The silver bullets of effective delivery

Failing to meet shoppers’ delivery expectations loses you business – it’s as simple as that.

Eighty-five percent – that’s right, 85% – of people surveyed in EU countries say they will not return to a retailer if the delivery process is not up to scratch.

Gone are the days when competitive prices and a wide variety of products are enough – if your delivery game isn’t on point, don’t even bother playing.

Those businesses that are not only playing but winning this game are those that ace their digital transformation strategies.

There are a number of key factors that make these retailers successful.

For starters, they strive for operational excellence when it comes to deliveries. They optimise their route strategies, ensuring that drivers get to customers quickly and without incident.

For another thing, they are sticklers for offering shoppers choices.

Home deliveries are still very popular, but particularly younger generations are now more concerned about the environmental impact of internal combustion engines and the carbon footprint left by delivery vehicles. Accordingly, they may prefer models like Click & Collect, where products are ordered online and then collected from a Pickup Point.

South Africa’s Click & Collect specialist Pargo is seeing more and more people opting for this delivery solution as the climate change message hits home.

Successful retailers also maximise their use of data analytics to offer repeat customers preferred delivery time slots and other conveniences. If done correctly, this will lead to greater brand loyalty.

Finally, effective fleet management strategies are a must. Being able to co-ordinate the fleet in such a way as to meet delivery targets, even during a holiday buying spree, has become an all-important retail skill.