How might technology affect the courier industry?

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Solving driver shortages

According to the Courier News, over the last 3 years, a shortage of drivers in the industry has been a growing concern. With a dramatic increase in e-commerce businesses, it’s no wonder the service industry has been struggling to keep up with demand.

A potential solution could be the introduction of self-driving lorries. Now, there have been discussions as to whether these advances will be safe or whether it will result in mass job losses. However, exploring the opportunity of self-driving vans and lorries will mean businesses are able to transport more goods and keep up with the high expectations set by consumers these days.

Technology and tracking deliveries

I’m sure you’ve experienced the frustration of a delivery which has gone missing at some point in your life. In 2015, it was noted that over £250 million worth of deliveries had been lost in that year alone. Since then, more emphasis has been placed on increased visibility for the consumer, so they are able to track their parcels from dispatch to delivery. Not only can you track your deliveries, but technology has also removed the frustrating situation of having a vague delivery time of between 8 am and 7 pm. Now you can choose specific time slots online, ensuring first-time delivery success.

Will drones take off in delivery services?

Industry-leading giants Amazon have been trialling drones as part of their delivery service. It’s been about 6 years since the big reveal and we haven’t really seen much progress, so this is unlikely to hit the market anytime soon, but it’s still a very real possibility for the future. If the delivery drones do take off, there could be many benefits including reduced carbon emissions and faster delivery times, with Amazon saying they are “committed to making their goal of delivering packages in 30 minutes or less.”

Even though this could be a great option for customer shopping, depending on future advancements of drones it might not be feasible for business deliveries on a larger scale just yet. With the advances in technology over the last few years alone, we’re sure they will find a way and we can’t wait to see how it develops.