data-auth="NotApplicable">land, air, and waterways. These packages are usually non-palletized, with each weighing around one hundred pounds. The typical models employed are customer-to-customer and business-to-business. Express services offer speed of delivery, with high-consignment deliveries arriving on a specified date or within a limited time frame. The market is dominated by both stand-alone and franchise CEP companies and groups. In companies like World Options courier franchise opportunities are proving tempting to savvy investors and entrepreneurs. Buyers are essentially offered access to leading carriers through a digitally advanced portal. They are also offered ongoing support and software solutions comprising multiple integrations and carriers. 

New Tech for Courier Delivery

New technological advances are contributing to the CEP’s positive outlook. One emerging method of fulfilment leverages networks of nonprofessional couriers to deliver packages to clients’ doors. Called crowdsource delivery, this method proliferates in meal and grocery deliveries, but it is springing up in a host of industries and is currently enabling retailers to reduce costs while maximizing their supply chain efficiency. Through his method, companies can get packages to clients in under half an hour. This type of “instant gratification” is particularly potent in industries whose target market comprises members of the millennial and Gen-Z generations. Another benefit of crowdsourced delivery is that drivers use their own cars, which enables startups and company owners to avoid investing capital in costly fleets. 

Electric Delivery 

Companies wishing to invest in their own fleets are also making significant savings by opting for electric bikes and scooters. These enable companies to keep up with a growing volume of local deliveries, specifically in the food and parcel delivery sector. This type of transport is ideal for crowded cities and they can fit through narrow roads with ease. Many companies are also experimenting with small electric aircraft such as drones, which rely completely on electricity. Google, DHL, UPS, DPD, Boeing, and other companies are running tests in a myriad of countries to perfect drone delivery under strict conditions.  

The courier industry is booming, with studies indicating that the sector will increase in worth by over $1billion in just a few years. Factors such as the growing popularity of e-commerce are making it easier to shop with your fingers, and younger generations are attracted by the chance of instant gratification and easy returns. Technology is playing an important role in the boom, with crowdsource delivery and electric vehicles boosting speed, efficiency, and sustainability.