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It’s all about the last mile connectivity

Fedex, United Parcel Service and the US Postal Service are strategizing new ways to address people at home.

A recent Fedex commercial was very different from the usual fare that delivery companies come up with. It eschewed the use of delivery trucks or packages. Instead, it had New Orleans Saints’ quarterback, Drew Brees, ringing a doorbell and brandishing an app as a bemused homeowner looked on.

As e-commerce sales are expected to eclipse $100 billion this year, companies like Uber, Postmates and LaserShip are trying their hand at on-demand and same-day deliveries. Amazon may soon introduce its own delivery service, Seller Flex. This has prompted some couriers to rethink what they are offering and how their messages are reaching different customers.

The explosion of delivery demand has been a catalyst for change. UPS itself is expected to deliver 750 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, a 5 per cent increase over last year. It expects about 65 per cent of those packages to be delivered directly to homes.

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