COVID-19 caused e-commerce to surge as brick-and-mortar businesses closed, workers were sent home, shopping migrated online, and shipping demand pivoted to parcel.
Downstream consumers expect ever faster, cheaper delivery, with full end-to-end tracking and notifications while upstream, opaque carrier zone rates and fee structures continue to drive up costs. Parcel shippers need a multi-carrier strategy that automates processes and leverages real-time shipment data to improve visibility, manage spend, and boost customer satisfaction. Here are five key obstacles they face in working to optimize parcel shipping operations:
- Meeting customer expectations and margin targets
- Where’s my package – and why?
- Managing parcel spend
- Managing the data
- Finding the data behind the data
