Courier service Go People is attempting to change the way businesses approach deliveries with its crowd-sourced approach.
The business was founded in 2014 by Wayne Wang, who sought to make the courier model more efficient. “We went to market to change the delivery industry and disrupt legacy delivery and courier rules, resetting the benchmark of how deliveries can be made,” he explained.
To use Go People, retailers book a job via the web app which is then broadcast to the company’s next work of runners. Once accepted by a runner, you can track your parcel at every stage of the delivery. Similarly to Uber, Go People’s 12,000 runners are rated by customers so you can ensure you’re getting a reliable service.
For Rebecca James, owner of Brisbane-based florist Poco Posy, using Go People has seen her business grow by 300 per cent in six months.
“We used to do all the deliveries ourselves, but we couldn’t keep growing this way,” she told Retailbiz. “Within a month of using Go People we had doubled, that’s how much the courier service was holding us back.”
James said that before discovering Go People, she was considering starting a courier service herself as she couldn’t find a service that worked for her business.
“We were employing contractors who were really unreliable,” she said. “That was our biggest roadblock… But Go People have a big group of drivers so they’re never going to be short. I know we can always call on them.”
The courier service currently operates in seven Australian locations and Wang has plans to expand both domestically and into the international market. He has initiated two funding rounds, most recently raising $825,000, and the service currently makes more than 10,000 deliveries a month.
“It’s clear we’re heading in the right direction,” said Wang. “This demand shows there is hunger for more flexible and convenient services among Aussie consumers.”
Although there are others in the market offering a similar service, Wang is confident that Go People can set itself apart. “Parcel delivery can be much more complex than other on-demand services,” he said.
“That is because a runner—our name for a courier—needs to be able to deliver parcels to multiple locations in the simplest and most efficient manner. That’s where our proprietary routing and grouping algorithms set us apart. We work out the best routes and the best locations for them travel, to make their life easier and, in turn, make them more money.”
The Go People app is free to use, with costs based on the distance and urgency of the delivery.
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