The Future Of Courier Transportation

We love to talk about where we’ll be in the next few years, but the truth is that nobody really knows what’s going to happen! All we can do is offer our best guess and see where it goes. We live in a world full of ever-changing technology and so this makes it hard to predict anything for sure! But figuring out what could happen over the next few years or even decades it’s something that a business owner or a responsible manager would do. This way you’re able to adapt to the future before it’s even here and stays ahead of the curve and your competitors.

Electric vehicles

Electric vehicles seem to be one of the most promising and exciting parts of transportation in the future. Being able to stay up-to-date with the latest Automotive technology means that we can continue to develop efficient and effective businesses Across the UK and the world. Without keeping up-to-date with this kind of technology before behind and before we know it everyone would surpass you.

Of course, you can’t talk about electric vehicles without mentioning Tesla. Elon Musk is probably one of the sharpest minds to have ever walked the Earth, and while this is a big statement, he does back it up. Tesla’s vision is to develop and release a new kind of lorry, they will have Tesla’s latest automotive technology so that we can cut costs and provide driver Package safety. This benefits everybody because the companies transporting goods will have fewer returns due to damages and we are likely to see faster response times so that consumers get their packages quicker than ever.

However, there are a few concerns about all sorts of electric vehicles, one of which is the way that we power them and whether or not they’ll reach their destination before they run out of charge.

“Electric motors can deliver peak torque almost instantly, meaning they can excel at towing large loads from a dead start-up or gradient. Faster acceleration will also help to shave off the time of a delivery truck’s route, helping them deliver more products with less waiting time.

While electrifying heavy vehicles can be beneficial, their deployment is met with challenges. Charging infrastructure is a main concern, and would require a redesign of depots and service stations. The urban drive cycles with considerable traffic and speed measures used heavily by courier vehicles require a large amount of braking and acceleration. During braking, a vehicle’s motor creates excess energy. A braking resistor allows this otherwise wasted energy to be recovered to warm the vehicle’s cabin.

To support the future of electric courier vehicles, it is vital that the technology is in place to improve vehicle efficiency and get goods moving on a greener path.” – Simone Bruckner, Cressall

Biometrics

As mentioned before, we are living in a world that constantly changes whether that’s through technology, morals or just the people in it. One of the most interesting developments in recent years is the incorporation of biometrics into industries like security, smartphones and even couriers. Biometrics help to keep everything safe from your passwords to your parcels. In the case of couriers, companies are able to protect your investment in their products so that you get exactly what you paid for.

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, large courier companies have been implementing biometrically verified contactless delivery with Nuggets.

A digital ID is a necessary cornerstone in revolutionizing the delivery process, especially in removing the address restriction. The cost of failed deliveries in the UK is reported to have surpassed £1.6bn (US$2bn) for failed parcel deliveries in the UK alone. There is clearly a growing need to do away with costly redelivery.

As the delivery network was forced to adapt very quickly to social distancing guidelines put in place by the government, the easiest solution was to no longer request signatures on delivery. These days, when a package arrives, it’s accompanied by a barely audible knock and a prompt disappearing act. No confirmation is provided, and proof of delivery is often left to the good faith of the delivery driver. This has led to surging chargebacks and an escalation in friendly fraud. All this at a time when retailers can least afford it.

Instead, a biometrically-verified contactless delivery solution enables a driver to ping the customer’s digital ID, the customer verifies it’s them and accepts the delivery with their biometrics – a process that is protected against fraud and provides contactless proof of delivery.” – Alastair Johnson, CEO, Nuggets

Not only are you able to protect yourself during this time of panic, but it’s also protecting the products that you buy and the couriers that deliver them. Making sure that your package arrives through the use of the newest technologies and the government’s advice can help to prevent panic and illnesses. Most of us have been asked to only trip out for essential items however many members of the public have started to order the shopping to their front door from the local supermarkets. This has meant that people are safer as a whole and we’re able to protect those that need the help. But to make sure that your parcel or weekly shop arrives at the right place using such technologies as a biometric system means that you’ll definitely get what you pay for.

Drones

Everybody here at Nationwide Courier Services Ltd is excited at the fact that the next big revolutionary move in the same day courier world could be the use of drones to deliver parcels and packages. This could be an amazing turn in the industry and after it becomes a mainstream form of transport we can only dream of how drone technology will develop. The likes of Amazon have already invested in a drone scheme; Amazon Prime Air. This scheme launched in 2016, it was said that operations are expected to begin in select cities starting in late 2019 however as of June 2020 this has not yet become a functioning service.

In light of Amazon’s efforts and their struggles, this will lead us to believe that drone usage within the courier world is a little ways off. However, we stay hopeful this technology kicks off and becomes the new norm.

“Despite the negativity surrounding drones, which have shut down air spaces in the past, there are many positive use cases for drones. In a few years, it’s likely we’ll see drones commonly delivering packages. One of the more likely retailers to use them will be local pharmacies, so people can place their repeat prescriptions online with local health clinics and have the prescription automatically forwarded to the pharmacy, which can then use drones to deliver medicine to local homes. Grocery delivery is just the beginning. Some high profile online firms have already sought to usher in guidelines for autonomous drone deliveries. The price of fuel and the other large costs associated with maintaining delivery fleets will push a lot more of this business to the skies. Customers win because their goods will be delivered in almost real-time. We are starting to see many local shops and post offices becoming drop-off and collection centres for goods bought online, which was unthinkable just a few years ago. Similarly, drones have rapidly developed in a short space of time and we can expect to see dramatic change in modern society as a result.” – Kevin Curran, IEEE

Staying Flexible

The courier environment is going to be changing all of the time, it’s only natural to expect that. This happened throughout time and meant which has meant that we can learn from it.

“The courier market of the future will go through some large changes. You only have to look at the decline of the British high streets to see the SME and large chains are changing the way they work. All but the largest will keep a shop front and they will become much more of a showroom for products.

Unsurprisingly, online retail has had a hugely positive impact on the courier industry. When email threatened its very existence, online retail kicked into gear and drove significant huge volume and revenue. The consumer likes the flexibility to have goods delivered to their home or office with time slots and this is growing at a massive rate year on year. These time slots will become smaller in the future with time slots of 10 minutes being offered to the consumer for greater flexibility.

The courier companies are beginning to run and use all-electric delivery vehicles in central towns. As the technology improves and range/miles increase this will become the new normal.” – Jason Gowan, InXpress

Summary

One thing that we do know for certain is that nothing is set in stone, there could be a breakthrough in any form of transportation and so we could be pushed down new methods of transport that we never knew were possible.

Something that we can be sure of is that the excitement that this cause is creating a brilliant environment to work within and so we’re able to develop and plan around our predictions, whatever they are. But it’s important to know that regardless of what anyone tells you, there is always room for something to change and nobody is really able to know for sure what will happen.

However, being able to adapt and mitigate any sort of issues that you might have is an important skill to have. This means that you can be prepared form any sort of economical or technological change that you might end up seeing.