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7 Challenges Faced in Hyperlocal Delivery and Solutions to Overcome Them

Challenges of hyperlocal delivery and its solutions

Communities and localities have a desperate need for on-demand delivery services. These deliveries are mainly hyperlocal by nature and thus they can be catered to during immediate needs. The transaction process is also very compatible and easily accessible in these deliveries. A single transaction can be completed in just an hour in on-demand hyperlocal businesses. The other primary reason for trusting the hyperlocal on-demand delivery services more than the non-hyperlocal ones is their actual physical presence. The physical attire of the stores makes it quite easier to attend to the customer’s grievances.

Logistics and deliveries do not mean the same thing for non-hyperlocal and hyperlocal businesses. Hyperlocal businesses don’t worry about things like long-distance transportation, warehousing, or logistics fragments. The only logistics that affect the hyperlocal businesses is the last-mile delivery. Around the locality, their businesses ride on the retailers. The reverse logistics is not that of a big deal for the hyperlocal on-demand business as they only operate within limited areas. 

What is hyperlocal delivery?

Hyperlocal delivery is a delivery process where packages are delivered directly from the seller to the consumer. In this delivery process, a particular courier agent picks up the specific product from the accurate seller and then delivers the package directly to the consumer’s doorstep. The whole delivery process is limited to a specific geographical area and the deliveries are usually completed within a few hours. There is some product category in these deliveries. Any item that weighs more than ten to twelve KG cannot be delivered. You have to maintain a weight restriction in this type of delivery. Some of its benefits are: 

Countering the traffic congestion

Customers from various localities have various needs. Urban traffic makes it very complex for conducting hyperlocal deliveries. If you can make proper use of technology, then you can plan better routes that are efficient and time conserving.

Bearing the costs of free delivery

The hyperlocal businesses get their revenue from two primary sources: one is from the commission that is earned from the merchants and the second is from the delivery charges received from the consumers. However, customers nowadays are very sensitive to additional delivery charges and expect free delivery on purchase. Along with that customer also expects flexible delivery. Catering to such demands can take up costs in the last-mile delivery. Therefore, automation is the only remaining option that can help you sustain the costs related to free shipping.

Easy access to allocating delivery zones

Automation helps your business to find suitable and sustainable delivery zones. It can help you find suitable routes that do not incur the last mile delivery charges. Moreover, it is very difficult to assign each delivery zones when there are thousands of orders from various localities.

Maintaining the efficiency of the fleet

For any hyperlocal logistical business, it is very important to maintain the productivity and efficiency of the fleet. In this mad technological era, suitable technology is the only significant option for marinating the efficiency of the fleet. The optimization of the delivery routes can help in the reduction of extra costs.

7 primary Challenges faced in hyperlocal delivery

The popularity of hyperlocal delivery has grown at an exponential rate. According to the study, almost 80 per cent of the start-up company has emerged for hyperlocal delivery since the year 2014. The difference between hyperlocal and last-mile delivery is that the hyperlocal market beholds great opportunities that can be a great boost to your business. However, as every opportunity has some sort of challenge to it, so does for the hyperlocal delivery industry too. Many challenges are faced in this business. Some of the primary challenges are:

Increasing competition

The eCommerce shipping industry itself has been a very busy place where competitors are at a leap. The hyperlocal segment also falls under the same category when it comes to competition. As time has passed, the hyperlocal delivery has evolved into something great. It is no more just an added benefit. It holds relevance as an entire marketplace. The competition is extreme in this industry. Players like Dunzo, Shadow fax local, Grab, etc. hyperlocal businesses are coming into the picture establishing the immense competition the hyperlocal industry holds. As most of the sellers are grabbing their opportunities to get these services, you should build access so that you can reach all these delivery partners for getting these services. You need to get a good hyperlocal service provider so that you can overcome the increasing threat of competitors.

Fleet management

The sellers in the hyperlocal industry that sell items related to grocery, healthcare, medicinal, raw meat or any sort of stationery item often hire their fleet. This can be a real challenge because managing the entire workforce can be costly as well as risky. Managing an entire fleet needs a lot of resources which can be very challenging at times. Another factor that can affect the feasibility of this process is that not all the orders that are placed have a fixed time interval. Thus, managing the entire fleet can be very cumbersome. Therefore, fleet management can be very challenging when it comes to hyperlocal delivery.

Irregular operations

The hyperlocal deliveries are very scattered and all over the place. Thus, even if your customers tend to stay loyal to you, the orders they place are very irregular. There are many instances that the orders somehow get spiked somehow, and this becomes very problematic. For example, during festive times, customers tend to order more and thus increase the frequency of the orders at an immense rate. During these times, customer engagement increases a lot and thus some of the orders get spiked. Other than that rest of the year, the order frequency remains normal. Therefore, such irregular operations become a significant problem or challenge for hyperlocal deliveries.

Additional fees charged by the hyperlocal marketplaces

Hyperlocal deliveries have been a popular form of delivery for a long time now and customers are more and more interested in these door to door deliveries. Customers have mostly become fond of this delivery type, as it is much more convenient for them than picking up their essential items at stores. They find quite a significant form of delivery where they can get their essentials at their doorstep and return if not satisfied. However, this is not that beneficial for sellers. The sellers had to put on additional amounts for listing their products on the market even though they provide proper visibility to the stores. Sellers had to put in extra effort and money for the entire listing process because without getting their products listed they cannot start the marketing process of the product. This can be very challenging and difficult for the ones that are new to this hyperlocal industry and do not have the required margins to pull this off.

The rush for the exclusivity

In the online marketplace of the hyperlocal industry, many brands have found their exclusive stores. They have successfully registered themselves in those stores. The stores that are chosen are mostly the ones that can shed those extra amounts for providing extra visibility and reach for the brands. In this rush for visibility, mostly the smaller stores fall behind and couldn’t fix the deal. On top of that, now the marketplaces have also started manufacturing their products. This supposedly poses a great threat to the already available sellers and shops. Therefore, selling any product in the marketplace is not as easy as it seems to be. The fight for exclusivity is real and very challenging.

Additional charges of marketing costs

Having the hyperlocal delivery for your brand is a great aspect of your business, however, making the customers aware of the same is a whole different challenge. It is a known fact that the hyperlocal sellers do not have huge profit margins on the sales and so investing in monotonous offline marketing can be a bit of a challenge. Informing your regular customers about any new service is very easy, but acquiring new ones can be very challenging. Sellers who have put the effort into building their online store along with their regular store can promote their brand on different social media platforms. However, if you are trying to target customers within a specific small area, it can be very challenging.

Difficult expansion

Every shop under this system operates at a micro-level. Therefore, it is very difficult to expand delivery services at a far distance. Here you can only engage buyers at a certain specific geographical area from the location where your market saturates. Therefore, for expanding or growing your business you have very few options like opening various branches in different regions.

One solution for all

The only solution for any above-mentioned challenges you are facing in your business is to get a suitable hyperlocal service provider that provides the following benefits:

Personal residential and home care services

The services include salon services, beauty regiments, spa services, etc. Maybe these services do not fall under the absolute necessary list, but it is very crucial, especially during these times when people are going through a lot. These services can provide the common masses with some sort of comfort. 

Services related to food ordering

This is one of the most needed and crucial services provided by the business. People tend to order food almost daily. During this pandemic, this service is more relevant and crucial than ever, as people cannot physically go around to stores and restaurants for grabbing food. 

Handyman services

These services include carpentry, plumbing, gardening, electrician, etc. These services can be beneficial both ways. Both the customer and the provider will be benefited. The customer will get its services and the person providing it can earn some money during these difficult times. During this pandemic, people cannot reach out to local service providers if they need any sort of handyman service. Therefore, it will help the customers if they can get a hand on plumbers or electricians at their fingertips.

Healthcare services at home

These services include baby care, caregiving, senior care, etc. During this time, it could be both difficult and overwhelming to take care of kids as well as senior members along with all the household work at hand. People will find it crucial to hire some sort of assistance during this time. Therefore, if they can hire personnel at the comfort of their home, it will not only be helpful for them but also be very beneficial for your business. Even if you charge some extra money on the services during this time, people won’t hesitate much before taking it as they can hardly manage to find some other better service during the pandemic. 

Services related to grocery delivery

Due to the commencement of social distancing, the common masses are avoiding the crowded traditional market places. As the stocks at their home are not lasting for long, they are ordering groceries online. This is one of the primary reasons that the online grocery delivery business is seeing immense growth in its profit margins. It is the best time to take your grocery business to an online platform.

Conclusion

In this mad technology era, there is a lot of engagement in the eCommerce business that can provide you with online access to their items. Customers expect their items to be delivered as quickly as possible. You can call it a revolution or a diversion of time but technology has taken a huge leap. Therefore, people have adopted all the latest ways of lifestyle. Now customers prefer to purchase their items online rather than visiting the traditional stores and that is why the hyperlocal and delivery process holds a lot of relevance in recent times. 

Both the delivery systems are quite relevant and very essential in this difficult time. If you adopt the delivery systems, you are bound to see the success of your business. These delivery processes are not relevant in this pandemic but also after this ends. Our eCommerce industry has seen a lot of development since the “delivery at the doorstep” is made viable. Therefore, you must give equal importance to both the delivery systems. If you plan to adopt the hyperlocal delivery process, you need to have an excellent last-mile network. 

The success in logistic business lies in fulfilling customer needs and desires. The hyperlocal business industry is facing difficulty in fulfilling customers’ expectations of rapid delivery at their doorsteps. Without technology, it is difficult for logistic companies to cope with these on-demand deliveries and that is why they need a proper business model for it.


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