For some orders and times of the year, customers are happy with two-day or longer shipping windows. But last-minute holiday shoppers need those orders ASAP. Getting urgent orders to customers can be tricky during peak season, when you’re already dealing with bigger order volumes on tight delivery deadlines. 

Local couriers can help with your on-demand delivery needs, but they come with their own challenges. Many of these one-off delivery providers have strict geographic limitations or charge hefty fees. This makes it even harder to scale to meet customer demand while keeping your costs in check. Between getting orders ready for delivery and managing which couriers will handle each one, offering on-demand delivery of time-sensitive orders can get chaotic no matter the time of year.

And because just one bad delivery can sour a customer on your brand (nearly 70% won’t come back after a negative delivery experience), meeting last-mile logistics promises is essential. Roadie’s hot-shot delivery solution makes it easy to manage express deliveries from any store or warehouse and scale quickly with demand. Here’s what you need to know to make crowdsourcing hot-shot delivery a viable option for your urgent orders this year.

Crowdsourcing is your hot-shot delivery solution

Last-mile logistics isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. That’s where crowdsourced hot shot delivery can help.

Scaling up and down with demand can be a challenging task to manage with traditional carriers. And if you need on-demand delivery for a last-minute order, fulfilling that need is either impossible or so expensive that it no longer makes sense for your business (or your customer).

A crowdsourced delivery network can handle on-demand delivery from any location. This flexibility gives you a big leg up during peak season, when demand can change day to day.

Even better, you won’t have to manage dozens of hot-shot couriers. Because crowdsourcing uses vehicles that are already on the road, you can find a driver in the right area at the right time to get those last-minute orders processed. Crowdsourcing is an on-demand delivery option that keeps your inventory moving out the door, even for unexpected, last-minute orders.

And because you’re not maintaining your own fleet or negotiating complicated contracts with several different couriers, you can scale same-day, one-day and overnight delivery volumes as customers need you to — without the headaches.

Plus, you can apply hot shot delivery principles to move inventory between distribution centers, warehouses and retail storefronts, and for help with returns pickups (a huge bonus for holiday season returns).

Roadie: Your crowdsourced hot-shot delivery partner

Choosing the right crowdsourced delivery platform is key to your peak season — and year-round — delivery success.

With Roadie, you get access to a nationwide network of more than 200,000 drivers using our platform to meet variable demand for all deliveries. Even most bulky, heavy and oversized items are no problem; you can offer same-day delivery up to 100 miles from your store or warehouse location, and next-day for regional and national customers. Roadie drivers can pick up and deliver orders within a few hours.

You don’t have to leave out your harder-to-reach customers, either. Roadie’s network offers same-day on-demand delivery to up to 90% of U.S. households. And because crowdsourcing uses driver-owned vehicles to deliver point-to-point orders or small batches, your orders don’t get packed onto crowded trucks to ride through dozens of stops before reaching your customer. That means less packaging required, which will make your sustainability-minded customers much happier.

Hot-shot delivery can put you well ahead of competitors, especially during peak season. By crowdsourcing this essential service, you can give your customers the fast, on-demand delivery they need without having to charge hefty fees. That means happier customers and a more successful — and stress-free — holiday season.

The peak season surge isn’t without its challenges. Discover our 7-step roadmap to win peak season and delight customers with crowdsourced delivery.

Your roadmap to peak season success: 7 steps for delighting customers when demand spikes