Delivery Services Deal With Growing Volume

The rise in popularity of online shopping has created a surge in demand for package delivery services like United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS and DHL.

However, while the influx of new business may appear to be a positive, the logistics of delivering such a high volume of packages efficiently has proven to be a nightmare, prompting many companies to look for new ways to meet consumers' demands for on time delivery.

Pick Up Points

The costs associated with delivering many different packages to several different locations has been a challenge for shipping companies serving online retailers.

To help cut down on the number of drivers needed and the amount of fuel burned, many shipping companies are testing out a new system in which customers pick up their packages at a nearby location.

UPS has created Access Point locations, or local businesses who offer to store packages until customers can come in to pick them up.

The system is mutually beneficial as businesses are inundated with more potential shoppers who come in to collect their packages, and UPS is able to consolidate its deliveries and ensure drivers don't have to make more than one trip when recipients aren't home.

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Start Ups Step In

To bridge the gap between logistics companies and their customers, startups begun to create new services that take the burden off of both the consumer and the shipping company.

Parcel, a New York-based company, allows users to ship packages to its office instead of their homes. Then, the firm sends a text to the customer asking them to select a 1 hour window in which the goods can be delivered.

That way, logistics companies don't have to make expensive second and third trips when recipients aren't home, and customers have less of a headache locating a missing package.