What is Contactless Delivery? Everything You Need to Know

Gone are the days when contactless delivery was only considered an additional feature of a delivery service provider. During the global pandemic, we saw the rise of contactless deliveries as almost every delivery company offered only contactless deliveries during that time. Today, it has become a necessity and an industry norm to keep staff and consumers safe from the disease spread and to modernize your business delivery operations. In this blog post, we have explained what contactless delivery is, how it works, its benefits, and everything you need to know about this popular delivery solution.

What is contactless delivery?

As the name indicates, contactless delivery requires no contact between the delivery person and the recipient. In traditional delivery services, the parcel is handed off to the recipient at his doorstep and the delivery person waits outside till the recipient receives the parcel. These traditional methods have proven extremely vulnerable to virus transmission from one person to another. During COVID-19, when there were limitations for physical contact, contactless delivery served as a beneficial and safe delivery method as compared to the traditional method.

How does contactless delivery work?

During contactless delivery, the goods are delivered by the delivery personnel at a pre-set location. The recipient specifies the exact location or point where the parcel should be left, which could be the doorstep, mailbox, garage, yard, etc. So, instead of handing the parcel to the recipient directly, the delivery person may leave it outside the house or at the designated spot for the recipient to pick it up. It is ensured that there is no contact between the delivery staff and the recipient while the parcel is safely delivered. The recipient is notified via call, SMS, in-app notification, or email that the parcel is delivered to the location. Payments for such deliveries are made in advance via credit card, debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or digital wallet offered by the delivery service provider. Most of the delivery companies work 24/7 so you can receive your contactless parcel any time of the day. For example; if a person places a food order at a restaurant and chooses no-contact delivery, pays online in advance. The restaurant prepares the food for him and enables contactless delivery in which the driver picks up the order in a secure parcel delivers it at the specified location and notifies the recipient via app notifications or phone calls, etc. Sometimes, the driver waits at a distance till the recipient takes in the parcel.

Features of contactless delivery software

Contactless delivery is considered a convenient and safe way to deliver all types of packages. Enabling contactless delivery offers several features that can help streamline your delivery operations and encourage the consumer’s safety. If you are running a business and want to implement contactless delivery services, contactless delivery software can help you run your operations seamlessly. Here are some key features of contactless delivery software:

No-contact delivery spots

During contactless delivery, the business offers users the ease of picking up the parcel from their defined spots. They may customize the delivery options such as picking up the parcel from a yard, doorstep, etc. Through providing ease and flexibility, the businesses establish positive reputations.

No-cash payments

By integrating contactless delivery software into your business, you can enable cashless deliveries. Paying through cash is one of the many ways to come in contact with the virus but with no cash payment, you can zero down this potential transmission. By allowing consumers to pay online in advance for their contactless deliveries, you not only contribute to their well-being but also improve your business cash flow with rapid payment processing.

A digital proof of deliveries

The modern ways that are used to collect proof of deliveries in a contactless delivery have revolutionized the delivery industry. After the rider or delivery personnel leave the parcel at the pre-set location, he may capture the parcel’s photo and forward it via the tracking link. An OTP is even generated for the recipient as digital proof of delivery. Moreover, the recipient may even submit an e-signature from their devices as online proof without any physical contact with the delivery personnel.

Real-time tracking

Contactless delivery enables consumers to track their parcels in real time. They get notified at every step of the delivery to keep their entire delivery process transparent. The delivery vehicles are GPS-equipped which helps businesses to track their location. Moreover, some delivery companies even allow customers to track their parcels through live maps and visualize their rider’s route in real-time.

Benefits of contactless deliveries

Even though contactless deliveries have been around for several years, their implementation got a boost during the COVID-19 pandemic. To facilitate people with their food, groceries, and other vital items deliveries across the region, many delivery companies came up with no-contact delivery solutions in the UAE. It was a revolutionary step that has now become a norm to ensure maximum safety for everyone. If you have not adopted contactless deliveries for your business yet, it is high time to do it now. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has long gone, you can still adopt no-contact deliveries due to the multiple benefits it brings to your business.

Maximum safety

A good business values its employees as much as it prioritizes its consumers. The safety of every individual is important in a business and one of the many ways to ensure maximum safety is through limiting interactions. No-contact deliveries ensure that no consumer and delivery personnel come in contact with each other and the parcel is also delivered safely to the destination. It is one of the convenient ways to safeguard consumers as well as delivery staff from encountering any transferable disease and a great way to ensure everyone’s well-being.

Great customer experiences

With the implementation of a no-contact delivery method in your business, you can make your customers feel valued. It establishes trust among the clients and they believe that you are concerned about their safety. Through nurturing positive feelings in your clients, you can establish a strong business reputation. They may even recommend your services to their acquaintances which increases your customer base.

Fast and advance payment transactions

With contactless deliveries, the customer pays online via multiple payment methods which ensures the quickest payment transactions. Accepting payments via cash is one of the prominent ways of getting in contact with any virus but with contactless payment, you can not only safeguard yourself from any possible disease transmission but also ensure a steady cash flow. You can add digital gateways to your business that help streamline payment processing and speed up payment collection.

Increased efficiency

Contactless delivery has proven more productive for the delivery personnel. Since there are no direct interactions between the delivery personnel and the recipient, a lot of time is saved. They don’t have to wait to receive payments or wait at the destination for the recipient to receive the parcel. This reduced time increases their productivity and they can facilitate more deliveries in a day.

Competitive advantage

The demand for contactless deliveries is increasing rapidly so offering these services gives your business a competitive advantage over others. Not only does it appeal to more customers but also it retains the existing ones. A business that cares for its customer’s safety and well-being stands out and grows exponentially.

Adhere to the health safety guidelines

In most cases, it is required for a business to offer no-contact deliveries to adhere to the health guidelines during the widespread of a disease like COVID. These guidelines are implemented for the safety of the public and reduce any chances of infection transmission. By adopting contactless deliveries, you can satisfy the regulations specified by the health authority and get your business growing by satisfying all the requirements.

Potential disadvantages of Contactless deliveries

While contactless delivery is very beneficial in the modern age, it still has a few disadvantages such as:

Service compromised

Since the recipient does not directly receive the parcel from the delivery man, there are possible chances of mistakes during the delivery process. There may be a damaged or incorrect order delivered to which the recipient cannot respond at the exact moment.

High business costs

Implementing contactless delivery requires a contactless delivery software application which may increase business expenses.

Technical errors

During contactless delivery, it is important to have a reliable connection between the recipient and the delivery person. If there is any technical error such as unstable internet or software errors, it can prolong the delivery process.

Delivery disputes

When the delivery person delivers a parcel at a specific location and if the recipient does not receive it upon notification, there are potential chances of the parcel being lost. If someone else receives the order on the recipient’s behalf without his knowledge, it leads to causing delivery disputes.

No-contact delivery is the new go-to for businesses

The businesses that offered no-contact deliveries before the global pandemic successfully survived their business operations during that tough time. Even during the period of social distancing, they were able to fulfill their consumer’s orders through no-contact and cashless deliveries. Today, almost every delivery service provider offers contactless deliveries to ensure maximum healthcare for their employees and consumers. From order placement to invoicing, payment transactions to parcel delivery, every step is performed more efficiently with the contactless delivery software. Even today, many consumers choose contactless payments and contactless deliveries to avoid social contact or if they’re not home, especially in the UAE. So, if a delivery service facilitates consumers with this convenient method of delivery, it will boost its revenue and repute.

Conclusion

Contactless delivery is the industry norm today, and there should be no way to hinder the delivery service provider from offering contactless deliveries to consumers. It is important to accommodate customers with the best and safest delivery solutions to make them feel valued and to successfully carry out your operations.

FAQs

What is contactless delivery?

Contactless delivery is a method of delivering goods to the doorstep of the recipient without any direct physical interaction. During the contactless deliveries, the delivery fee is paid online. Since the parcel is not directly handed over to the recipient, it saves time and reduces any chances of disease transmission.

What goods can be delivered via contactless delivery?

Any type of goods can be delivered via contactless delivery methods including clothing, electrical appliances, home accessories, food, groceries, documents, or any essential item.

Does contactless delivery facilitate faster deliveries than traditional delivery methods?

Contactless delivery facilitates faster deliveries than traditional delivery methods because the delivery personnel does not have to hand over the parcel to the recipient. The driver does not have to interact with the recipient and just quickly drops off the parcel at the pre-defined location.

How the recipient is informed about the parcel delivery in the contactless delivery?

There are several ways to inform the recipient about the parcel delivery in the contactless deliveries including notification via SMS or email, in-app notifications, and phone calls. If you want to get your parcel delivered to the doorstep in a no-contact delivery method, the delivery person may ring the doorbell. Many delivery companies offer online tracking for consumers to track their deliveries and they may use the tracking ID to track their parcels and get notified when the parcel arrives at the destination.

What if a customer is away during a no-contact delivery?

In this case, the delivery personnel may follow the instructions specified by the customer such as leaving it in a safe location nearby, at the doorstep or yard, etc. Some delivery companies also allow customers to re-schedule their deliveries at a specific time frame if they are not available to receive the parcel.

How are parcel returns and exchanges facilitated under contactless delivery?

If a customer wants to return or exchange a parcel, he may initiate a return request. The delivery man will pick up the parcel from the doorstep with no physical contact involved and deliver it to the fulfillment center where the further procedure of return or exchange is carried out.