you’re ready to take your program to the next level, connect with us to explore how Bungii is helping shippers make the final mile faster, smarter and more cost-effective.
