In the midst of widespread economic uncertainty, most buyers still expect logistic companies to maintain their fast delivery practices like before.
Consumers are also seeking for increased sustainability and data security from the delivery agencies – claims a new research study from project44. A majority of delivery businesses globally are experiencing huge pressure to keep up with delivery experience while improving data privacy. The report titled, “Is 2020 the End of the Delivery Economy?” is focussed on the current market scenario around the delivery economy amid the ongoing crisis. The study is based on a survey of around 1,000 consumers as well as 600 supply chain professionals across the United Kingdom, the United States, and France, and Germany.
As per the study, despite a downswing economy, buying decisions are being fuelled by the delivery economy, and the delivery expectations remain high. Besides, the persistent sentiments in B2B customers are making them expect fast, low-cost, and transparent delivery of goods. At the same, businesses need to prioritize data security in the delivery ecosystem – as most people are concerned about data security concerns amid the increasing data breaches.
According to Jett McCandless, Founder, and CEO at project44, as mentioned in the company blog post, “The Delivery Economy has become the new normal as customers across industries base buying decisions on convenient and sustainable delivery…These customer demands have become an inflection point for faster digitalization and transformation. As speed and visibility remain a priority, efficient supply chains will be at the center of business recovery and growth.”
Some principal findings from the report are –
- Nearly 83% of consumers do not expect businesses to give up delivery speed in an economic downturn. Similarly, more people want companies to focus on transparency in the delivery process.
- Some 23% of the supply chain professionals reported that they had a contingency plan in place.
- About 78% of consumers revealed that they are more likely to make purchases from brands that prioritize sustainability in the delivery process. Even more, than half of the customers are aligned to pay more to buy from a company that practices sustainable shipping practices amid the struggling economy.
- Nearly 80% of the supply chain professionals noted that the delivery economy has currently increased the amount of data that they manage and store on customers. And with the growing cybersecurity concerns, maintaining the privacy of customer data is highly essential.
According to David Correll, Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, as mentioned in the report, “These findings echo what we see in the research community as well: smart data management enables effective supply chain management. But, as data sources and data integrations proliferate, we are all now only beginning to understand the opportunities, and the challenges, that real-world supply chain data coordination will present…Ours is a field that is wide open, with big opportunities for profitable problem-solving.”