Time slot is money
Delivering to homes at specific time slots pushes up the cost dramatically according to a study by Paragon, the routeing and scheduling software supplier, and Inboxout, which supplies secure delivery boxes. Up to 28% of home delivery transport costs can be attributed to time windows, depending on the specific operational circumstances, it said. Paragons analysis is based on a model of a typical London based operation. The software was run repeatedly as if it were being used to plan the operation on a daily basis. A variety of time windows were allocated varying from completely open to more restricted delivery times to varying proportions of customers.
Eddie Bowman, Inboxout chief executive, said: it is clear from the analysis that the concept of providing customers with secure delivery boxes to enable unattended delivery could dramatically reduce the cost of e-delivery – removing a potential barrier to the continued growth of B2C e-commerce.
Charles Nockold, marketing and business development director for Paragon said it remained to be seen whether the concept of secure delivery boxes would be acce[ted in the UK :but these results graphically demonstrate the seriousness of the service level issue and the need to be realistic in meeting customer expectations.
