What Are The Challenges Faced By The Courier Industry In The US?

To position a business in the market, one should be able to face the pressing challenges in the industry and should invest in seeking the right kinds of solutions. One of the most challenging industries to operate in is the courier service as it is heavily dependent on internal logistics systems, which is relatively recently organized sector. This article provides an insight on the current challenges and how they may be overcome in the courier industry.

Courier From USA To India

Challenges
One of the main challenges in the industry is on-time delivery. This problem eventually leads to negative word of mouth about the company, while companies leverage this into charging increased cost of services. Proper planning in streamlining the parcel delivery would help in avoiding bottlenecks that result in late deliveries. Planning should be done keeping in mind the delivery location, pick up location and the time taken for shipping, and most importantly, the shelf life of the goods if perishable goods are

Another challenge is determining the cost of the delivery service. The cost includes several overheads right from the salary of the employees, packaging, insurance to the fuel and transportation cost.
There are several software, tools and automation services available in the market that work wonders for international shipping services. These technologies help one deal with the administrative issues stated above, as well as reduce the overhead costs.

With the increasing demand for courier services, it is high time that they automate at least the recording procedures. It is evident that most of the courier services in United States still maintain manual entry of deliveries. This leads to a higher risk of misplacing goods, failing to deliver on time and wastes a huge amount of work time.

Solutions
Investing in an automated systems for maintenance of records might involve a slightly higher initial cost; however, the final revenue gained by saving time will be huge. Having an automated system will also help better customer service. For example, a courier from USA to India shall come via Dubai, and in that case the customer shall be notified on which date and what time the parcel has reached Dubai, allowing them to calculate their final delivery time and plan accordingly. In the digital world, customers would like to be notified and would like to track their parcel online. Facilitating customers to do that will also increase the trust factor of the courier service.

Exclusively coded software for logistics companies helps in faster delivery, maintain hassle-free records, track and deliver goods on time, gain trust of the customer and, above all, will help in increasing the company’s revenue drastically.

Supply chain trends for 2017

International Shipping

About two decades back if someone were to tell me that I could buy my favourite shoes and have it shipped from US to India in the comfort of my home, I’d just have a good laugh. The sceptic me wouldn’t have believed that express deliveries meant as little as 2 days. And I’d surely be baffled to learn that when the overall US job market was plummeting, the supply chain industry was hiring, and it was the only one to do so. In fact, an article by Fortune.com began with asking how a $1.3 trillion industry could keep growing? And it has!

International Shipping

According to a report by Integration Point, world trade is expected to increase by four times, right up to $68.5 trillion by 2050. As business blurs geographical borders, the supply chain industry continues to play a vital role in facilitating it. From international shipping and parcel deliveries to express solutions, it’s quite hard to identify a single business that doesn’t use a courier service. In fact, the onset of eCommerce labels has forced even local retail outlets and brands to maintain online shops, along with brick-and-mortar stores. Supply chain solutions have become less of a service and more of an experience. And the 2-day express delivery we discussed earlier? That’s the norm! However, a business doesn’t succeed by offering basic requirements. They are constantly required to up their game with new and innovative offerings & solutions – perhaps by offering free deliveries, an additional thank-you gift of some sort, or the like. Irrespective of how companies plan to introduce marketing elements to their deliveries, it just means more business for the logistics industry! And the big names know this.

In its initial stage, running a successful eCommerce was considered a sound achievement. From clothes and shoes to groceries and wine, customers could access the world with a single click. But as the demand kept piling up, brands started looking for improved options that could help handle the bulk. And enter, automation robots. No kidding! In fact, Amazon has its very own Robotics division. It would surprise you to know that there’s a robot-picking challenge held annually and the 2016 competition was rather tough with the robots picking around 100 items per hour. Now, that’s something!

And if robots weren’t enough, in came the use of AR (Augmented Reality). According to recent reports, DHL has successfully completed an AR pilot of its latest Vision Picking program. The program consists of smart glasses that will provide a visual display. This will direct men on the floor towards the next pick-up by highlighting where the items are located. The Vision Picking program is expected to improve productivity by 15%.

Moving on, there’s a certain measure of ecology that should be implemented. And as of now, a number of leading supply chain services are leaning towards sustainable services, whether in terms of international shipping or express deliveries.

The logistics industry is currently experiencing a boom. While business opportunities are on the rise, so are a growing number of competitors, with each looking to grab the largest slice of pie. And the only way through that is to constantly improve and innovate.