The disruption from the UK’s lorry driver shortage can no longer be termed as a disruption. Rather, it is a crisis that is now acute and urgent, plaguing businesses of all kinds. Currently, the United Kingdom is facing a shortage of 100,000 drivers - making e-commerce fulfilment more challenging than ever.
A combination of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the tax reforms have worsened the already worrisome situation. Even before the pandemic, the overall estimated shortage was about 60,000 drivers.
Tax changes and Brexit have made it more expensive for drivers not from Europe to work or be employed in the UK. Earlier, it was easier for drivers to come and go from the UK. Plus, the average age of truck drivers is 55 years old. The past year, due to several reasons, caused drivers to opt for early retirement.
How Does it Affect Businesses?
With a shortage of this degree, it’s safe to say that many businesses and consumers have been severely affected by it. Let’s talk about businesses first. Longer delivery times, lack of availability and increased e-commerce shipping costs are not things that entrepreneurs respond particularly well to. This is especially alarming for SMEs, who do not have the resources and finances to deal with larger organisations. Container deliveries are being booked 3-4 weeks ahead, so you can imagine the havoc this shortage has caused.
How Does it Affect Customers?
The impact of the Lorry Driver Shortage on businesses ultimately has a spill over effect on the consumers. If you think longer delivery times are upsetting for a business, think about the consumer who has been really looking forward to receiving their parcel that was meant to arrive in 2-3 days.
With the increased costs the business faces, consumers also face the brunt of it with increased prices. So longer delivery times, cancelled deliveries and increased international e-commerce costs: let’s just say it will lead to a call to the Customer Services department you wouldn’t really like to answer.
How Does it Affect E-commerce, and What Can You Do About It?
Let’s talk about something a little more specific: the Ecommerce Industry. Amongst other elements, ecommerce businesses legitimately thrive on deliveries. In retail today, customers expect fast and efficient delivery. Naturally, businesses want to promise quick ecommerce solutions for customer retention. But, newsflash: the driver shortage doesn’t really make it easy.
So then, what should e-commerce businesses actually do?
Well, the answer is rather simple. Partner with JRD Fulfilment! Our purpose is to help your online business grow. We offer award-winning ecommerce solutions, from online order fulfilment, warehousing, freight forwarding to parcel shipping. It is worth mentioning that as a subsidiary of JRD Innovations Ltd, JRD Fulfilment is a fellow subsidiary with Send2China, a market leader in the cross-border logistic industry, which means we also specialise in providing worldwide shipping service!
JRD Fulfilment was founded with the vision of providing premium e-commerce services to merchants in the UK. We are prepared and committed to helping e-commerce technology businesses steer through the Lorry Driver Shortage as smoothly as possible.
We offer domestic e-commerce shipping within the UK, and you can count on our fulfilment centre to ensure your shipments are delivered securely and on time - anywhere in the UK. So go ahead and guarantee quick deliveries to your customers, because we’ve got it covered with our incredible shipping speeds.
It’s important to note that JRD Fulfilment is not just some random e-commerce fulfilment service - we are your primary partners in success that you can rely on eyes-closed for a smooth delivery experience unlike any other.
At JRD Fulfilment, watching you thrive is what keeps us going. This is why we craft bespoke e-commerce solutions to support your bold, feisty ideas - so you can do what you do best with unmatched confidence.