Securing clients into a multiyear contract is a great way to add stability to your third-party logistics (3PL) business, but long-term agreements mean your firm needs to stay competitive when it comes time for contract negotiations.

As renewal periods come up, clients will be weighing their options and looking for 3PL features and benefits that give them the most bang for their buck — and the most help delighting customers with fast, on-time deliveries. Crowdsourced delivery is your secret weapon here, and Roadie’s team has mastered five key areas of last-mile logistics that you can take advantage of with a crowdsourced delivery partnership. 

Same-day & next-day local order fulfillment

Fast deliveries are table stakes for retailers nowadays — 90% of shoppers expect to receive their orders in three days or less, and demand for same-day deliveries is expected to more than double by 2027. With this in mind, retailers are looking for partners that can meet fast shipping demands. 

If your 3PL business hasn’t been able to make the jump to same-day and next-day local delivery, supplementing with crowdsourcing is the easiest way to add that capability to your service offerings. When you partner with Roadie you get access to a network of 200,000 drivers nationwide giving your delivery service offerings an automatic same-day boost to fill more customer orders faster.

Generous order size & LTL capabilities

Consumers have become used to ordering just about anything online, which means retailers need logistics partners that can enable them to deliver anything from a pair of jeans to a pair of laundry machines (and those fast turnaround times still apply). When traditional shippers start tacking on excess fees for large or oddly shaped items, or for less-than-truckload shipments that are required to meet customers’ delivery windows, retailers will begin looking elsewhere for logistics partners with more flexibility. 

With the Roadie crowdsourced network, capable drivers with vehicles of all types are available on-demand to handle orders of any size. Two boxes of drywall screws and 10 rolls of batt insulation in one order? No problem. Refrigerated grocery items? They’ve got it — and those jeans and large appliances too. 

Eliminated cutoff times

In order to get truckloads of materials sorted, shipped and delivered on time, traditional 3PLs set order cutoff times that partners must abide by. These range from noon on the early side to as late as 5 to 7 p.m. for some providers. Since cutoff times will affect how retailers market their delivery options, details about cutoff times and any excess fees or other ramifications for missed deadlines must be spelled out clearly during contract negotiations. 

When your firm partners with Roadie, you’ll be able to give prospective partners some good news: Roadie’s crowdsourced delivery platform operates 24/7, which lets you provide fast delivery services with no cutoff times, differentiating your service and your client’s brand.

Peak season scalability

Most retail brands have defined sales cycles that revolve around peak season. In many cases, this comes during the holiday shopping season from late fall to early winter, but peak season is different for everyone. Office supply stores see peak season at back-to-school time, while construction and lawn and garden companies might see peak season during the spring and summer. 

Whenever your client’s peak season occurs, are you ready to ramp up your staff and fleet to accommodate them — and then ramp back down when peak season is over? Crowdsourced delivery is an ideal supplement to address peak season delivery needs, and with the Roadie platform’s flexibility, you’ll be able to scale up services during your clients’ peak season, and then easily scale back down when business returns to normal. 

Returns processing options

A number of large retailers, including Amazon and Kohl’s, have given consumers the freedom to return purchases at almost any time for almost any reason. Pair that with the rise of direct-to-consumer brands with no storefronts for merchandise returns, and it’s clear that reverse logistics is an essential consideration for retailers looking for a 3PL partner. This is one more area where crowdsourced delivery helps 3PL providers differentiate themselves. 

The Roadie network of independent drivers doesn’t just move in one direction from order pickup to customer delivery. The network’s flexibility and easy-to-use API means drivers  can pick up and deliver anything to just about any location. If this means picking up a customer’s return at their doorstep and bringing it back to your warehouse for reprocessing, it’s as easy as creating a delivery that crosses one more thing off the customer’s to-do list. 

Roadie has mastered the last mile — so you can too

With everything from size flexibility to returns handling accounted for, the Roadie team is ready to help your 3PL business maximize its capabilities and differentiate your business when it’s time for clients to re-up their contracts. If your firm hasn’t mastered these five areas of last-mile success, give Roadie a call today. Onboarding is fast, easy and can get your team up and running in time for peak season (whenever it might be).