As we heard last time in our series, post, parcel and courier companies are trying hard to reduce their delivery costs. CEPs offer flexible deliveries to the workplace, install locker boxes at busy train stations, enable scheduled weekend deliveries and send text messages to the end customer with the expected delivery time, etc.
How can ALK help? With our integrated mobile navigation, advanced route optimization technology and back office map visualisation tools, postal, parcel and courier companies have a powerful set of tools to maintain an edge in this highly competitive industry. Companies who provide customers with advanced ETA notice of delivery—right down to the hour in some cases—for superior customer service, also recognize a higher degree of first-time delivery success while at the same time reducing operational cost. Plus with routing optimization and navigation guidance, they can reduce driver training to productivity time from weeks to days.
With the help of ALK Maps, CEPs monitor fleet wide activity in real-time to make informed daily decisions from the back office. Postal companies gain insight into driver performance and variances in routing efficiency for future strategic planning.
There is an argument that postal transformation has only just started and the biggest shake-up to the industry is yet to come. How will eCommerce shape the postal & parcel industry in emerging markets? Here is a good example on how Qatar post solved its delivery issues:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fTA6LmLLcU
Another big topic in the industry is electric and/or driverless and digitally connected vehicles. What effect will they have on CEPs and their drivers? Could crowdsourcing and machine learning disrupt the industry like Uber did with the traditional taxi market? Or will postal companies invest in alternative delivery methods such as drones?
Additionally, “postal proximity services” could expand the portfolio of postal, parcel and courier companies. CEPs could move away from traditional delivery of a letter or parcel, towards offering wider services such as meter readings, or elderly care. You can subscribe to find out more about postal proximity services soon.
Whatever the future may bring, ALK will be with you every mile of the way.