The commercial benefits of multiple collection networks

Australia is behind the 8-ball when providing choices to consumers about how they receive and return their deliveries.  

Retailers, carriers, and customers all have something significant to gain and we must understand the roadblocks so we can overcome them and start winning in this space. 

We need to catch up with international markets ​where ​click-and-collect is up to 40% of volume and growing. Customers have been conditioned to accept this is a delivery option, and they’re reaping the rewards of a greener, more convenient system. 

It’s also crucial for the local logistics industry, which is struggling to find drivers and service the volume of customer demand.  

In retail, we know that e-commerce volumes are down, but ​​returns are increasing and makeup 23% of all e-commerce purchases.  

HUBBED’s position is clear. We’re a collection point network of more than 3000 sites nationwide. We offer more delivery choices that give the customer what they want and create better relationships with retailers as a result. If you look at the brands we work with – The Iconic, Amazon, eBay, Zara – these are the brands retailers are aspiring to be. This is what leading retailers offer their customers, which is what makes them leaders.  

Why do multiple delivery options need to happen now? 

Multiple delivery options add value across the board by improving the supply chain for customers and retailers and increasing the efficiency and sustainability of carriers. 

Retailers want to create stickiness and loyalty with customers. The best way to do that is to create the best experiences on their site.  

Customers are evolving. It’s no longer good enough to have a great website and checkout. The delivery experience is a part of the customer journey with the retailer. If retailers want to improve and cement relationships with customers, they need to offer choice, in the same way they do at the cart when they offer multiple ways to pay. 

Carriers crucially need to drive efficiency in last-mile delivery. It’s almost 50% of the costs, and with home delivery of something as cheap as an iPhone cover, it’s simply not tenable for a business. Equally, free delivery is not sustainable for most retailers or carriers. Dropping volume into consolidated locations reduces costs for retailers and carriers.  

What about the consumer? No one wants to stand in the queue at Australia Post on a Saturday morning, or rush home to be there for an important delivery. Yes, some purchases will demand a home delivery – I want to see and sign for my new phone or laptop. But for other items, such as fast fashion, I want alternative convenient choices about where and when I pick it up.  

Pick up, drop off (PUDO) networks like HUBBED are a part of the solution for all those challenges. 

What can retailers and carriers do to quash the pain points of delivery and returns? 

Convenience, sustainability, and cost are the major pain points for customers, carriers and retailers. How do we fix it? 

It starts in the cart. Retailers can provide choices and give customers a reason to buy from them. If I care about sustainability – and we know that 8 in 10 customers do – and another retailer offers a green shipping option with a collection point, I’m going with the greener retailer. 

Working with carriers who support collection point networks enables retailers to pass on this breadth of choice to their customers who genuinely care about these issues. 

The retailer can also reap the cost benefits of partnering with carriers who can utilise collection point networks. If carriers can increase their ability to generate revenue by dropping 30 parcels at once instead of one, they’re driving down the cost per parcel delivery. If the carriers pass these savings onto the retailer, everyone wins. It’s a cyclical economy. 

How does HUBBED solve the major pain points? 

With more than 3000 locations that operate 24/7 or with extended hours, HUBBED enables the carrier to create density and improve the efficiency of their last-mile system supply chain. They can deliver faster, and they can deliver more volume.  

For the retailer, we’re creating more choices and giving them more delivery options. This creates a competitive advantage over retailers who don’t offer those services.  

The consumer gets better choices and convenience. As well as being able to pick up their parcel from the local BP where they get petrol anyway, they can reduce their carbon footprint. Collection point networks are a greener shipping option because shipments are largely consolidated. This reduces emissions and congestion. 

With tracking and notifications, there’s also a sense of security and influence customers don’t get with most traditional home delivery.  

What’s next for Australia? 

HUBBED has the technology. If you are a retailer and you are on any of the major platforms including Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce, it’s a simple integration to get access to the HUBBED network. 

If you’ve got a standalone solution of your own, we have standardised API’s that integrate our network into your shopping cart and shipping experience. We’ve integrated with all the major carriers and integrators, such as Shippit, so whoever you’re working with, we’re working with.  

In the end, the major thing standing in Australia’s way is that retailers aren’t fully digesting the value proposition.  

Everyone in the supply chain gains benefits including being sustainable. It’s time we catch up with the rest of the world and start to give consumers more choices in delivery options.  

Check out HUBBED for more information.