Bringg report addresses myriad aspects of same-day delivery for retail shippers

A report issued this week by Chicago-based Bringg, a data-led delivery and fulfillment cloud platform provider, examined various aspects of same-day delivery, focusing on a forward-looking approach to same-day delivery, as well as the main strengths and drawbacks related to it, among other factors.

The report, entitled “2022 Bringg Barometer: State of Retail Delivery & Fulfillment,” is based on feedback from 500 enterprise retailers located in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, and Italy.

One of the chief findings of the report found that 99% of respondents indicated that they want to offer same-day delivery by 2025, whereas that figure currently stands at 35%. Bringg CEO Guy Bloch said in an interview that many shippers have a long way to go before they can successfully offer a same-day delivery model to their customers, across multiple regions.  

“It requires them to ship from local (usually urban) locations—which may mean restructuring inventory in stores to support pickup for delivery drivers,” explained Bloch. “It may mean rethinking which stores should focus solely on fulfillment or require new fulfillment locations. They also need to expand their delivery partners to increase coverage.”

Bloch also touted the importance of technology and automation, in that same day delivery doesn’t allow time for manual dispatching or route planning, nor does have time for data to be relayed manually.

“If you want to enable same-day, you need to ensure that you have digitized, automated last mile operations, where data is connected and synced across all resources and systems,” he said, adding that, regarding same-day experience, it’s not just about performing same-day delivery, but providing the level of convenience that customers are expecting.

“Shippers and logistics providers can provide end customers with real-time data and notifications on their orders, and a multiplicity of delivery options,” he said.

Addressing the need for visibility, the report found that 61% of surveyed retailers are still citing visibility-related problems.

One of the main reasons, or factors for this, according to Bloch, is because many retailers still work with third party carriers and fleets, which do not share data with them, so they do not have the information on where orders are once they are out for delivery.

And other retailers, he noted, simply do not have real-time tracking capabilities for their orders once on route—or if they do have tracking, it’s disconnected from other systems, making it difficult to see the data, or react to issues in real time.

When asked how can the lack of automated processes and needed data be countered to better help retailers augment last-mile operations compared to where they are today, Bloch observed that connecting is the key.

“Businesses that do delivery need to look to use technology which can connect the entire delivery and fulfillment ecosystem (e-commerce platform, inventory and order data, internal and third-party delivery, customer data, etc.).” he said. “The time for data siloes has passed.”

Another key theme of the report focused on how next-day delivery was the most prevalent delivery option available in 2021, as it was offered by 58% of surveyed retailers, with 56% indicating they are eyeing 30-minute deliveries by 2025.

On a geographical basis, the report found that the United States is a laggard in regards to same-day delivery, at 26%, compared to Canada’s 46% rate, and also for 30-minute deliveries, at 31%, compared to the European Union’s 40% rate.

As for why the U.S. is trailing its global counterparts, Bloch said that he thinks same-day delivery is is all about the move to being hyper local.  

“Europe is a leader in using delivery vehicles that are well-suited for fast, local delivery, like ecargo bikes, electric bikes, and motorbikes, etc.,” he said. “Our Bringg delivery network is an example of this: many of the fleets we partner with in Europe offer such vehicles for use in delivery. Another reason is that the U.S. supply chain is traditionally more centralized, a model more suited for parcel delivery or B2B delivery. Now with supply chain disruption brands are looking at more distributed networks, utilizing real estate closer to the consumer. Also, the U.S. has lagged behind in sustainability, something that is being driven by conscious consumerism, and is closely linked to delivery.”

What’s more, ss people switched to shopping online, Bloch said those orders have to be delivered (with the traditional vehicles that were once the mainstream delivery vehicle)—which increases carbon emissions. By comparison, he said much of Europe has been very conscious of reducing carbon emissions and encouraging green vehicles—many of which are small and well-suited to urban delivery in crowded cities. 

To access the complete report, please click here.