Nestled in the bustling Chinatown of Philadelphia, the 2019 Home Delivery World Conference and Expo was in full swing during the two-day event on April 4th and 5th at the Philadelphia Convention Center. This year’s event was combined with the City Freight World Show and featured various speaking sessions and seminars. Thousands of transportation and logistics, consumer goods, and technology professionals filled the convention to discuss topics such as; enhancing customer experience and reducing costs with third-party delivery partners, and how to evaluate in-house vs. outsource for home delivery. A wide range of industries were represented including parcel, heavy goods, supply chain, groceries and city freight.
The burning topic of discussion in the industry was customer expectations and the “Amazon Effect.” This shift has had a tremendous impact on last mile delivery and how companies communicate with their customers. One of the first things our booth visitors mentioned is that now more than ever, their customers want to know where their drivers and orders are. They were seeking solutions for a host of pain points, and happily, Route Manager is a great tool for their needs, across many industries. Being a SaaS company that provides solutions for truck routing, last mile dispatchers and route planners, exceeding customer expectations is top of mind for WorkWave Route Manager. This is why we’ve enhanced our interface and features to provide customer notifications, live ETA driver tracking, and more.
While exploring the exhibition hall and speaking to attendees and exhibitors, it was very apparent that there are a plethora of innovative niche offerings in the home delivery space. The spirit of ingenuity was exciting to see. One offering that was particularly interesting was package locks, to avoid theft from a customer’s front door. The product was subscription-based and ideal for residential consumers who are rarely home but receive ongoing orders such as prescriptions.
Whether businesses were technology, consumer goods, or transportation-focused, this show offered the ideal arena for any company that deals with customers and last mile delivery. Businesses were able to find solutions for known and unknown needs. The environment was exciting, energized, and filled with optimism for the ultimate goal of innovation and competitiveness. There is no limit to how many factors there are in the Home Delivery management software space. The 2019 show most definitely accomplished its goal of connecting those facets in one place across many industries.
