The standard method of delivering online orders to a home or work address is the most common way for online merchants to deliver shipments to their end customers. In recent years however a new trend is being observed.
The alternative methods for delivery of shipments from online stores, mentioned by Svetlozar Dimitrov and Nikola Ilchev in the video, are already widespread in Bulgaria and are becoming increasingly attractive to consumers in Central and Western Europe. This motivates many online merchants to include them as a shipment method, as well as a number of companies in the courier industry to invest time and resources to build this type of network.
In the past 2020, the European Union (including the UK) crossed the threshold of 10 billion B2C shipments for the first time.
The specialists from Last Mile Experts predict that in the next 5 years the volume of shipments will double, and only by 2030 will double again.
The huge growth in e-commerce in recent years creates the need for online merchants to look for more efficient and cost-effective shipping methods instead of deliveries to a specific address by a mobile courier, in order to meet high volumes of shipments internationally. They can be divided into 3 groups.
They are also known as “small courier receptions” – these are all offices of courier companies that allow the delivery of shipments in 1 business day. Another advantage of courier offices is their ability to process many more shipments on a daily basis than can handle 1 courier with a bus or a car.
Here we are talking about all locations that don’t have the status of a courier office, but have courier software, function as part of the network of a particular courier/s, and act as a transfer point for shipments from eCommerce businesses to their recipients. Such locations can be local bookstores, gas stations, supermarkets, and others.
They are also common as “lockers” and are automated constructions of lockers of different sizes, which have a fixed location with a large total capacity. Every night they are loaded with shipments, and during the day their recipients can collect them and pay at a convenient time without the participation of an employee of the courier company.
The higher efficiency is a consequence of the 5 times higher daily capacity for processing shipments by PuDo networks, lockers, and courier offices. This is of key importance for both couriers and integrators of courier services, such as euShipments, and the end recipients of the shipments.
The average daily capacity of 1 courier by van or car is about 200 shipments. The number depends on the city in which he delivers, the area, the traffic, and how many shipments he can deliver at each stop.
In comparison, the efficiency of 1 courier office with 2 employees is up to 4 or 5 times higher, as it can service about 1,000 shipments in 1 day. For lockers, depending on the location and size, the effectiveness can be unlimited, as it does not require the appointment of staff.
This type of network is the only way to meet and process the expected increases in the volume of international B2C shipments.
Leading courier companies in Europe and the world are investing in the development of such alternative delivery networks. We have already integrated this type of shipping method for our current and future clients, which makes us the first Bulgarian company to offer such an option for deliveries from e-shops in Bulgaria to their recipients abroad.
Thus, each online trader can provide the opportunity for each recipient to choose whether to receive the goods he has ordered, to a specified address, or to a specific PuDo or APS location.
Thanks to the hard work of our IT team, we have activated nearly 36,000 alternative delivery locations in the EU, which are fully integrated into our network and are now available to our customers:
Advantages exist for both online merchants and their online customers.
Customers:
Online merchants:
Watch the full video to learn more about how this type of alternative delivery works, as well as their advantages over standard address delivery.
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