On-demand delivery platform Dispatch expands to California, New York

Last-mile delivery platform Dispatch is now servicing areas in California and will add New York to its coverage later this week, the company announced Tuesday.

Dispatch, which provides business-to-business, on-demand, last-mile deliveries, began servicing the Los Angeles, San Jose and Orange Country areas of California on June 20, with additional service to Oakland and the Inland Empire. On Thursday, coverage will commence on Long Island, New York.

 “We are growing to accommodate the needs of the final-mile delivery industry and providing capacity-building solutions for our B2B customers,” said Andrew Leone, Dispatch CEO and co-founder. “Dispatch customers include companies needing parts delivered to their jobsite to complete a repair, as well as companies that are using our Dispatch Connect technology to optimize and create efficiencies in routing their vehicles.

Dispatch is now operational in 57 U.S. cities in 34 states. The company offers on-demand delivery expertise with real-time updates and dynamic ETAs. It uses independent contractor drivers. Among its technology solutions are the Dispatch Marketplace and Dispatch Connect.

More parcels than ever

Pitney Bowes in May released its Parcel Shipping Index. The global shipping and mailing company found that U.S. parcel volume grew 6% in 2021 over 2020, reaching 21.5 billion parcels shipped. That works out to 683 parcels per second.

“The Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index has become an authoritative barometer for growth across the shipping and logistics industry over the past seven years,” said Jason Dies, EVP and president of Sending Technology Solutions for Pitney Bowes. “2021 saw the industry rocked by outside influences as carriers continued to manage the impact of the pandemic. Despite these challenges, carrier revenues and parcel volumes reached a record high, showcasing the resiliency of the U.S. consumer and the industry’s ability to absorb their growing appetite for internet retail.”

Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) is forecasting parcel volume growth of between 5% and 10% annually from 2022 through 2027. Total volumes could reach as much as 40 billion parcels annually by 2027.

The Big 4 dominate, but …

Not surprisingly, the major carriers — FedEx (NYSE: FDX), UPS (NYSE: UPS) and the U.S. Postal Service — dominate the market. Collectively, the three shipped 76.2% of all parcels in 2021. Adding the 4.8 billion parcels delivered by Amazon Logistics, 98% of parcels were delivered by one of the four. UPS enjoyed the highest market share at 37%, followed by FedEx’s 33%, the Postal Service at 17% and Amazon Logistics at 12%.

However, it is not just the big players that are benefiting, said Pitney Bowes.

For instance, Amazon passed off 3.6 billion parcels to other carriers for delivery in 2020, up from 2.8 billion in 2020. Overall, carriers outside the top four saw their volumes grow 94% in 2021. Managing those deliveries is increasingly being driven by companies like Dispatch that can handle both the technology side and connect brands with an on-demand workforce.

“Dispatch is also a solution for companies that have done away with their delivery vehicles and opt to use Dispatch as their outsourced fleet, so we look forward to providing our last-mile delivery platform within the California and New York markets to meet the growing need,” said Leone.

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Source: freightwaves - On-demand delivery platform Dispatch expands to California, New York
Editor: Brian Straight