While we will continue to see growth in parcel package deliveries in 2020, we will see an even bigger spike in online sales of items requiring white-glove logistics and services. Due to this new trend in ecommerce, consumers — who have been conditioned to expect their online purchases will be delivered quickly and efficiently — will start to demand the oversized, fragile or high-value items they buy from online sellers be delivered in a similar fashion.
It is widely believed that logistics automation via parcel shippers was the catalyst for the initial wave of ecommerce. However, parcel shippers were only able to automate fulfillment for items that were small, non-fragile and low value. ARTA saw the need for a similarly automated fulfillment solution for items that can’t ship via general freight networks.
ARTA automates white-glove logistics through a proprietary API and platform. First, we developed a predictive pricing model based on hundreds of thousands of data points that provides instant shipping and service costs based simply on the item dimensions and collection and delivery addresses. This allows customers to get instant shipping and service costs on our platform; or, by integrating our API, sellers can show shipping costs on their site at the time of purchase and allow the buyer to check out in a single transaction, creating a frictionless experience for transactions that were often happening offline. In addition, these goods more often than not require multiple service providers to get an item from point A to point B. ARTA built a network of more than 500 providers across more than 60 countries, which allows us to provide fulfillment solutions — including custom packing, installation, imports and exports — for any item, from furniture to jewelry to fine art, anywhere in the world. Most importantly, while ARTA’s technology can automate whatever our customers would like, there is always a human available to provide custom solutions for complex requests.
Adam Fields is founder and CEO of ARTA, provider of innovative technology and fulfillment solutions for global white-glove logistics.
