Last week, we created our state of the industry to provide our partners in the office furniture sector a glimpse into the trends that we believe will be affecting their business in 2023. There was one area that while we knew it was part of a larger trend, it was an area that we wanted to address as its own article due to the unique nature of shipping.
The trend is: working from home and its impact on office furniture shipments
As many associates and organizations develop work from home policies that work for their businesses, a trend we’ve noticed is there has been a rise in smaller furniture orders requiring shipment to residential addresses. This is no doubt due to a desire to provide a better work from home experience by having office furniture shipped directly to a valued associate’s home office. While this trend has admirable intentions, it has proven to be a tricky challenge to navigate for many carriers. The reason why it’s so tricky? Many may not realize that we as carriers can only deliver using semi trucks, and it can be quite a surprise for everyone when one of our semi trucks arrives at a residential address for a delivery.
These shipments to residential addresses put a lot of strain on carriers compared to deliveries to a commercial building with a dock. Shipments to residential addresses will likely incur additional fees based on the carrier, and oftentimes carriers can’t get to a residential address due to local laws inhibiting a semi truck ability to deliver the shipment. Yet as the situation continues to evolve, there is little doubt that solutions will present themselves, whether that be coordinating a pickup location at a terminal for the customer or some other means. It is important to remember the value of coordinating and communicating with your carrier when it comes to work from home office furniture shipments.
Here at Zip Xpress, we understand the importance of protecting office furniture. We will work with your organization to provide the guidance you need in order to navigate this trend and provide you with the custom carrier solutions that will get your shipments to their destination on time and undamaged. We are one of the best carriers in West Michigan when it comes to shipping office furniture and have maintained a 99% satisfaction rating with all of our customers. To see for yourself, start today with Zip Xpress!
