As the saying goes, time is money. And that’s precisely why delivery appointments make smart business sense for a lot of operations: Because they save time. As an Ohio 3PL, one of our top priorities is getting every Cleveland delivery appointment scheduled for the mode, timetable and price point that works for each client.

Delivery appointments aren’t new. However, their scope has expanded in recent years. They’re no longer just for warehouses and distribution centers (though they’re still used often there too). They’ve become essential in an e-commerce era when customers have high expectations for fast turnaround. Setting clear delivery windows at appointed times can go a long way toward keeping customers happy and operations efficient while minimizing the chances of missed deliveries.

What is a Delivery Appointment?

A delivery appointment is a scheduled time slot that a carrier or 3PL (third-party logistics) provider agrees to with the receiving party for the delivery of goods. Unlike regular deliveries, which could arrive at any time of day, a delivery appointment scheduled in advance establishes a predetermined time that the shipment is expected to arrive at a given location.

The process involves coordination and communication between the shipper, carrier and consignee/recipient to be certain all are on the same page.

Delivery appointments have historically been mostly reserved for deliveries to warehouses, distribution centers and retail stores, as opposed to individual customers. That made sense because these operations need to effectively manage the flow of incoming goods to maintain efficiency and avoid bottlenecks and delays. If every delivery truck showed up to our Cleveland warehouse at random, it would be a chaotic scene. Scheduling delivery appointments at set times helps ensure we have the capacity to safely and efficiently process those shipments before moving on to the next.

However, customer buying patterns and expectations during the pandemic gave way to a rise in delivery appointments as an add-on service in last mile delivery. An analysis by Salesforce.com noted that the dawn of this “appointment economy” has the potential to optimize customer field engagements within the delivery process, ultimately leading to much improved overall customer experiences. Not all customers are going to need to know the exact time their package is going to arrive, but those that do will be more satisfied with delivery appointments — and likely willing to pay extra for it.

Upside of Having Delivery Appointments

Delivery appointment schedules don’t solely benefit your Cleveland warehousing or 3PL partner. Among the many benefits carriers and other customers:

• Better efficiency – reduced wait times for carriers. There’s less chance of trucks idling in the lot – wasting time and gas and potentially risking spoilage – if each truck arrives at its specified delivery appointment time.
• Heightened customer satisfaction. Delivery appointments allow businesses to meet customer expectations because they know exactly when packages will arrive. Being able to deliver convenience, efficiency and better delivery experiences is what is going to give many companies a competitive edge in the so-called “appointment economy.”
• Improved inventory management. For businesses that manage large inventories, delivery appointments can help maintain optimal stock levels. By scheduling deliveries, companies can ensure new inventory arrives just as existing stock is being depleted, lowering the risk of overstocks, stockouts and emergency shipments. This just-in-time inventory approach can be especially valuable in retail and manufacturing industries.
• Reduced costs. Again, time is money. The less time your load is spent waiting, the more you save on gas and labor. You can be more efficiently allocating those resources.

Our Cleveland 3PL Can Oversee Delivery Appointment Schedules

Although managing to get a delivery appointment scheduled may seem feasible in-house, there are advantages to trusting the job to a 3PL trucking /warehouse company.

Namely, we have the expertise and experience to ensure the process goes off without a hitch. We help clients coordinate delivery appointments, navigate complex supply chains and steer through unexpected changes.

Additionally, our team has already invested in the cutting-edge technology necessary to effectively manage logistics operations. These include warehouse management systems (WMS), transportation management systems (TMS) — which give us the capability of real-time tracking, route optimization, automated scheduling and inventory management. By leveraging these tools, we’re able to ensure delivery appointments are accurately scheduled and all parties have visibility into the status of their shipments.

As an established 3PL (with 4PL capabilities as well), we already have a sizable network of carriers, warehouses, distribution centers and streamlined routes that we can utilize to help us quickly coordinate deliveries, reduce transit times and ensure goods get delivered on schedule.

Whether you’re a retailer, manufacturer, e-commerce company or other type of operation, contracting with a 3PL helps ensure each Cleveland delivery appointment scheduled will be easy and accurate.

If you have questions about our Cleveland 3PL trucking and delivery appointments, give us a call at (440) 826-4630 or request a quote!

Additional Resources:

The Rise Of The Appointment Economy: The Last Mile Of Customer Engagement Will Be Scheduled, Optimized And Personalized, May 6, 2021, By Brian Solis, Forbes.com

More Blog Entries:

For Lower Cleveland Trucking Costs, Partner Up With a 3PL, July 15, 2024, Cleveland Trucking Company Blog