For a logistics company that serves mostly competitors of Amazon, Deliv is booming. The same-day delivery startup has expanded its services to over 1,400 cities, TechCrunch reported. Its confirmed list of clients includes Bloomingdale’s Best Buy, BloomThat, Fry’s Electronics, Office Depot, K&L Wine Merchants, PetSmart, Plated, Macy’s and The UPS Store. It succeeded in cornering a market that depended on a delivery time that spanned between 1 to 3 hours.
Retailers have realized that the quickest route to a satisfactory customer experience is through delivery speed. The e-commerce platform turned out to be beneficial for logistics companies like Deliv. When buyers and sellers are within the 5-mile radius of each other, there might be no acceptable excuse for delivery not to be done on the same day. This is one customer necessity that Deliv took pride in, as described on its website.
Competing with Amazon on cost seems like a futile effort. Amazon’s “customer-obsessed” approach cost it a reported of $7.2 billion in shipping costs, according to Supply Chain Dive. This pushed other internet-dependent retailers to last-mile logistics companies to deliver orders faster.
As one of the top last-mile services gaining a foothold of the e-commerce market today, Deliv is viewed in a positive light by most retailers. It doesn’t offer its own products at the moment, focusing entirely on logistics services.
Some pundits noticed how Deliv’s clientele includes brick-and-mortar stores, a minor blip in the still popular misconception about how e-commerce might force the closure of the traditional mom-and-pop stores. Deliv claims it is capable of being “able to out-Amazon Amazon” through its national crowdsourced delivery network.
One of Deliv’s real estate partners, GGP, testified the positive e-commerce experience that its earned from a partnership deal. According to GGP’s Chief Executive Officer, Sandeep Mathrani, “Enabling retailers to use our stores to fulfill online orders the same day is fundamental in creating an omnichannel experience.”
What is omnichannel? Retail Supply Chain Insights defined this as “a comprehensive suite or one module at a time to connect all of your supply to all of your demand.” The article was quick to mention one keyword that would get most e-commerce trend watchers to take notice: DropShip. Orders are placed online, the retailers in turn would need real-time delivery to dispatch the orders. This is where Deliv delivers.
This pushed Deliv’s business strategy to seal partnerships with tech-based companies like IBM. IBM’s Director of Product Management, Errol Denger, was happy to share on Deliv’s website the benefits to both parties. “Deliv and IBM together are solving the same-day delivery challenge by enabling retailers to take advantage of their store networks and intelligently leverage distributed inventory.”
Macerich’s Chief Marketing Officer, Ken Volk, chose to focus on the demand for same-day delivery regardless of the method with which orders were placed. As a real estate company engaged in malls, he is thankful for Deliv’s service that it practically turned malls into hubs for “distribution and online purchasing, facilitating convenience and immediate shopper gratification.”
Retailers that can reach their customers the fastest gain the most brownie points for customer satisfaction. If ever there is one vital reason behind Deliv’s expansion plans, it is the ability to match the break-neck speed of today’s e-commerce platforms.