Good placement: A secret for a successful OOH delivery

Leading European postal operators will increase investment in out-of-home (OOH) delivery solutions to meet consumer demands, according to speakers at the Leaders in Logistics Last Mile 2022 event. 

Should this be surprising? 

Online shopping has completely changed customers’ expectations. They can order products anytime and anywhere and expect the same level of convenience regarding the delivery process. Delivery companies have to offer multiple delivery options while ensuring that recipients can collect their parcels at a place and time that suits them. 

Because of the ever-changing expectations, OOH delivery, including pick-up and drop-off points (PUDO) and automatic parcel machines (APM), plays a vital role in the last mile. 

Benefits of OOH delivery 

OOH is becoming increasingly popular. Parcel lockers moved up to the 3rd place of preferred delivery methods, with just 1% behind parcel shops. However, this isn’t happening just because they are convenient for recipients. A well-developed OOH delivery strategy has many benefits:

• Significantly decreased delivery costs and average delivery time
• Reduced unsuccessful delivery attempts
• Reduced carbon emissions due to consolidation of shipments
• Limiting the number of drivers and vehicles needed for a successful delivery

You can read more about the benefits of parcel lockers in our previous blog.

To experience these benefits, companies need to pinpoint profitable PUDO and APM locations. Failing to do so will result in high costs.

Misconceptions about growing the OOH network

The placement of PUDOs and APMs can’t be a gut-driven decision. While planning their locations, multiple data factors must be considered, such as availability and accessibility. PUDOs and APMs are usually located near metro stations, bus stations, high-traffic areas, shopping centers, and inside stores to accommodate these factors.

Unfortunately, just because a parcel locker is positioned at a highly populated and accessible location does not mean it will meet KPIs. The analysis has to be more detailed.

How to find ideal locations to propel your OOH deliveries

Demographic data, the density of the population, and location accessibility must be cross-referenced with other types of data. 

Shipment data is needed, as analyzing shipments' delivery load and distribution helps evaluate the possibilities of positioning new facilities. Points of interest can be layered over the shipment data and the analysis deepened by introducing relevant third-party data to find locations with high potential. 

Introducing or growing the OOH network can be a time-consuming and complicated process. Delivery companies typically use multiple tools to connect data layers, which aren’t customized for their use case. This leaves room for inefficiencies to hide and slows down ROI. 

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that difficult. We know how to help companies find profitable locations while significantly reducing decision-making time. Read more about it here.

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