Why Local Delivery Couriers Often Win Over Commercial Carriers
In today’s market, buyers are looking for the most convenient purchase option when shopping from Farms. While 80% of Americans prefer buying a local product, many buyers still expect online orders to arrive on their doorstep. Most customers won’t consider how products get from your Farm to their house. However, your Farm business must be aware of the best delivery options to streamline time to their doorstep (while minimizing risk and cost).
Many Farms across the country are winning by offering door-to-door home Delivery from their Farm. For many buyers, the ability to shop online and have orders arrive at their house is the most convenient option (versus remembering to swing by a Pick-up venue or drive out of town to your Farm).
When time is limited and customers demand convenience, many Farmers work directly with a Local Courier to deliver products on their behalf (and forego major commercial carriers, such as FedEx and UPS).
So, the question remains: should you choose Commercial Carriers or work with a Local Courier to deliver your Farms’ products?
Commercial Carriers Are Ideally Suited for Shelf-Stable Products
A Commercial Carrier typically transports large quantities of packages at once - aggregated, assembled, and moved by the container load. Packages are “handled” often - moved, sorted, stacked, and re-distributed from one truck to a container to an air cargo container and another truck. The vast majority of their delivery vehicles are NOT temperature controlled.
We recommend using Commercial Carriers for shelf-stable products as there’s no concern for temperature, timing, or delays that could occur. Commercial Carriers do a great job with a high volume of durable products and packages. They are ideal for shelf-stable products (e.g., honey, dried fruits, jams) that can be moved speedily in standard off-the-shelf boxes and packages. These products can also withstand trucks, airplanes, and transfers between multiple vehicles before arriving at its final destination.
Perishable products, however, can be a challenge (and costly). To begin with, note that 2-day ground or next-day air is NOT necessarily guaranteed (read the fine print). Even the best packaged, perishable products with expensive insulation, dry ice, or gel packs can succumb to the heat on a tarmac or in the back of a truck. Worse yet, the package may be delayed, the dry ice or gel packs do not last, and the shipment must be discarded.
Overall, the margin profile is lower for Perishable Products shipped via Commercial Carriers due to the high costs of packaging, shipment, and offsetting losses. With packages shipped millions of miles with Commercial Carriers (via Barn2Door), we see the losses and insurance claims submitted every month. It may also result in a poor experience for your buyers, who may or may not be forgiving.
If you’re shipping perishable products (e.g., frozen meats and seafood), we suggest another alternative - working with Local Couriers - many of whom operate local fleets with temperature-controlled vehicles.
Why Local Couriers Can Be an Ideal Alternative for Perishable Products
Local Couriers are often small to mid-sized businesses that operate a fleet of vehicles in local geographic markets – from a large metropolitan area to a collection of neighboring states. Local Couriers typically operate in the “Less-than-a-Container Load” (LCL) market and focus on business-to-business and/or business-to-consumer “last mile” deliveries.
Local Couriers can be an ideal business partner for Farmers as they are often familiar with a given region, can scale with your business, and may offer an affordable means to ensure your products are delivered to customer's doorsteps.
Many Local Couriers offer the benefit of temperature-controlled fleets, reducing your packaging costs, improving the integrity and freshness of your Farm products, and lowering loss rates. These savings translate directly to your bottom line (improving your profit margins) and will likely build great confidence among your buyers!
When evaluating Local Couriers, inquire about the make-up of their delivery fleet (e.g., Sprinter Vans, Temperature Controlled), box handling & sizing, ideal route density, and delivery cadence. Most Local Couriers will pass on “one-off” deliveries. However, Farms with a consistent buyer base of Subscriptions will find willing partners to grow with your business. Pricing is often directly correlated to the density, size, and consistency of your deliveries (as a result, Subscriptions are ideal for delivery). Next-day and Same-day delivery are often more accessible options when working with a Local Courier.
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When working with Local Couriers, Farmers often encourage their buyers to leave a cooler on the front porch. Some Farmers even sell branded coolers to raise awareness of their Farm Brand and home Delivery service. In the absence of insulation and dry ice or gel packs, improve your Farm Branded packaging, including boxes, tape, stamps, or a personalized note to create an experience for your buyers. 94% of Americans said they’d be highly likely to recommend a brand they were emotionally engaged with - so leaving a small note saying thanks can go a long way!
When deciding between a Local Courier over a Commercial Carrier, it’s best to stay local as a local business yourself. You keep the profits within your community and support other small business owners (who would also like to see you succeed!). Working with Commercial Carriers is ideal for shelf-stable products. However, shipping Perishable Products (meats, produce, and seafood) across the country is often a losing proposition that will likely erode your margins and leave some customers dissatisfied. Rather, work with a Local Courier to build a customized experience, cut down on your costs, and delight your customers.
Barn2Door provides an all-in-one solution for Farmers to grow and manage their business. If you’re curious to learn why successful Farmers run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.