The Last Mile. Internet Shopping’s Weak Link.

Date November 6, 2006

Shopping over the Internet is easy - browse, point, click, pay. Often, a delivery charge is added, and not long after is where the problem starts.

The other day I ordered a new laptop from Dell, and using their Order Tracking facility, I noticed that the delivery date which had been automatically scheduled wasn’t convenient for me. I rang the logistics company to arrange an alternative - giving them another 4 days window - and was assured that this new date would be fine.

When I got home the day before my newly scheduled delivery date, there was a card in my letter box from the logistics company saying they’d tried to deliver a package from Dell but there was no-one home to sign for it. No shit, Sherlock; that’s why I phoned you 3 days ago to arrange for delivery tomorrow.

The following morning (the day my package should have been delivered; oh yes, I couldn’t call them that very evening because their customer service line helpfully closes at 17:00), I phoned the company but was told that because they’d tried to deliver my laptop yesterday and couldn’t, it was not on today’s delivery schedule. Wait a minute, I said. You messed up my delivery date? Yes, sir. But you still aren’t going to get it right today? No, sir.

So, in the end, I had to do a round trip of an hour in the car to go and collect a package that I’d paid to have delivered. What pisses me off is that this happens time and time again. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Next, Ebay, Amazon or Dell, the delivery of my goods is scheduled around the convenience of the logistics companies. I have a job; I’m not at home when the delivery guy comes a-knockin’.

If Tesco.com can arrange a 2-hour slot for my groceries to be delivered at a time that suits me, why can’t the parcel carriers do it? Everyone, they say, has got at least one one-million-dollar idea inside them - here’s a free one for somebody. The person who starts-up a delivery company that delivers after people are home from work will clean up. Call it Logistics 2.0.

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