Complete Guide: Benefits of Hiring Delivery Drivers (2024 Update)

While commencing a delivery business or expanding an existing one, the first thing that must have crossed your mind is whether or not you should hire a third-party delivery driver. Hiring third-party delivery drivers have a number of advantages. After all, they are the ones who help you complete your deliveries on time.

However, the advantages you gain from hiring your own drivers outweigh the benefits you gain from using a third-party delivery service, both for the short- and long term. 

According to an in-depth analysis on the Restaurant Industry & Market Evolution, restaurant operators reported that they received 43 percent of internet orders through direct channels.  Out of the 43 percent, half of the respondent choose to order via WhatsApp or the restaurant’s mobile number. Having your own delivery fleet also saves you money by eliminating the need to pay costly commissions to third-party aggregators.

So, let’s find out the roles of drivers in today’s world and what are the benefits of hiring your own delivery drivers.

Understanding Delivery Driver Roles

• Earlier, employers used to treat drivers like second-class citizens at one point. Pick up the goods and move them to their final destination. However, due to the company’s commitment to speedy deliveries, drivers’ roles have risen dramatically. So, it’s been more crucial than ever to choose a skilled delivery driver for any delivery business to succeed.
• The job of the drivers has been more challenging than ever. They must drive through congested suburban and urban streets and are mechanically inclined to handle a vehicle that breaks down on the road.
• Along with sufficient training in preserving safety and compliance, the driver should also have competence in material handling and regulatory regulations. The driver’s responsibility must also include the management of paperwork and keeping track of all delivery data records.
• All of this is a great deal to do for drivers, but it isn’t the end of the story! The hired drivers also take into consideration the customers, and requirements, and thus, work with both manufacturer representatives and retail shop managers in collaboration. And exceedingly swift and nimble to do those multi-stop deliveries efficiently, with tolerance and civility, as well as on schedule.

Overall, the delivery drivers are the public face of your organization. And it reflects favorably on your company’s image when you have highly trained employees who follow all applicable regulations and provide high-quality work.

In-House vs Third Party Drivers: A Comprehensive Comparison

Knowing how challenging the job of a delivery driver is, it’s time to look at in-house and third-party delivery drivers so that we can look at which one is better.

Feature	In-House Delivery Driver	Third-Party Delivery Driver
Staff Control	Complete Control	No Control
Customer Satisfaction	Better Service (Training, Tracking)	Dependent on Third-Party Service
Delivery Time	Reduced Delivery Time	Potentially Longer Delivery Times
Communication	Direct Communication	Potential Communication Gaps
Profitability	Higher Profit Margins	Lower Profit Margins (High Commissions)

1. In-House Delivery Driver

• Complete Staff Control: You would have complete control over your delivery drivers, monitoring their orders better.
• Better Service For Customers: You can train and track your own drivers to provide better service to your customers.
• Reduced Time For Delivery: The time of a particular order reduces as there is a minimal checkpoint involved.

2. Third-Party Delivery Driver

• No Control Over Your Staff: You would have no control over hired third-party drivers, and rely on third-party services, which would result in you having no control over the overall client experience.
• Cause Communication Issues: Introducing a third party into your delivery service can cause significant communication gaps and delivery logistic issues.
• High Margin: Hiring third-party for your delivery driver can erode profitability in the long run by having to pay a high margin on every order you deliver. But with in-house, this is not the case.

Looking at the differences, we can say that it is a good option to hire an in-house delivery driver team for your business.

10 Proven Benefits of In-House Delivery Drivers

Now, you have gained a better knowledge of why in-house delivery is the ideal option, finally, it is time to learn about the benefits that make an in-house delivery driver the optimal option for your business.

1. Improved Customers Experience

Having in-house delivery drivers for your delivery service means that you can train them as per your need. Third-party delivery drives, on the other hand, are just concerned with delivering goods to your potential customers, regardless of the quality.

If a third-party driver makes a mistake or takes too long to arrive, you may not be able to communicate with the driver. In-house drivers, on the other hand, make it simpler to notify consumers about delays because you and your drivers have a direct channel of communication.

2. You Get To Know Them Better

Drivers feel great deals of responsibility when they have a solid relationship with a manager and have one manager instead of dozens of clients.

When you hire your own delivery driver, you use your own crew to complete orders. As a result, you get to know your drivers in a better way and establish relationships with them. It’s become far easier to hold them accountable for the service and ultimate product you’re providing to your customers than a third-party driver.

3. Reduce Cost & Earn More Money

In-house delivery drivers can save enough money compared to third-party delivery fleets, which eat a huge chunk of your profit. Let’s say your company’s annual revenue is around $1.5 million, so the delivery made up 20% of a  restaurant’s business before the pandemic, that figure is closer to 40% now. That would mean that the average restaurant generates $600K annually from delivery orders.

If a third-party delivery service keeps 30% in fees, that’s equivalent to $180k. The median restaurant delivery driver’s annual salary is $42.5k. Do the math and you’ll find that even if you hired two full-time delivery drivers, your restaurant would save almost $100k by hiring your own drivers.

It would also cost you $180K if you employed third-party delivery services, which is 30 percent. Restaurant delivery drivers make an average of $42.5k a year. If you do the arithmetic, you’ll find that owning your delivery fleet will save you about tons of dollars.

Overall, it is less expensive to have your own delivery fleet than to use third-party delivery services.

4. Own Your Mistakes & Praises

Mistakes might occur to anyone whether they are a food delivery driver, grocery delivery agent, or furniture delivery personnel. For example, meals may be delivered cold or late. However, if you are relying on many food delivery drivers that work for third-party services, you will be held responsible. Moreover, you can also expect a slew of negative reviews.

But with your own delivery staff, you can prevent those mistakes from happening, and if they do, you can own up to them. You can ask your driver or look for bottlenecks on the dashboard to find out why the food arrived late or cold.

This way, your consumers can come to you with their concerns and you can address them head-on, such as with better packing so that mistakes aren’t repeated.

5. Better Serve The Customers

Suppose a customer called and inquired about the whereabouts of their delivery. The thing is only third-party delivery drivers have the answer, and both you and your Customers either have no answer or have very little visibility about the task. 

But with the In-house driver, this will not be the case. By hiring your own delivery driver, you will be able to offer the Customers real-time tracking, so they won’t even have to phone you. Alternatively, even if the phone rings, you already know the answer to the question they’ve been asking you.

With this knowledge, you’ll be able to better serve your customers. It’s possible to reassign an order for expedited delivery or to simply inform the Customers that the driver is en route and the package will arrive in a few minutes. Contact the staff, and you’ll be guided through every step. What do you have to lose?

6. Have Great Control Over Your Service

Your drivers serve as the public’s first impression of your company. They have the power to either drive customers away or turn them into lifelong advocates. You certainly choose the second option and you may want your driver to reinforce this message for you so that your brand comes across as helpful and beneficial.

You’ll have a driver who’s dressed in the colors of your company, unlike the third-party driver, who won’t. You will be able to offer a white-labeled application to your customers if you have your own drivers. Customers will have more freedom to interact with your brand, allowing you to have greater control over the level of service you deliver.

7. Have More Control Over Your Brand

When the customers made any delivery service from your company, they interact with no one but the delivery driver. They will be the face of your company, so it is crucial to have a good impression on your customers and provide service in the line with your company’s brand. 

And the only way to guarantee this level of service is if we have our own delivery driver. You can teach delivery drivers how to do things the way you want them to do them. When you choose a third-party delivery service, the drivers follow the rules set forth by that firm rather than your own.

8. Build a Cordial Relationship With Your Customers

Delivery customers appreciate and benefit from working with the same delivery drivers in the same manner that other customers love and benefit from seeing the same face.

The biggest advantage of working with in-house delivery drivers is that they may create a friendly relationship with the Customers again and over again. They will be able to recall orders and customers’ names, as well as the chat, which will encourage business growth.

9. Improve Your Team’s Performance

When you have a good delivery planning app and have your own driver team, you can obtain detailed information about the performance of every delivery driver. 

This way, you will get the average delivery times of each delivery driver, which can be calculated, analyzed with the online ordering solution, and used to drive your team to improve performance.

Once you have the data of outliers, you’ll be able to figure out what went wrong with the delivery and can address any underperformers, and provide your Customers with great delivery services. 

Overall, you can assist the team in their professional development, and help in getting an appraisal.

10. Make Data-Driven Decision

When your company depends on a third-party delivery driver, you don’t have that much data in your hand. Surely, it is the products they have been delivering, but the access to the delivery date belongs to the third-party service. 

However, with the in-house delivery driver, this is not the case. You have your delivery date, which means you have the power to attract potential customers and increase your revenue. For instance, you can know when your consumers ordered what, which helps in marketing the products better to them.

Expert Tips for Hiring Delivery Drivers

• Research your local market to understand the delivery driving skills and qualifications required for a driver’s job. See if the job needs certain certifications or licenses specific to your industry. If you are thinking of hiring delivery truck drivers, you must also ensure your candidates carry a commercial driving license and other certifications desired in your area or industry.
• Determine the salary range and benefits that your competitors offer and create the list of perks, including performance bonuses, employee discounts, or insurance plans you’ll be offering. 
• Ensure your ad or job posting clearly explains the duties and responsibilities to avoid any confusion. Highlight unique benefits like flexible time-offs that you are going to offer compared to competitors to attract top talent.
• Tap into the potential of social media websites and job boards to increase the visibility of your job posts. You can also consider publishing them in local newspapers or flyers in places, such as libraries, retail stores, or community centers.
• Deploy different screening tools to screen your potential candidates based on background, reference checks, and criminal history.
• Check for the applicant’s valid driver’s license and clean driving record. Following that, you can conduct interviews asking about their experience and how they will handle different situations. 
• After picking the right candidates, onboard them and ensure you answer all their queries and help them understand policies and procedures well.

How Route Planner And Optimization Software Can Ease The Work Of Delivery Drivers

For delivery drivers, route planning software is vital. And there is no doubt in saying that the effort of creating a delivery route manually is difficult, and selecting the best route planning & route scheduling app is important to ensure timely deliveries. 

Here are some of the reasons why route planning and optimization software can ease the work of delivery drivers in many ways.

• It will help you save time by providing you with the best-optimized routes for your delivery.
• An intelligent route planner allows you to assign the right order to the right source, giving you an accurate estimate of the delivery time so that you can inform your customers accordingly.
• The right route planning app ensures that delivery drivers spend less time responding to last-minute changes and allows businesses to be more efficient with their deliveries.

A well-thought-out route can get the delivery orders to reach the destination as soon as possible at the given allocated time. To efficiently meet your routing scenario needs, use the most promising route planning software named Upper Route Planner.

With Upper Route Planner,  you will be able to save up to 95% of your planning time and serve 40% more customers by optimizing time spent on the road. It allows the planning of efficient routes with multiple locations in just a matter of seconds.

Conclusion

To conclude, with your own delivery fleet, you can monitor the vital performance of each delivery driver you have, such as driver waiting time in-store and time taken to dispatch.

In-house delivery service will require proper investment and resources, but it will benefit in the long run. Keep in mind to take into account all of the touchpoints before setting up the delivery system and to take note of any client feedback you receive.

If you want to manage the entire delivery process on your own, consider the Upper Planner App which makes planning and optimizing routes easier than ever. Ideal for couriers, meal kit delivery, retail delivery, flower delivery, and other small businesses, Upper makes it simpler for these businesses to plan delivery operations in clicks.

SO, without giving a second thought, you can start your FREE trial with Upper and know how it helps your business expand.