While 2020 was a year of disruption and change for businesses and consumers alike, there are three emerging trends that are here to stay, according to global logistics service provider, Pitney Bowes.

1. The ecommerce boom has only just begun
The upward trend in ecommerce will continue as consumers increasingly shop online, forcing retailers to adapt their operations and move towards e-tailing environments. Smaller, home-based e-tailing businesses are experiencing significant growth, and will continue to invest in solutions that empower them to meet customer needs.

The latest Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index found that global parcel volume surpassed 100 billion parcels in 2019, reaching 103 billion parcels total. In Australia, on average more than 2.5 million parcels were sent each day.

Pitney Bowes Australia and New Zealand head of shipping, Ben Seal said, “Parcel shipping solutions will continue to adapt to meet changing customer needs. One significant trend is the growth in technologies that let users compare different carrier options, as well as pricing information and delivery times. Solutions that offer order management features, greater flexibility, and more visibility can help with cost management and optimising the customer experience.”

2. Growing investment in technologies that empower remote working
Many organisations have been forced to assess their business-critical processes and identify how to empower employees to continue to work productively regardless of location. Companies that rely on sending and receiving packages to conduct business needed to implement safe and secure methods of parcel shipping to keep both their employees and their company information and assets safe.  

“The future working environment is likely to involve a hybrid of office-based and remote working, and employees will continue to engage in more flexible working practices. Solutions that simplify sending mail from home and the office will continue to increase in popularity,” Seal said.

3. Increased use of analytics for deeper, more valuable insights
Organisations have faced a lack of visibility into employee behaviour since the transition to remote working. Flexible working solutions give employees greater control and autonomy over how they manage workloads and activities. At the same time, it can be difficult to know whether documents and parcels have been sent to customers or partners as needed. This can lead to errors like double handling, missing items, and unhappy customers.

Cloud-based parcel shipping solutions can help keep track of packages and documents sent, and provide visibility into volumes, delivery information, shipping spend, and more.

“Solutions that provide greater insight and visibility into parcel sending for a remote workforce will benefit organisations on a number of levels. Tools that facilitate access to analytics and reporting based on metrics such as shipping spend and activity will help businesses with forecasting and cost savings,” Seal said.