How to Manage Next-day Deliveries

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Brightpearl webinar recording: ‘Best practice for next day delivery’

We recently co-presented a webinar with our partners Brightpearl and our customer LOFT Interiors to discuss how businesses can easily implement next day delivery.

In this post, we’ll go over some of the information and ideas discussed in the webinar, particularly around next-day delivery tracking and how having the right software in place can make next-day deliveries a reality for any business.

LOFT Interiors manage their end-to-end order-to-delivery cycle, including their next-day delivery offering, using Brightpearl’s omnichannel retail software integrated with Stream Go‘s delivery management software.

What does next-day delivery look like in eCommerce right now?

  • According to research by Internet Retailing next-day delivery is the preferred delivery method for 52% of UK consumers
  • A further 50% in the same study don’t want to pay extra for next-day delivery
  • Additionally, eCommerce News notes that for over half (55%) of UK consumers, shipping cost is a cause of cart abandonment
  • Overwhelmingly, consumers will switch retailer for a preferred delivery method. eConsultancy found that 79% of consumers would switch retailer if their preferred delivery method was not offered

What can offering next-day delivery do for eCommerce businesses?

As we can see, UK consumers overwhelmingly prefer next-day delivery. Offering a next-day delivery option then could open up opportunities for businesses, including:

  • An increase in conversions
  • A reduction in cart abandonment
  • An improvement in customer retention, and improved customer lifetime value (CLV)
  • An improvement in customer satisfaction
  • A competitive advantage

What challenges may be holding you back from offering next-day delivery?

Offering next-day delivery may be a way to improve customer retention and satisfaction, increase conversions, and offer a competitive advantage, but the logistics of offering next day deliveries can be complex.

Brightpearl estimate that the typical order-to-delivery fulfilment cycle requires 30-40 steps and tasks to complete. A manual system leaves a huge opportunity for mistakes to be made, as well as being time, resource intensive.

An omnichannel retail system like Brightpearl streamlines the order-to-delivery process, with features including:

  • Real-time overviews
  • Automated workflows
  • Warehouse processes
  • and seamless integrations.

That make next-day delivery for packaged items via 3PL (like Royal Mail or DPD) a simple and easy-to-fulfil process.

What about businesses that don’t use 3PLs?

For businesses that don’t deliver items that fit into neat boxes, or don’t use 3PLs, managing next-day deliveries in their own vehicles brings its own set of challenges. This could include wholesalers, distributors and retailers that:

  • Manage deliveries in their own vehicles
  • Deliver bulky, awkward or high-value items
  • Deliver items that require assembly or servicing
  • Have complex logistics requirements
  • Would like to bring their logistics and deliveries in-house

For these types of businesses, customers are likely to have the same delivery expectations as for any other businesses, but the challenges don’t stop when you hand a parcel to a driver.

Routes still need to be planned, customers still need to be communicated with, records still need to be kept.

How can businesses making deliveries in their own vehicles maintain a next-day delivery service?

Stream Go is a delivery management software application that allows you to proactively manage your deliveries:

By streamlining the delivery management process, and easily managing next-day delivery tracking to keep customers informed, offering a next-day delivery service is a real option – even for businesses making deliveries in their own vehicles.

Watch the webinar recording ‘Best practice: Next day delivery’

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