Convenience points: flexibility, comfort and cost reduction

[The exponential growth of eCommerce in the last decade has forced brands to innovate their logistics and offer their online customers new forms of delivery, alternatives to home delivery, that satisfy both buyers and the company itself or its logistics partners.
In this sense, Black Friday 2016 marked a clear turning point for Spanish logistics.
Coinciding with this date, the giant Amazon made more than 940,000 sales in our country, which resulted in a collapse of transport companies that failed to complete deliveries on time.
A fact that evidenced the need to look for new forms of delivery and more specifically, to bet on convenience points.
These collection points are generally stores, kiosks or stationers’ shops which, in addition to carrying out their activity, act as small warehouses for other companies.
They are usually neighborhood stores close to consumers.
The flexibility and convenience offered by this method, as well as the benefits for environmental protection by reducing the ecological impact of the logistics sector, are some of the reasons for the rise and success of these convenience points, but their benefits go far beyond that.  

Greater convenience, flexibility and speed

It is worth noting that almost one in two home deliveries is unsuccessful and in 90% of the cases it is due to the absence of the customer.
A problem for all parties involved that disappears with convenience points.
These points offer the consumer great flexibility, since he has the possibility of picking up the package at the time that suits him best, since these establishments have very long opening hours, even on holidays or weekends.
The consumer thus gains in convenience, as he no longer has to wait or change his plans to be at home when the delivery person arrives.
Moreover, it also facilitates returns, which can be made simply, quickly and without complications or time wasting.
Another point to bear in mind is privacy, especially at times like Christmas, when the delivery driver’s untimely arrival can spoil our long-awaited surprise.
By optimizing routes and reducing the number of routes, shipments also gain in speed, as transport companies see how the number of trips and delivery locations are significantly reduced.  

Boosting sustainability

Convenience points make a definite contribution to optimizing routes by drastically reducing haulier journeys and thus CO2 emissions.
For the last two kilometers of the route alone, choosing a convenience point instead of home delivery results in a reduction in pollutant emissions of more than 20%.
If we add to this the possibility of optimizing the planning of collection and delivery routes, which can even deliver several dozen parcels simultaneously to the same point, the reduction in the number of routes and emissions is even more significant.
Moreover, almost 90% of eCommerce users now have a convenience point within 5 km of their home, and almost 69% within 1 km.
Thanks to this extensive network of collection points, more than 60% of shoppers can use non-polluting means to pick up their packages, such as cycling or walking.
This also translates into a reduction in polluting emissions.

 

Saving time and money

Optimizing routes necessarily means shorter and fewer routes for carriers.
This considerably reduces both the time spent on delivery and the resources needed to make it effective: fuel, carriers or fleet of vehicles.
Therefore, despite having to pay the point of convenience an amount per item stored or fixed amount agreed, by significantly reducing logistics costs, profits are multiplied.
An increase in profits that is multiplied from the moment customers are offered the possibility of picking up their parcels at points close to their homes: buyers and their loyalty increase and the brand improves its reputation.   In addition, the fact that parcels can be grouped together at a single collection point reduces the cost of delivery for consumers and may even be free of charge.
Logistics companies also benefit from the convenience points, since they considerably reduce the complexity of the distribution network of the transport company, which previously had to make dozens of deliveries in the same neighborhood and now only has to make one at one of these points.
Routes are stabilized, improving times and efficiency and eliminating second deliveries.  

The best tool to optimize logistics

Convenience points have thus become the best way for companies to optimize logistics routes. This type of delivery is much more efficient than the usual home deliveries, which are characterized by much more dispersed deliveries that very often do not take place at the first attempt, due to lack of time and resources of the logistics company or the absence of the buyers.