A delivery service is the picking up of products from one place and delivering them to another location. Providers such as FedEx and USPS usually provide a same-day or next-day delivery within a particular area. Some couriers may also offer a specialized service called white glove delivery service, which offers more than just delivering the products.
With white glove delivery, the customers don’t just receive the products they ordered. They get additional services such as setup and installation. For example, when you order furniture or a huge flat-screen TV, the white glove delivery staff would handle the items with care and install them upon delivery. The customer doesn’t need to worry about how to properly set up or install the products as the courier takes care of everything. If you want to take your delivery service up a notch, we recommend offering white glove delivery.
How White Glove Delivery Service Work
White glove delivery is the method of shipping items that need extra attention than regular parcels due to their value, fragility and size. A white glove delivery team is usually trained and equipped with the right skills and experience in installing and assembling a wide range of products.
Companies that offer white glove delivery services might offer inspections pre and post-site before installing the items, in case there is a special configuration required during setup. Some may also offer Protective Packaging to protect your items and Delicate Handling to ensure your goods are treated with utmost care.
When it comes to offering white glove delivery service, customer satisfaction is always the top priority. Because the items are handled with special care, damage to the item is significantly reduced. The customers have peace of mind knowing the delivery service provider takes care of everything including installation and setup.
If you’re offering this service, you must make sure you have the right delivery technology for you to successfully accomplish the task without delay and mistake.
Challenges and Opportunities with White Glove Service
In a standard same-day/next-day delivery, businesses want to be as efficient as possible in delivering the item to the customer. But today, with the growth of e-commerce, customers now buy everything online, from furniture to household appliances. Gone are the days where you have to visit a large shop to order your favorite furniture.
Customers can order everything online and they expect their items, regardless of the size, to be delivered right to their doorstep. This creates an opportunity for delivery businesses to up their services by offering something more to the customers. And this is where white-glove service comes in. Businesses now have the opportunity to stand out from the competition by offering impeccable delivery services through white glove service.
However, consumers expect more flexibility with white glove service. They want to be able to choose a convenient time for the delivery, get real-time updates of the delivery progress, advanced notification on when the delivery will be fulfilled, and be notified when there is a delay or the exact time the service is completed.
White glove is a premium service as it requires special attention to detail. To stand out from your competition, consider implementing delivery technology to streamline your white glove delivery services.
How Delivery Technology Can Help Manage White Glove Delivery Service
White glove delivery service is more than just the standard pickup and delivery. The package is transported with the utmost care and delivery technology is the right tool to ensure top-notch service. Here’s how delivery technology can help your business:
Capacity Planning
Compared to the traditional pick-up or drop-off delivery operations, white glove services require much longer service times. It needs careful planning on which vehicle type to use to meet the customer’s unique security needs. For example, you may need an exclusive vehicle to transport temperature-sensitive shipments. It also will most likely require additional installation resources to successfully complete the delivery, especially those that need special care in handling and installation.
With delivery technology, you can effectively keep track of available capacity and automatically assign orders based on the skill requirements and capacity. Tracking is accurate, reducing or completely eliminating mistakes in logistics. It also ensures successful delivery.
Self Serve Delivery Scheduling
Several years ago, consumers normally visit a store to order furniture. The furniture store will then contact the customer in a couple of days to book a delivery appointment. Some stores may even take longer to contact customers, and the latter doesn’t have a choice but to wait.
Today, customers purchase furniture online and they expect to be able to pick an appointment date right away at web checkout. When the delivery schedule isn’t available, chances are these customers will abandon the cart and move on to another store. You can avoid this by utilizing delivery technology to ensure the customers get to pick available time slots upon checkout.
Delivery technology can dynamically generate the available time slots, and the customers can pick a time slot upon checkout. This reduces cart abandonment and improves the customer experience. As a result, they will likely come back to the store and order another item, provided they can conveniently schedule the delivery. This technology can offer up this feature via APIs to a store POS system, allowing the sales staff to close the sale on a big ticket while glove delivery item.
Dynamic Route Planning
Shipments that require secure and safe transport of highly fragile or valuable items can take advantage of white glove delivery. For example, they may need specially equipped vehicles with power liftgates or pads, and drivers with security clearances. Logistic companies that offer white glove delivery can cater to this unique need with delivery technology.
Delivery technology can help match white glove clients with the appropriate vehicle and driver combinations, ensuring the service promised is accomplished and delivered on time. Should customers need to postpone their appointment, the dynamic optimization can automatically determine the next available delivery opportunity based on the type of service and the client’s location.
Real-Time Alerting and Driver Visibility
Real-time delivery tracking allows the customers to monitor stops and identify the location of the delivery. This is possible with delivery technology. Your customer will be provided real-time delivery updates or when the driver is en route. Delivery technology can provide exact ETA, ensuring the customer is ready and prepared to let the driver into their home or business, and perform white glove delivery service.
As a delivery company, your goal is to ensure delivery efficiency on every appointment. This is possible when you implement the right delivery technology for your white glove delivery services. With delivery technology, your customers can accurately monitor shipment status from pickup to delivery of the white glove service.
Driver Execution Support
Without the right tools and technology, the white glove delivery service can be extremely complex. No matter how skilled and experienced the personnel is, they may still make a mistake in installing major furniture or appliances. You can reduce mistakes and maximize accuracy with delivery technology. A good delivery technology offers access to helpful documentation through driver apps that can provide them with support instructions.
While it’s essential to hire highly trained and experienced personnel to perform white glove delivery services. It’s just as important to have backup tools, just in case. A reliable and trusted delivery company must always be prepared especially when it comes to providing exceptional services to their customers. You can achieve this when you purchase the right delivery technology for your white glove service.
Post Delivery Feedback
Regardless of what industry you’re in, providing exceptional customer service is crucial to attracting and retaining customers, and encouraging repeat business. When clients have suggestions or complaints, you must acknowledge this and resolve the issue at the soonest possible time. With delivery technology, you can follow up with your clients post-delivery to get any feedback from them. They can send text messages to the clients asking them how they can improve their service. When there are complaints, make sure to resolve that the soonest possible time.
You can generate referrals and boost your brand when you proactively engage with the customer and address customer issues promptly. Delivery also streamlines business processes and gives you a competitive advantage. Whether you are a start-up or an established company, implementing the right delivery technology is essential.
Contact Us Today
Every business’s goal is to ensure all customers are highly satisfied with their services. If you want to know how delivery technology can significantly improve the customer experience for your white glove delivery services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. Schedule a demo with the nuVizz team today and learn about the ML and AI-based Delivery Orchestration and Customer Experience Platform.
