Third-Party Delivery Services For SMBs In 2023

Small business owners can rely on third-party delivery companies to streamline their operations and reduce costs while ensuring on-time deliveries. Here’s a quick guide.

Small businesses already have a lot on their plate. They single-handedly have to deal with material sourcing, manufacturing and employee management. Add-on pressure of on-time delivery, customer dealing, and satisfaction can get too much. What they need is a helping hand like third-party delivery services providers.

Partnering with third-party delivery companies will not only reduce their aspirin intake but also efficiently take on the responsibility of delivering orders to customers on time. It will connect you with delivery agents for order delivery and make your business visible to a wider audience.

What is a Third-Party Delivery Service?

Third-party delivery service involves safe, on-time and efficient delivery of goods from manufacturers to customers. When businesses hire third-party delivery partners, they no longer need to deliver their products to the customers on their own as the third-party delivery service companies overtake the delivery process.

Moreover, these delivery partners hold expertise in navigating the on-time delivery path. This, as a result, will encourage customers to transact more, eventually skyrocketing your sales. 

How Do Third-Party Delivery Services Work?

Third-party delivery services like Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash provide last mile delivery apps that allow customers to order food from your restaurant or shop. The app sends these orders to the restaurants or shops via direct integration with point-of-sale (POS), and then it connects you with local delivery drivers to deliver the orders.

The platform charges a commission on each order. The commission varies from 6% to 30% or higher, depending on the order type. Typically, such platforms also charge delivery fees to customers. So, both businesses and customers are paying for the service.

Generally, all third-party delivery services work similarly:

• Customers download the third party’s delivery app, through which they can browse and place their orders from their favourite restaurants and stores, aka yours.
• These orders are sent to your company via a mobile device or your point-of-sale system.
• Third-party delivery service providers arrange deliveries by local delivery riders.

Why Do Small Businesses Need Third-party Delivery Services?

For small businesses, hiring a third-party logistics service is the best alternative because it allows them to concentrate on their primary operations while leaving the delivery part responsibilities in more experienced hands.

Due to their industry specific experience, third-party delivery companies can offer affordable solutions for various issues, including pricing, route optimisation, compliance needs, and more.

Additionally, because they frequently include end-to-end services like package tracking, tracing, and inventory management, they can aid in lowering overhead expenses related to warehousing and transportation.

Finally, by working with an outside partner, small firms can also outsource the time-consuming paperwork related to goods and shipping operations. This will allow employees to focus on the manufacturing process.

Small companies looking to improve customer happiness while streamlining their supply chain operations should consider collaborating with third-party delivery providers.

According to a PLS Logistics study, 75% of shippers said using third-party delivery services helped them save money on overall logistics costs. 3PLs have extensive experience in the delivery business, so they can help you set up a fast and reliable delivery system.

What are the Pros of Third Party Delivery Platforms?

• Improve Customer Service: With high consumer demand, offering just delivery service isn’t sufficient. Fortunately, third-party delivery providers are able to provide amenities to customers love making it easier to impress them.
• Gain New Customers: The best part of relying on third party delivery platforms is the marketing that comes with it. Using such services and apps makes your store or restaurant more discoverable amongst new customers.
• Increase Profits: Once you start counting all the new customers gained and money saved, you find how profitable it is to go for third-party delivery apps. 

In fact, reports suggest that joining with a third-party service can increase your restaurant’s sales by an average of 30%. 

• Lower Business Costs: Even though some third-party delivery services have upfront costs, you may end up saving money by using them in the long run. Outsourcing your delivery operation eliminates worries about petrol prices, driver and vehicle insurance and transportation by contracting with a third-party delivery firm. Restaurant owners discover using a third-party service is a sensible option, particularly for small businesses.
• Optimise Labor: Third-party delivery partners are ideal for streamlining and optimising every operation of small businesses. You no longer need to hire your own delivery agents. Third-party apps digitally transmit orders, freeing up your staff to handle operational issues. In the event of errors or complaints, third-party services also mediate between you and the client.
• Increase Brand Awareness: A third-party delivery service can help your restaurant increase visibility and expand your audience. For most customers, the delivery partner service serves as an unofficial endorsement, which builds trust.

Top 4 Third-Party Delivery Services in 2023

1. Roadie

A UPS business, Roadie uses crowdsourcing to handle delivery. It offers same-day delivery, which is why the platform covers 90% of American homes from New York to Los Angeles.

Roadie may be a good option if you prepare meal kits or deliver produce to restaurants.

Pros of Roadie

• Batched routes for streamlined, high-volume deliveries
• 2-hour delivery in select locations
• Same-day delivery in a 100-mile radius

2. Goshare

GoShare connects you with delivery professionals on demand for help with last-mile delivery or middle-mile logistics. From food to furniture and parcels, get everything delivered to consumers. 

Its wide network of more than 20,000 box trucks, cargo vans, pickup trucks and sedans is available to help with the same day, or you can schedule in advance. Business customers can integrate GoShare using its Delivery API.

3. DoorDash

DoorDash is a prominent player in the third-party delivery game. It operates in most of the major cities and partners with some of the biggest restaurant chains in the business market as well as small companies.

Partnering with DoorDash might help your restaurant get noticed by many people, as DoorDash is the most widely used meal delivery app for businesses. It is also possible to incorporate it’s online ordering capabilities under your own brand name without drawing attention to DoorDash.

Pros of DoorDash:

• Numerous POS integrations
• No credit card processing fees (for orders placed on the app)
• Self-delivery, pickup, & white-label delivery options

4. Grub Hub

Another well-known third-party delivery service in the US is Grubhub, which is available in most of the main cities. Grubhub has a handy price calculator on its website to assist you in calculating your restaurant’s estimated monthly earnings should you include it as a delivery option. 

Pros of Grub Hub

• Free Grubhub tablet, menu photoshoot, & menu consultations
• Access to promotions and loyalty perks at higher plan levels
• Self-delivery, pickup, & white-label delivery options

TrackoMile – Powering Third Party Delivery Services 

Third-party delivery services wouldn’t have been a star if last mile delivery software like TrackoMile weren’t around. TrackoMile offers white-label last-mile delivery software solutions that enable delivery services to deliver orders on the same day and on time seamlessly, help your business win over customers and more.

Spilling some secret sauce here!

Dynamic Dispatch Management: This feature allows third-party delivery services to dispatch orders on the go as it pairs orders with riders on the basis of the timeline and other factors.

Route Optimisation: Same-day or on-time delivery is only possible for third party delivery companies when they utilise route optimisation, which suggests the shortest and most apt route for the delivery. TrackoMile does so after considering 120+ factors. 

Rider Roster: One of the responsibilities of third-party apps is connecting your business with raiders. They do so seamlessly as they can access the schedule of riders available and their shifts through the rider roster.

Carrier Management: Delivering catering orders or furniture without worrying about carriers, as TrackoMile ensures that the vehicle assigned is the perfect fit through its carrier management solution. 

ETA and ePODs: Last mile logistics TrackoMile is helping third-party delivery companies provide complete visibility of orders to all the consumers and businesses involved in real-time. It even offers a variety of POD options like OTP, esignature or barcode scanning.

Wrapping Up!

Winning over customer satisfaction and ensuring the delivery process is as smooth as possible is vital for small businesses. Unfortunately, handling an in-house delivery system can get a bit too expensive and tough. The best alternative to it would be to rely on third-party delivery services’ expertise and resources in this market. With numerous players in the market, it is also vital to partner with the best-suited one.