Over the past decade, technology has improved almost every aspect of our everyday lives. This has certainly applied to the logistics and courier industry, where improving technologies have certainly revolutionised the industry, providing more service options, increasing customer flexibility and bringing the courier industry to the cutting edge. In this post, we take a look at how technology is improving courier delivery services.
New Delivery Methods Lead to Faster Deliveries
Improvements in technology mean that shipments can be made faster than ever before. Whereas parcel delivery used to only provide limited options for businesses, most courier services, such as Parcels Please now have multiple options to suit budgets and timescales. Services offered by most courier companies now include (but are not exclusive to):
- Overnight
- Next day
- Tracked
- Express
- Worldwide
- Special Delivery
- Heavy parcel delivery
- Freight services
- Long parcel delivery
This means that now, each business can choose a delivery option that suits their needs, thus speeding up the process. Additionally, technology doesn’t only speed up deliveries, but it also helps boost customer satisfaction.
The adaptation of next day and express services also allows for the introduction of parcel-tracking technology, so a customer can be aware of exactly where their deliver is at every given moment. This then makes delivery windows more accurate, making the whole process far more convenient for all involved.
This, in turn, leads to more businesses using courier services, which results in even more technological investments. Nowadays, it’s far more cost effective for SMEs to use a courier than employ their own in house delivery driver. These technological changes also make it cheaper and more reliable than ever before.
What’s the Future of Courier Services?
This continued investment in the courier industry means that more money is being invested in technology to further improve services. For example, some companies are now even trialling drone technology. However, realistically, this is at least a decade away.
In the meantime, look out for other service improvements, such as integrated smartphone connectivity and improved route planning to ensure greater customer communication and reduced delivery windows. Some companies are even trialling crowd funding to increase their number of delivery drivers. The possibilities are endless.
To conclude, technology has completely revolutionised the courier industry, improving it for both businesses sending items and the customers receiving them. Drone deliveries may be a decade away, but the courier industry remains more popular than ever.
