Retail and supply chain leaders say ultrafast delivery is the future of last mile

The findings of a wide-ranging survey on the future of last-mile delivery have been released by Roadie, a crowdsourced delivery platform. The survey found that brands are responding to customer demand for faster delivery by enhancing their last-mile fulfillment options.

Respondents’ views on ultrafast delivery revealed three key themes:

• Customers expect same-day delivery, and they’re willing to pay for it,
• Same-day delivery generates an immediate, positive effect on sales, and
• Brands face challenges in implementing ultrafast last-mile delivery.

Roadie and research partner studioID surveyed more than 200 retail and supply chain leaders during Q1 2022 to better understand the changes that brands are making in the last mile, and what they look for in an ultrafast delivery provider.

“What came through clearly in the survey responses is that organizations know they need to offer same-day delivery because there’s a lot at stake,” said Valerie Metzker, head of partnerships and enterprise sales at Roadie. “When customers want something quickly, they’ll go with the provider that can get the order to them when they need it.

“Once brands update their internal processes and technology, the right delivery partner can set them up to fulfill and deliver from stores and fulfillment centers quickly so they can give their customers what they want, need and expect,” Metzker added.

The survey also showed that customers expect same-day delivery, and they’re willing to pay for it. Half of the retail and supply chain leaders surveyed said they offer or would offer same-day delivery because customers expect and demand it. Nearly two-thirds (64%) said they believed more than 40% of shoppers would be willing to pay a higher price for products with a same-day delivery option. And 30% of respondents said they believed the majority of shoppers – 61% or more – would do so.

Furthermore, same-day delivery generates an immediate, positive effect on sales. Respondents saw several upsides for their business as a result of offering same-day delivery. Adding that option meant they could:

• Sell more,
• Retain current customers,
• Attract new customers, and
• Keep customers happy and satisfied.

That said, brands face challenges in implementing ultrafast last-mile delivery. More than two out of five logistics executives surveyed cited concerns about how their last-mile strategies were being affected by rising transportation rates and by inflation’s effect on the costs of goods and services.

Other commonly cited challenges, pain points and unmet needs for brands’ current last-mile delivery operations or adoption plans included:

• Staffing challenges, such as not having enough drivers,
• Rising costs,
• The need for real-time tracking technology,
• Optimizing route planning,
• Getting accurate demand assessments,
• Supply chain issues,
• Increasing reliability, and
• COVID-19 issues.

Additional challenges related to companies’ internal operations included a lack of buy-in from leadership on addressing a last-mile strategy, and difficulty determining what products to offer for e-commerce.

Respondents also shared their views on ultrafast-delivery solutions. Fifty-one percent of the retail and logistics executives surveyed said they preferred to partner with third parties for last-mile delivery, rather than build in-house capabilities (49%). Third parties understood a brand’s need for flexibility and scalability to fulfill orders whenever and wherever customers want them. Four in 10 respondents recommended crowdsourced delivery specifically.

To read more findings from the survey, please click here.

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