The Last Mile May Be Taking a Vertical Leap
July 10, 2018By Rand Stephens (Houston)
The growth of e-commerce over the last ten years has exploded. In 2008, less than 4% of national retail sales came from online ordering. Today, the Census Bureau of the Department of Commercereports nearly 10% of total retail sales is from e-commerce. The first quarter 2018 e-commerce increased more than 16% from last year’s first quarter and there are no signs of slowing down as online giants like Amazon, Walmart and Target continue to thrive. We are a click or a swipe away from ordering products and having them delivered within 24 hours, or in some cases, within two to four hours. With consumer demand for instantaneous delivery on the rise and with people willing to pay more for the convenience, how will that impact last-mile distribution facilities?