Amazon’s Latest Delivery Feature Should Interest Fleet Safety Firms, Shipping Companies
As part of its continued quest to reinvent the way we shop and receive items, Amazon is once again changing the game. According to an April 24, 2018 article from Business Insider, a recently-debuted offering allows customers to track the location of their package to determine how soon it will be delivered. For those in the delivery, shipping or fleet safety fields, such real-time knowledge should be of interest to those who deal with driving daily -- even if there are no plans to invest in such technology at the respective company. That’s because the crux of fleet safety centers on knowledge so Amazon’s effort may reveal what customers want in that same knowledge department.
According to the article, the Map Tracking app for Amazon customers gives an estimated time of delivery and offers the number of stops that the driver must make before that customer’s delivery is made. "The Amazon Map Tracking feature is another delivery innovation we are working on to improve convenience for our customers and provide them greater visibility into their deliveries," an Amazon spokeswoman told Business Insider about the program that first rolled out in November 2017. For anyone who has ever had a package lost in the mail and had to track it down with assistance from the U.S. Postal Service or UPS, such an offering may prove essential. However, not everyone is on board and some shoppers have called it downright “creepy.” No matter which side of the spectrum you fall into, it’s hard to argue against the fleet risk management aspects of this application.
Knowing where orders or shipments are at all times is a huge advantage for fleet safety proponents. Similarly, knowing the exact route of the driver and road he or she has already taken on their way to the destination is a way to address fleet accident management at your company. When working with a company like CEI Network, for example, fleet accident management is handled by this third-party oversight operation so fleet companies can focus on logistics. When auto repairs are called for, a fleet risk management company will take the wheel and ensure that the best prices and repair timelines are obtained. While the future of this latest Amazon delivery effort remains to be seen, the article does note that the company is asking delivery drivers to take a photo of the package once it has been left at the destination. This simple step, as any fleet accident management firm will tell you, is one more way to please customers and ensure that the services you claim to offer consumers are delivered on time and every time.