“At a Glance” Summary
The Challenge
- Reliant had stopped running its own delivery fleet years earlier, relying on couriers instead. But, damage and lost parcels kept mounting
- The business wanted to bring vans back on the road and scale deliveries nationwide, not just locally
- Existing in-house route planning system wasn’t compliant with Amazon or eBay, limiting marketplace growth
The Solution
- Reliant switched to Stream to plan and manage its own-fleet deliveries
- Stream’s recognised carrier status with Amazon and eBay enabled Reliant to scale knowing they had valid, compliant tracking
- The team uses Stream daily to manage orders, cluster deliveries by area, and give warehouse and drivers a clear picture of the day ahead
The Impact
- A growing fleet, now covering routes well beyond Reliant’s Blackpool base
- Marketplace compliance maintained across Amazon and eBay, protecting visibility and seller ratings with plans to expand to other marketplaces
- Live ETA updates have cut down support calls, giving customers real-time answers on where their delivery is
The Challenge:
Courier damage was costing Reliant customers and marketplace account health
Reliant had previously run its own delivery vans in the past but stopped a few years ago, shifting to third-party couriers instead. Over time, the usual courier problems started to occur including damaged goods and missed deliveries. With the business owner keen to put vans back on the road, Reliant started building its fleet back up by focusing on local deliveries.
But local coverage wasn’t the ambition. Reliant wanted to sell – and deliver – on a nationwide basis. Amazon and eBay were part of that growth strategy. That created an issue though: its existing in-house delivery management system could plan routes, but it didn’t provide compliant tracking information to Amazon and eBay. Without that, sellers risk falling foul of marketplace performance metrics, for instance Amazon’s Valid Tracking Rates, and automatically losing customer claims where the system’s proof of delivery wasn’t accepted by Amazon and eBay.
The Solution:
A TMS system that’s recognised by marketplaces. Not just a route planner
Stream was found through a straightforward Google search while Reliant was weighing up its options, and the fit was clear almost immediately: Stream was a recognised carrier with both Amazon and eBay. That single point mattered more than anything else to Reliant. It meant deliveries planned through Stream would carry valid, marketplace-recognised tracking for in-house logistics.
Reliant went live with Stream, starting with local deliveries and one additional van, then scaling up as the fleet grew. Since then, Stream has become part of daily operations. Orders are added to Stream, which groups deliveries into clusters so routes can be planned efficiently rather than pieced together manually. Items can then be picked by the warehouse and loaded onto each van ready for departure.
Reliant has also expanded its marketplace footprint since going live. They have moved from using just its own website and Amazon into using eBay and other channels, with Stream’s tracking compliance a key determinant of which marketplace to expand to.
The Impact:
In-house logistics tracking for marketplaces drives growth
Since bringing deliveries back in-house, Reliant has grown its fleet and extended its delivery reach well beyond its Blackpool base. At the same time they’ve kept their Amazon and eBay accounts compliant and healthy throughout. Day-to-day planning is faster because Stream clusters orders automatically, and live ETA updates mean customers get updates about their delivery without tying up the customer service team. The plan now is simple: more vans; wider geographical reach and less reliance on couriers.
Marketplace in-house logistics compliance
- Deliveries are trackable end-to-end, satisfying Amazon and eBay’s order tracking requirements
- Protects Reliant’s seller standing on both marketplaces and minimising fraudulent claims
- Freed the business to expand from its own website into Amazon, eBay and beyond, with tracking compliance already in place
Faster Route Planning
- Orders are uploaded each morning and clustered automatically, making route planning quicker and more efficient
- Colour coded pins for different delivery types and collections make it easy to see what’s happening on the map at a glance
- Growing order volumes handled easily without impacting key delivery metrics
Fewer Calls, Better Customer Experience
- Live ETAs and timeslot updates let customers know exactly when their driver is due
- Cuts down the volume of “where’s my delivery” calls landing with the customer service team
- Gives the team confidence to answer customer queries quickly, without having to chase drivers for updates
“Having a system to manage our in-house logistics operation has been a godsend, but coupled with valid tracking for Amazon and eBay has helped drive our next phase of growth .Our owner has been delighted with how everything has gone. So much so, he’s said we need to get more vans on the road!”
Reliant Direct
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