Delta customers in the US can now ship
small parcels urgently and door-to-door
without travelling to an airport
90 inches to qualify, and
TSA Known Shipper status is
required to ship packages over
16 ounces – registration for this
can also be completed directly
at deltacargo.com. Also included
in the service is a (limited)
money back service guarantee.
An eye on innovation
Weisenburg comments on the
decision to expand into the
new service offering.
“The launch of DASH Doorto
Door is a game changer for
Delta Cargo, as anyone who
needs to get a small parcel
somewhere urgently can now
have a same-day delivery,
door-to-door service in the US
without having to travel to
the airport,” he says. “We have
been working with Roadie since
2015 on the passenger side of
the business and have seen
great customer satisfaction with
the transparency and quality
of the service. So, we wanted
to continue this momentum
and bring this innovative
product offering to our cargo
customers.”
Roadie has been expediting
the delivery of delayed
baggage, he explains, and since
2016 has expanded its service
from 12 cities to more than 70
this year, from San Francisco
to smaller markets like
Fort Lauderdale.
Once mooted,
it didn’t take
long to
bring the idea from concept
to reality, he continues.
“It took about a year of
close co-ordination and IT
development before the
product became available
to customers. This service
is an opportunity to better
serve current customers by
offering a solution to pick
up or deliver small parcels
when they’re in a time or
resource crunch and it allows
Delta Cargo to service new
customers like small or
medium businesses that may
not have a shipping solution.”
Roadie’s business model
Partner company Roadie
utilises a novel concept
somewhere between Uber and
carpooling, making use of
excess capacity in passenger
vehicles already on the road.
Marc Gorlin, Founder
& CEO of Roadie explains.
“Roadie puts unused space in
passenger vehicles to work,
creating an ‘on-the-way’
logistics utility that makes
same-day delivery faster, more
effi cient and more sustainable,”
he enthuses. The company was
also the fi rst to market with
such a solution, he adds.
He comments on the
collaboration to create
Delta DASH Door-to-Door.
“Customers want what they
want when they want it. This
partnership means we can
deliver, whether it’s across town
or across the country.
“Roadie has the largest local
same-day delivery footprint in
the US, with 150,000 verifi ed
drivers. We currently reach
89% of all US households.
Our partnership with Delta
Cargo effectively extends our
model into the belly of an
aircraft. Expanding that sameday
footprint coast-to-coast
is the next milestone in the
company’s growth.”
We expect to
offer the service
out of all Delta
Cargo’s hubs before
the end of 2020
Matt Weisenbwurg, Director - Cargo
Strategy and Alliances, Delta Air Lines
Orders through the DASH
Door-to-Door service are fulfi lled
by Roadie’s existing network of
drivers, he notes.
Feedback so far
Weisenburg conveys an
optimistic start to the service.
“Users have been very satisfi ed
with the service and comment
that they would recommend it
to others,” he relates.
Customer Matthew Piercy,
Technical Service Manager,
RONCHI America, offers his
feedback. “We have used the
DASH Door-to-Door Service
several times now and plan
to use it more often for
critical same-day delivery of
critical parts shipments to
our customers,” Piercy relates.
“Setting up the shipment was
simple. The feature is amazing:
select the fl ight, select the
Door-to-Door option, receive a
package pick-up schedule and
the driver picks up the package
at your location and just hours
later our customer is up and
running again! Great job Delta!”
When asked if there are any
competitors offering a similar
service to Delta Cargo’s DASH
Door-to-Door, Weisenburg
responds in the negative. “Not
for same-day service. DASH
Door-to-Door is unique in that it
pairs TSA-approved drivers with
air cargo to create the fastest
cross-country door-to-door
service available in the US and
offering a dynamic price quote.”
Looking ahead
As for the future of the DASH
Door-to-Door service, does
he see this service being
rolled out outside of the US?
And are further disruptive
developments on the horizon
in growing the last mile
solution, such as drones?
“No plans for drones,”
affi rms Weisenburg. “The plan
is to expand pick-up service to
be available in more domestic
cities. This week Des Moines,
Iowa, was added to the list by
customer demand,” he said in
early November. “We expect
to offer the service out of all
Delta Cargo’s hubs before the
end of 2020.”
Having pioneered a door-todoor
service as a US airline, what
is next on Delta Cargo’s agenda
in the way of innovation?
“We’re actively studying
the market and listening to
customer feedback to identify
areas of opportunity,” advises
Weisenburg. “Innovation is
in Delta’s DNA, so you will
continue to see new products
and services that are tailored
and developed to make it
easier to do business with
Delta Cargo.”
Certainly this is an
interesting development for
a carrier and one that begs
the question: is the future of
airfreight in the fi nal mile?
And will more carriers be
setting their sights on valueadded
services?
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