How does contactless delivery work?

The days of collecting packages straight from the delivery partner’s hands are long past us. With the COVID-19 virus still rearing its ugly head, most people now prefer avoiding contact with strangers and maintaining social distance in general. This has led to the rise of contactless delivery. How does contactless delivery work and how can you adapt it in your business? Read on to find out.

What is contactless delivery?

Contactless delivery is a type of delivery where the package isn’t directly delivered to the customer. The delivery executive leaves the package either at the door/gate or with security and informs the customer to collect it. As is clear, this delivery type is perfectly suited for a COVID world where people are looking for ways to avoid physical contact with others. While contactless delivery is a relatively new practice, it has picked up pace in the last year and is now the preferred delivery type for people.

The need for contactless delivery

When the COVID-19 virus first made its presence felt, most people weren’t too aware of the proper SOPs to follow to stay safe. Now that the dust has settled, two buzzwords stand out in the fight against the virus; social distancing. Since the coronavirus spreads through physical contact, maintaining a safe distance, particularly from people you don’t know is essential. This is exactly what contactless delivery is the need of the hour.

When a customer chooses contactless delivery, their order is delivered to their home but without any physical contact with the delivery executive. This doesn’t help lower the risk of the virus spreading but keeps both the customer and the delivery partner at ease about ordering and delivering respectively. Contactless delivery, if planned correctly, also helps customers have a more seamless experience since delivery partners don’t need to call them or ring the bell to deliver the package.

How does contactless delivery work?

In the simplest words, contactless delivery is when the delivery executive leaves the order at the customer’s doorstep instead of handing it over to them. But there’s a lot more that goes into making a delivery contactless than just the way the order is delivered. Here’s a lowdown of how contactless delivery works.

• Businesses need to implement the ‘contactless’ way of working right from the start of the process, including warehousing, printing labels, and creating invoices. Many businesses make use of automation and robots to minimize human intervention in the order packing stage.
• As things stand, customers cannot be forced to opt for contactless delivery and need to be given an option to make their choice at the checkout page. As a delivery or on-demand business, you need to present contactless delivery clearly as an option in your app or website and even nudge customers to choose it.
• When a customer chooses an order to be contactless, the backend systems need to be updated along with the delivery partner app. To ensure delivery partners are aware that a particular delivery is contactless, you can also send push notifications or alerts.
• Delivery partner training is a crucial step of contactless delivery. Partners need to be aware of the exact process to follow for contactless delivery right from when or if to call the customers to how to send them images of the package. A couple of practice training sessions will make the experience much more seamless for both delivery partners and customers.
• One of the most essential parts of contactless delivery is payments. Since delivery partners don’t come face to face with customers, cash or card on delivery options aren’t available. In this case, digital payments need to be pushed, particularly those made at the time of placing the order. Another way could be for delivery partners to share a link or QR code using which customers can pay for their order post delivery.

How can you adopt contactless delivery in your business?

As you can guess, contactless delivery is the way ahead and needs to be an option for any delivery business. Wondering how you can incorporate contactless delivery in your business? We have the perfect solution for you. Introducing Tookan, an enterprise delivery management system that allows you to upgrade your delivery operations to make them more manageable and cost-effective. Some ways that Tookan can help you offer contactless delivery to customers include:

• Customizable customer-facing app where you can easily add an option for contactless delivery. More importantly, the customer app offers real-time tracking capabilities, ensuring customers are aware of the delivery partner’s location and their ETA.
• Multiple payment gateways to ensure safe and secure digital payments. Customers can choose from many different modes of digital payment including cards, net banking, UPI, and more.
• Using Tookan’s powerful solutions, you can enable your agents to scan barcodes, add notes, images and collect digital signatures as proof of delivery.
• With an advanced delivery partner rating and review system, you can get real feedback from customers and help your delivery fleet to improve the quality of their service.

Conclusion

In these constantly evolving and uncertain times, it’s crucial to make your customers feel safe and heard. Offer them contactless delivery and do your part in helping stop the spread of the virus. Wondering how you can get started with Tookan? Get in touch with your team of delivery management experts and learn more about how Tookan can be of help.