Guest: Steve Orenstein
Steve is a born entrepreneur who blazed his trail by ditching university at 19 to build his own business, Connect2Field. After successfully selling it to Fleetmatics (NYSE:FLTX), he set his sights on revolutionizing same-day delivery with the groundbreaking Zoom2u platform. With over 120,000 happy customers ranging from SMEs to corporate giants like DHL, Bunnings, and Nespresso, Steve is shaking up the delivery world one parcel at a time.
- [05:11] Steve dropped out of university to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams and eventually founded locate2u, which provides a live tracking and same day delivery experience for e-commerce and retail businesses. The company also offers route optimization and live tracking, with over 500 customers worldwide. Their goal is to improve the customer experience through real-time delivery updates.
- [12:16] Providing a great delivery experience for local customers can lead to repeat orders and drive volume for e-commerce businesses, and even 20-30 local orders a day within a 3.5-mile radius can make same-day delivery cost-effective when using one's own fleet of drivers.
- [16:07] To find drivers, Steve recommends using Facebook groups and general recruitment sites. Same-day delivery does not require branded vans or drivers, but rather tapping into an existing network of drivers with cars and using technology like Locate2u to optimize routes and batch deliveries.
- [21:24] Grouping deliveries together can create a more efficient and controlled delivery experience for customers. This approach may require additional effort and resources, but can result in better customer satisfaction and repeat business. The use of storage facilities and hiring drivers to do pick and pack is also a possible method of same-day delivery with a global potential.
- [30:00] To offer same-day delivery, businesses need tech for route optimization and checkout process customization, which is not cost-prohibitive. Remunerating drivers involves calculating a cost per delivery, which can be fixed to the customer with a possibility of experimenting and tweaking the price. Thinking of it as a marketing expense can help gain more customers.
- [40:15] Nespresso uses their retail stores as micro warehouses to offer same-day delivery within a certain radius to customers who enter their address information during checkout. This could potentially be replicated by other retail businesses. Delivery options and speed are becoming increasingly important for e-commerce businesses to distinguish themselves from competitors.