Six Benefits to Adding Regional Carriers to Your Delivery Network

The power of the Internet has placed tremendous power into the hands of online buyers, who are likely to choose a vendor for perks such as free shipping, same day delivery and easy return programs.

Those shippers who can meet these growing delivery demands have a huge advantage over their competition. A recent study by Accenture found that “Eighty percent of retailers see a positive and measurable impact on customer satisfaction by offering multiple delivery options to shoppers.”

Regional carriers are getting more attention from companies of all sizes and industry sectors. When Walmart, for example, began testing a two-day shipping subscription to compete with Amazon, it added regional carriers to deliver more of its packages.

Other companies such as Best Buy have added regional carriers to control costs while offering online shoppers faster delivery times on orders. Smaller online retailers such as Legendary Whitetails are also using regional carriers to avoid paying a premium for fast shipping during peak holiday shipping seasons.

How do regional carriers add up when compared to national carriers? As experienced shippers will tell you, regional carriers can be the key to faster, cheaper and more flexible delivery services. By adding regional carriers to cover specific regions of their delivery network, they’re able to lower overall transportation costs and offer a broader choice of shipping options to their customers.

On the following pages, you’ll find tips on what to expect from regional carriers and how you can use them to build an elastic fulfillment network that helps control costs while adapting your services to your customers’ changing delivery preferences.