J.B. Hunt Final Mile Services® Trend Forecast for 2023
Moving into the new year, keeping possible industry trends in mind is important to make educated decisions surrounding the supply chain solutions you utilize for your business. Smart decision making is vital while operating in an ever-changing market. With the current economic uncertainty in mind, our J.B. Hunt Final Mile Services® professionals have given their input and believe these five elements are most likely to impact the industry in the next 12 months.
1. End-to-End Supply Chain Solutions Will Create Opportunities
Working with a carrier or third-party logistics (3PL) provider possessing first-, middle- and last-mile delivery capabilities can open the door to further customization and optimization to provide your business with stable end-to-end supply chain solutions. Choosing to work with a 3PL provider that can support all the delivery capabilities you need in one place helps reduce the stress of juggling services with multiple providers.
2. Hidden Costs of Home Delivery Will Create Strain
Businesses trying to balance the costs of their core competencies while managing a home delivery program will feel strain in different cost areas as the economy continues to fluctuate. Hidden costs may occur in the form of equipment maintenance, tires, insurance, fuel, driver hiring, training and branding, just to name a few. If you want to build a delivery program that truly benefits your business, it’s crucial to consider each factor or work with a 3PL provider who possesses the stability to withstand fluctuations and can anticipate handling those costs.
3. There Will Be a Continued Focus on Safety and Security
Delivery and installation processes should stress the importance of doing things safely and securely. When there are clear-cut safety and security standards in place, it’s easier to ensure that they’re followed by employees, independent contractors and 3PL providers alike. To cut costs during a potential economic downturn, some carriers would rather cut corners on deliveries instead of completing them in the safest manner. When corner cutting occurs, it opens a business up to huge safety and financial risks. Setting high standards on safety and security creates another layer of value for customers while protecting your business from risk.
4. Brand Consistency Will Become Central in Driver Hiring and Training
For many companies, the only face-to-face interaction their customers have with their business occurs during delivery. That's why it’s essential to hire and train drivers with your company’s brand standards in mind. During driver onboarding, you must convey the importance of maintaining brand consistency throughout a delivery. By doing so, you set the driver up for future success and help provide a consistent experience for the customer. You’ve worked hard to build your brand image, so don’t let those efforts go down the drain due to one bad delivery.
5. The Customer Value Delivery® Model Will Grow in Importance
Practicing CVD means pursuing continuous service improvements and providing a top-notch experience to create greater customer value. In an uncertain market, it’s not enough to offer fast delivery services. There need to be layers of value added to the delivery experience to make customers more likely to keep products and become repeat customers. By working with a provider who is a pioneer in CVD methodology, you can create added value for customers during the delivery process through efforts like extended safety and security measures or a deeper focus on customer service standards, for example. If you want to provide an outstanding experience that creates value for customers, you cannot skimp on delivery.
Delivering Solutions Prepared for the Future
No matter what sort of trends arise this year and beyond, our Final Mile Services professionals are prepared to help your transportation program withstand any type of disruption. Our teams have been creating stable delivery-based solutions for over 15 years. So, even during times of economic uncertainty J.B. Hunt will continue delivering top-notch solutions to our customers without cutting corners. We know what it takes to run a successful delivery program for many types of businesses with unique needs.
Work with our Final Mile Services teams to create a customized logistics program that supports you and your customers through the first, middle and last mile of transportation – set up a meeting today!
finalmile@jbhunt.com | (877) 288-8341 | jbhunt.com/finalmile