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The results have proved enlightening and fly in the face of the mainstream media’s fascination for the “flashy” topics of flying drones dropping parcels from the sky and androids working as couriers. The Triangle research confirms that increasing automation IS high on the agenda – but the industry is focusing on the more down-to-earth and practical technologies such as driverless vehicles and the use of advanced robotics in post and parcel distribution, sortation and fulfilment.

Some of the headline findings include:

  • Over 80% of those surveyed felt that driverless vehicles would become a standard part of the delivery infrastructure within 10 years. Nearly 10% felt it would be within 5 years.
  • Only 26% felt robot and drone technology would become a standard part of delivery infrastructure within the next 5 years. 30% of respondents felt it would never become the industry standard.
  • Almost 80% of those surveyed saw ultra-fast (1 hour) and preferred time slot delivery models becoming more prominent in the near future and the majority felt the customer would be happy to pay for such services.
  • Only 17% of respondents felt crowd sourcing would become relevant to their organisation within the next 5 years.

Despite the consensus that automation is just around the corner, we were surprised to find that drones and robots were not seen as a major change to the delivery infrastructure in the short term. Parcel lockers and driverless vehicles were seen as much more imminent disruptors and there is clearly less enthusiasm for drones and robotics for delivery.

Another key takeaway on the delivery front is the view that new models of delivery (such as preferred time slots), would not only become more prominent, but if done correctly, they could be promoted as a value added service for which customers would be happy to pay. How long this might last however is another debate as there was a view among some respondents that it would only take one market leader to offer such services for free for the whole industry to quickly follow suit, adding yet more pressure to their bottom lines.

Crowd sourcing was one of the more divisive issues in the survey creating a great deal of uncertainty. 52% of respondents were not sure if crowd sourcing would become relevant to their organisation within 5 years. Despite the rapid proliferation of crowd sourcing within the industry, uncertainty around legislation and employment law, particularly in the context of legal battles for the likes of Uber and Deliveroo, is most likely creating such hesitation.

This survey was conducted as part of research leading up to the World Mail & Express Americas Conference in Miami this February which will explore and debate the key disruptive challenges facing the industry in the Americas and Worldwide. For more information and your chance to join the debate, visit the conference website – www.wmxamericas.com

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