Building a More Resilient Last-Mile Delivery Strategy for Peak Season
The environments in which retailers operate are becoming increasingly unpredictable. From global supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainty to shifts in consumer demand, many challenges are outside of a brand’s control. As retailers head into peak season, those pressures become even more pronounced as order volumes rise and customer expectations increase.
The good news? Retailers can strengthen resilience and reliability by investing in more adaptable delivery operations.
In this Q&A, we’re joined by Josh Haun, UniUni’s Vice President, Business Development, U.S., to discuss critical strategies for retailers seeking to deliver operational consistency and maintain customer trust amid a volatile peak season.
Retailers are facing uncertainty from multiple directions right now. Why has reliability become such a major focus this peak season?
Josh: The challenge for retailers today is that volatility is a constant, not temporary. As such, it’s important for retailers to build stability where they can, and delivery is a great opportunity to do so. Retailers can actively influence this customer-facing experience and provide reliable deliveries in times of uncertainty, not only building customer loyalty, but also creating a more predictable customer experience.
Many retailers focus heavily on delivery speed during peak season. Is reliability becoming more important than speed?
Josh: Speed will always matter, but reliability and predictability are equally important. In the near future, even if drones deliver packages within minutes of orders being placed, customers will be disappointed if the deliveries are inconsistent or, worse, disruptive. Missed expectations are more memorable for customers than exceptionally fast deliveries.
How does delivery reliability affect customer loyalty and brand perception?
Josh: Retailers themselves are often associated with the delivery process, since it is the final interaction in the customer journey. While positive interactions motivate repeat brand engagement, failed deliveries can erode customer trust.
What are some of the biggest challenges retailers face when trying to maintain reliable delivery performance?
Josh: Demand spikes from seasonal peaks, flash sales, and viral promotions can quickly strain delivery operations. At the same time, retailers are navigating traffic congestion, road closures, weather events, and other disruptions that can impact service levels.
The retailers that manage these challenges best tend to have flexible delivery networks, strong visibility into their operations, dynamic routing capabilities, and partners that can quickly adapt as conditions change.
How does visibility help retailers maintain reliability during periods of uncertainty?
Josh: Visibility allows retailers to identify issues before they become customer problems. With access to real-time operational data and performance insights, they can spot potential bottlenecks early and respond before disruptions affect the customer experience.
When retailers and their delivery partners share timely, accurate information, they can make better decisions and deliver a more consistent customer experience, even when conditions change.
What should retailers look for in a last-mile delivery partner today?
Josh: Retailers should evaluate partners beyond delivery speed and pricing. It’s important to understand how quickly a provider can scale capacity during demand surges, what level of visibility they provide into delivery operations, how they optimize routes when conditions change, and whether they can maintain consistent service standards as coverage expands.
Access to real-time operational data helps retailers identify issues before they affect customers and gives them greater confidence during periods of uncertainty. The more visibility retailers have into their delivery operations, the better positioned they are to respond to disruptions and maintain a consistent customer experience.
Looking ahead, what will separate successful retailers from their competitors?
Josh: The retailers that succeed will be the ones that build resilience into their operations. That means creating flexibility in their delivery networks, improving visibility into performance, and working with partners that can adapt as conditions change.
I wrote more here about why volatility is here to stay. Peak season puts every part of a retailer’s operation to the test. The brands that continue to earn customer trust will be the ones that deliver consistently, even when demand surges and conditions become more challenging.
Look out for more conversations with the leaders shaping the future e-commerce, technology, logistics, and supply chain. As always, get in touch with our team to learn more about our last-mile delivery offerings.