Customer-Centric Delivery: Today’s consumer demands control over their experiences (and products to a certain extent).

Control of the final-mile delivery experience is already beginning to shift to the consignee, and this shift is not new by any means. However, consumers will expect even more control over the delivery experience going forward – and not just in terms of “when” and “where.” Companies will have to focus more on “how” and “why.” Why is this consumer ordering this good, and how do they plan to use it?

For the most part, retailers and logistics companies try to pass control of the final-mile delivery experience to consumers via local couriers and same-day delivery. 

Many of these “local” options address needs in same-day delivery and grocery orders, while others go after niche offerings such aslate-night delivery and alcohol purchases. There have also been attempts to integratepackage courier services with taxi services.

At UPS, our initial response to the evolving needs of consumers included the launch of UPS My Choice and the rollout of the UPSAccess Point Network. These services were designed in part for consumers that like to shop online but have a difficult time receiving their packages (think condos with street-facing entries or multi-tenant buildings without front desk staff). There are other solutions too, of course, and alternative delivery locations and lockers are being tested throughout the world.

The delivery experience will focus much more on the consumer and their unique needs for each individual package. No longer will third-party logistics providers be able to dictate when and where every package is delivered.

Supplement the final-mile delivery equation with factors that include mode of transportation and preferred method of acceptance, and you have a delivery model that the customer controls. Mix the Internet of Things into the equation, and the possibilities grow exponentially.

Imagine a world in which a fitness tracker knows its owner is reaching the end of a long run and needs to hydrate. After pinging the runner’s smart fridge, the fitness tracker determines that the runner is out of their favorite sports drink and places an order for a case of the beverage from either the retailer of choice or the low cost provider (based on preference, of course).

Before placing the order, the fitness tracker connects to the runner’s daily calendar in their smartphone and knows that there is a small gap in-between the projected end of the run and the next planned activity. The order is placed, and the runner has their beverage with plenty of time to consume the drink and get ready for their next event.