Roadie and Delta Cargo form national door-to-door parcel partnership

Earlier this week, Atlanta-based Roadie, an on-the-way delivery service with the nation’s largest local same-day footprint, and Delta Cargo, the air cargo subsidiary of Delta Airlines, announced they have partnered up for a 24/7 pick-up and delivery service, from a business or home, originating in Atlanta to more than 55 United States-based cities, with plans to expand the service to several more cities by the end of 2019.

Entitled DASH Door-to-Door, the companies said this offering, which focuses on urgently delivering small parcels under 100 pounds and less than 90 linear inches, meshes TSA-approved drivers with air cargo to form what it called the fastest cross-country door-to-door service in the U.S., at competitive prices. Roadie and Delta said that DASH Door-to-Door is ideal for time-critical shipments in industries including medical, manufacturing, automotive, industrial parts and more – anything that you might need right away, adding that DASH Door-to-Door offers same-day service, simplified booking, real-time tracking, competitive pricing and 24/7 customer support.

“The launch of DASH Door-to-Door is a game changer for Delta Cargo, as anyone who needs to get a small parcel somewhere urgently can now have a same-day delivery, door-to-door service in the U.S., without having to travel to the airport,” said Matt Weisenburg, Delta’s Director – Cargo Strategy and Alliances, in a statement. “We have been working with Roadie since 2015 on the passenger side of the business and have seen great customer satisfaction with the transparency and quality of the service.  So, we wanted to continue this momentum and bring this innovative product offering to our cargo customers.” 

Roadie Founder and CEO Marc Gorlin told LM that Roadie and Delta Cargo began working on this project in June 2016, and launched its partnership with Delta Cargo in February 2019 to offer same-day door-to-door service for what he called known shippers. And he added that this latest evolution, which allows senders to ship items up to 16 ounces same-day across the country, was a natural expansion of that service, while noting that known-shipper status for larger items is still needed, but it’s available for items up to 100 pounds and under 90 linear inches.

“We recognized the need for DASH Door-to-Door early on in the relationship,” said Gorlin. “DASH customers previously needed to pick up or delivery their own items to the airport to take advantage of the service, or book through multiple sites or companies to get it there. Now, it’s one simple product, streamlined for quick and efficient cross-country shipping. There is no reason sending high priority items same-day shouldn’t have the same transparency and ease as ordering and tracking a pizza.”

When asked to provide a basic example of how DASH Door-to-Door works, Gorlin laid out the following scenario:

• A customer will need to visit DeltaCargo.com, where he or she can select “parcel less than 16 oz” under “book a new shipment.” (Roadie can support shipping larger parcels for any known shipper);
• The customer enters the origin airport and the destination airport, the shipping date and important parcel information (such as size, quantity, pickup/delivery address, etc.). The customer will see options for pick-up, flight and delivery time scenarios to choose from; and
• Once the customer selects an option and processes payment, that info will be sent to both Delta Cargo and Roadie to schedule his or her DASH Door-to-Door shipment. “And that’s it! We’ll come get it and get it where it’s going,” he said, adding that the customer can track in real-time via DeltaCargo.com

Addressing the main competitive advantages of DASH Door-to-Door, for Roadie, from a competitive perspective, Gorlin pointed to how with more than 150,000 verified drivers nationwide, Roadie already has the largest local same-day delivery footprint in the nation and reaches 89% of all U.S. households.

“Expanding that same-day footprint coast-to-coast is the next milestone in our growth,” he said. “Our partnership with Delta Cargo helps us tap into our existing network of drivers, connecting with them where they already are (and where they’re already heading to). And with this partnership, which now lets customers tap into the excess capacity in the belly of aircraft as well, next-day can become same-day—with a lot more convenience for our customers.”