Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often called the ‘backbone’ of the American economy. When 30.7 million small businesses make up 99.9% of businesses in the U.S. and employ nearly half of the private workforce, it’s hard to deny that America’s financial success is, in large part, due to SMEs.
Though the impact of SMEs on economic development is resounding, these businesses experience an array of issues that hinder their full potential to flourish in a competitive environment. Restricted access to capital, labor talent deficiencies, and a strict regulatory landscape are major obstacles that play a negative role in the expansion of America’s SMEs.
The lifeblood of the American economy runs through small- and medium-sized businesses, so it’s essential to find smart, efficient solutions for sustaining their growth in an ever-evolving world. Constant changes in technology present business owners with unique opportunities to capitalize on future innovations and empower their businesses. An important step toward building a sustainable small business is the incorporation of digitized delivery.
Agility and Flexibility
Digitizing delivery allows small businesses and large corporations to transform their infrastructure into an agile, flexible operation that succeeds at effectively handling tasks on a small and large scale. A business that embraces digitized delivery is able to create an efficient solution for meeting constant demands while maintaining low costs.
Businesses that work with traditional delivery companies are beginning to realize their unaccommodating and costly nature. Relying on a traditional delivery company means conforming to a rigid schedule based on a set number of deliveries per period. This presents a difficult barrier to overcome: the inability to to add deliveries to satisfy a last-minute customer or to cut down on deliveries when business is slow.
In the past, the only alternative for businesses to beat the shortcomings of working with a traditional delivery company was to create their own delivery fleet. In doing so, businesses had to deal with the recurring costs of vehicle maintenance, employed drivers and insurance, which often led to financial starvation and operational inefficiency.
A Virtual Fleet
GoShare is a tech company that connects people and businesses to on-demand delivery services. We present an entirely digitized delivery platform for SMEs to use by hosting a virtual fleet. This virtual fleet is a large network of thousands of vetted drivers through our app or website.
GoShare creates an opportunity for businesses to adopt an adaptable and scalable delivery operation. With access to a flexible logistics platform like GoShare, businesses can tailor their delivery needs to customers and other businesses without strict guidelines or high investment costs. It’s simple and easy to increase deliveries on demand for unexpected emergencies, schedule deliveries in advance for an upcoming seasonal spike, or lessen deliveries during slow business periods.
Automation and Efficiency
A business that embraces digitized delivery is in a unique position to leverage the power of automation. Consolidated online records, in-app project tracking and payment, and effective driver communications are key advantages to using a virtual fleet of trucks and vans.
A major limitation of small- and medium sized businesses is time management. When a business is working with minimal resources to start out with, it’s difficult to find enough time to make great strides toward accomplishing short- and long-term goals. Human capital eases workload, but employee turnover and time and money spent on recruiting, onboarding, and measuring productivity hinder overall effectiveness.
Businesses that utilize automation can streamline logistic processes and improve efficiency within middle- and last-mile delivery, allowing them to concentrate their efforts on other business-critical tasks. Automated accounting processes and email campaigns save time and take away the tedious hassle of human exertion. Additionally, speedy customer and driver communications through instantaneous messaging systems can help spark new relationships and build rapport among consumers and other businesses.
Expansion Into the Future
Manual labor is slowly becoming a thing of the past while rapid development in artificial intelligence and robotics technology is transforming the workforce of today. Virtual agents and chatbots, flying drones, and machine-learning systems are replacing humans while augmenting the way businesses operate.
In order for SMEs to flourish in a growing technological climate, they must seek innovative ways to simultaneously control costs and improve their product or service. GoShare is the leading digitized delivery platform that helps businesses daily with creating a sustainable delivery system. From local mom-and-pop furniture stores to large retailers such as Costco and Homegoods, our on-demand delivery service thrives on empowering businesses so that they can continue toward the path of success in America.
Other Helpful Resources
Did you find this article helpful? Check out these other posts for more information about customer experience, supply chains, and logistics.
- How Physical Retail Stores Are Using Experiences to Win Customers
- Why You Should Outsource Last Mile Delivery
- Retail Delivery Best Practices
- How Technology is Driving Rising Customer Expectations
- Technology and Supply Chain Management
- How On-Demand Transportation Can Provide Middle Mile Support
- What is First Mile and Last Mile Delivery?
- What is Reverse Logistics?