With delivery drivers so central to the overall customer experience ensuring you are using the right drivers, with the right attitude, to deliver your brand to your customers is vital.
There is no doubt that it’s an industry that is under intense pressure to deliver. Carriers and retailers are investing more than ever therefore into the driver experience knowing that such staff are front-line ambassadors for the brands they represent. Ensuring they are happy in their jobs is vital.
So the news this week that DPD aims to set a new benchmark in pay and conditions for its drivers is interesting. The company hopes that by setting a new minimum standard of the Real Living Wage, combined with the driver’s choice of three employment options, its drivers will earn more and have greater control over what they want to do. It will certainly be interesting to see if others follow suit.
One of the biggest pressures such drivers face is getting on-time delivery right – since it’s the measure that retailers and customers alike are obsessed by. The latest results from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index show that in March snow once again hampered on-time delivery. However it’s believed the trend may also be a reflection of the growth of next-day delivery services over recent years.
Hoping to get its delivery right is Made.com. The furniture retailer has awarded a three-year contract to iForce for a range of fulfilment services.
Our opinion piece this week comes from Rijk van Meekeren, CCO at B2C Europe, who looks at failed delivery attempts and the role that social delivery has in combating the problem.
In retail the subscription model is proving particularly popular across everything from ordering replacement products to delivery. The subscription box model is also proving increasingly attractive, particularly in the treat me sector, with growing interest in everything from food and drink to beauty according to a new report from Hitwise.
Another report out this week, this time from the Freight Transport Association, suggests that the logistics market faces an uncertain year, thanks to inflationary pressures and the uncertainty of Brexit.
And finally we have the launch of Proship – a shipping software solution from Neopost Shipping, the logistics software and supply chain solutions division of Neopost.
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