Like everything at the moment, the modern courier is changing as a result of technological growth; both accessibility and general enhancements wise. When people hear the words ‘new technology’ the focus of their attention is fixated on how they can use this new innovation rather than be concerned with the accessibility of new technology.
Delivery Estimates
Year on year, delivery times are shrinking to the extent that in 2018 we could see our first instant courier delivery? Like something out of Star Trek where the parcel is beamed into the office upon purchase. Although that is in jest the point remains the same – how far can a logistics company push their couriers. With a shorter delivery time comes a higher risk of an angry, impatient customer which no one wants, especially the messenger as they’re often in the firing line. Amazon rolled out their new campaign in 2015 of providing delivery within the hour on certain goods (within select areas).
Cycle Couriers
At Abetta, we try to use more and more cycle couriers for our deliveries. With increasing congestion times and the impact on the environment, using a cycle courier can product better results in some scenario than a car/van. With better quality bicycles as well cycle couriers can navigate cities faster and be less fatigued by their journeys. It makes sense to use them if they can do the job for short-distance deliveries within the same time with no impact on the environment.
GPS Tracking
Along with more precise delivery times, it is now becoming significantly easier to track your courier in real time to see how far into his journey he is. It almost has a feel of looking out for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve to see if he’s coming down your road yet. A good example of this is Google and Google Maps. Rather than using SATNAV I can turn on my google maps app and that tracks where I’ve been, my destination, accidents ahead, what roads are closed and shows me alternate routes before I even need to change and this is just consumer technology too!
2015 has been a huge year for drone technology with Amazon announcing their master plan to harness the power of the drone for their deliveries. This would not only revolutionise the industry from a ‘man hours’ point of view, but would mean that deliveries would soon be accessible where they weren’t before – late night deliveries would become more common as would weekend deliveries. You can check out our previous blog on drone delivery if you’d like to read more.
At Abetta we’re always looking for an opportunity to embrace technology – think you’ve found something we’ve missed? Perhaps you’re interested in our courier services in which case give us a call on 020 7870 3444 or if you don’t like the sound of our voice, you can book one of our couriers online and track the delivery.
