Warehouse of Innovation

Courier Service

On average, 53% of the total cost of shipping involves the last mile, with customers around the world expecting more speed and more flexibility for little to no additional cost.

Got a solution?

It’s exciting when your package arrives at your door! But behind the scenes, this final, or last-mile, stage of the delivery process is expensive, representing more than half the total shipping cost of a delivery. Urban, suburban, and rural environments all pose diverse challenges that contribute to this high cost, like travel distance, fluctuating traffic patterns, parking challenges, unique paths to each home, office, and mailbox, the variable of attended or unattended receipt, and more.

Additionally, parcels are of different sizes and weights, and they may be fragile, need a signature, or have other characteristics that require special treatment or attention. As such, the courier’s task is highly manual, time consuming, and tricky to automate, and yet this person makes a lasting impression on you, impacting overall customer satisfaction.

Luckily, new technology is arriving for this vital bit of the supply chain, and so…

We Wonder...

What simple tools – physical or digital – can be quickly incorporated today, from wayfinding to safely carrying additional parcels, that can improve a courier’s service towards customers?

Is there a way for last-mile delivery robots to mimic or recreate the personable experience that couriers bring to customers at the doorstep?

How can last-mile logistics providers leverage the sharing economy to democratize the courier experience and further drive down costs of delivery for customers?