A number of companies have a lot riding on all of their same-day delivery efforts.  It does show that no matter how big you are, the cost to implement the service on a mass scale, and be profitable, comes at a hefty price.

The Huffington Post spotlighted Amazon in an article regarding its’ same-day delivery growth.  Amazon has experienced a huge spike in shoppers utilizing the service this holiday season, and it is rightly so concerning all of the investment and expansion the web-based retailer did months prior.  The holiday sales figures are paying off, as in one of its’ latest press releases, Amazon announced it had 10 times more items shipped via same-day delivery than last year for the holidays.

There were 8 more major US cities that Amazon added to its’ mix of same-day delivery programs, including Atlanta.  It went without question that clearly the 50 strategic distribution centers for order fulfillment aren’t enough.  Same-day delivery is becoming a strong staple for Amazon to get those last-mile deliveries performed from their warehouses.  E-commerce is expected to increase close to $500 billion in 2018 also.  However, amid all the growth, will the delivery driver gain from all of the frenzy and grow also.

It’s hard to comprehend that Amazon could ever yield any massive loss, but it did this year.  Amazon had a net loss of $437 million in the third quarter of this year, so the high holiday numbers certainly brought the retailer some good cheer.  However, Huffington spotlighted a case where everyone involved in same-day delivery doesn’t win; the one that that may be lossing out is the driver.  “It’s like they want us to be employees, but they don’t want to pay for it,” Myron Ballard said, driver for Amazon delivery partner LaserShip.

Below is a quote from Huffington about Ballard’s experience being a same-day delivery driver.  “Ballard had to purchase the cargo van he drives for work. He doesn’t get reimbursed for the wear and tear he puts on it; for the gasoline he pours into it on a near-daily basis; for the auto insurance he needs to carry; or for the parking tickets he inevitably racks up downtown. He doesn’t even get reimbursed for the LaserShip uniform he’s obliged to purchase and wear”.  It really brings exposure to the importance of making the independent contractor satisfied, not just the shopper with low prices for same-day delivery to not implode.

This is merely an example of how drivers can’t get lost in the same-day delivery pursuit, or they’ll get lost in the shuffle.  Same-day delivery will continue to break the mold and flourish, as physical retailers implement the service in hopes to downsize their physical store costs.  If shoppers are at home, retailers are making the investment to get their products to them instead.  A same-day courier like 1-800 Courierhas a national footprint and the courier expertise to assist e-retailers and brick-and-mortar stores thrive with last-mile deliveries.  The Seattle courier can create a same-day delivery solution fixated on profiting the shopper and its’ drivers as well.

Reference:  12.26.14, Huffington Post, Alexander C. Kaufman, Amazon’s Enormous Same-Day Delivery Growth Comes At A Price