When Gallery Furniture in Houston opened for business in 1981, the home furnishings store offered same-day delivery based on the need to make room for more product.
“If he didn’t deliver the furniture the same day that people bought it, he wouldn’t have the money to go buy more furniture and sell it the next day,” Daniel Marchione, Project Manager and Systems Administrator says of Owner Jim McIngvale. In those early days, they would sell furniture all day, deliver it that evening and pick up new furniture that night to sell the next day.
Today, the business still offers same-day delivery, motivated in part by an entirely new need to compete in a retail landscape where giants like Amazon set consumer expectations for speedy delivery. For independent businesses like Gallery Furniture, offering fast delivery is one more way to stay relevant — but it isn’t without its challenges.
Here are the three biggest speedy shipping challenges and what retailers can do to get the product delivered on time.
1. Manufacturers Not Sending Product Fast Enough
You can have drivers ready to go and plenty of warehouse space, but manufacturers need to get products to you in time in order for you to turn them around quickly.
What you can do:
President Daniel Stewart at ROC City Furniture in Rochester, NY, says this is a common challenge he faces, but he gets ahead of it by keeping a sharp eye on his inventory and anticipating sales.
“If we know something’s gonna be hot, we get a lot of it, and then you just watch your levels of inventory,” he says. “If you stay on top of it, it works better for you that way.”
Manager Chris Parinello at Austin’s Furniture Depot in Austin, TX, says he avoids this problem by developing strong relationships with long-time manufacturer partners.
If you continually have issues with a manufacturer not being able to get product to you fast enough, it may be time to look elsewhere.
2. Not Enough Warehouse Space
If you don’t have enough space to store your extra inventory, it can be difficult to have enough stocked to get products out to customers on time.
What you can do:
If investing in more warehouse space or a larger showroom isn’t an option, try to show less product on your showroom floor that you don’t have stocked and ready to ship. This might mean showing less product on your floor in general.
If a lack of space to stock inventory persists, be transparent with your customers and don’t overpromise. While Stewart says ROC City Furniture can usually get most orders out by the same or next day, he does run into the occasional roadblock. In situations where a customer orders something he doesn’t have stocked, he’s honest with them and offers a longer time estimate for delivery than he knows it will take.
3. Not Having Enough Drivers
It’s impossible to get deliveries out fast enough without enough vans and drivers on staff.
What you can do:
If your delivery team can’t keep up with demand, you can hire a local subcontractor or a startup delivery company to fill in the gaps. Parinello says when needed, he partners with a local startup app called Burro, which operates like Uber for home furnishings delivery.
“It’s mutually beneficial, because he gets his name out there and then it lets people know that they can get stuff quickly if we’re booked up,” Parinello says.
Parinello says investing in more vehicles is ultimately worth it, since being able to offer fast delivery will no doubt help you close more sales.
If the challenges of offering fast delivery still seem insurmountable, consider charging extra for faster shipping to cover costs — plenty of retailers do this. If you’re resourceful and plan carefully, investing in the tools and space you need to offer fast delivery will ultimately pay for itself, and then some.
