The on-demand business model is gaining traction in the B2B community, from on-demand transportation to on-demand temporary workers. Further proof that businesses are embracing these services comes from Shipster, a startup that offers shipping services for companies.
In an announcement Monday (July 13), Shipster revealed that it would be expanding its on-demand services to San Francisco after launching in New York less than one year ago. Already, the company reportedly ships 11,000 packages a month for businesses, success its founder Christian Vizcaino attributes to the ways Shipster can service businesses in a way other shipping companies can’t.
“If you’re a regular shipper and you have a scheduled UPS pickup time at 1 p.m., you have to organize your entire operation around that pickup,” he said in a recent interview with TechCrunch.
To remedy this situation, Shipster will work around another company’s schedule. The firm will pick up packages at any time most convenient to a business within 20 minutes, and through partnerships with other major shipping firms including FedEx and UPS, Shipster has amassed about 100 agents contracted out to do the pickups and deliveries.
These agents include trucks and vans as well as bikers and walkers, the company said.
Shipster also deploys its own technology to ensure its delivery operations are efficient thanks to a routing algorithm to automate decision-making in terms of shipping type and service based on destination, size, shape and other features. Packages can be tracked through the mobile Shipster app, too.
Reports note that even with Shipster’s expansion to San Francisco, the startup has hefty competition, including rivals Shyp and Dropoff. But according to Vizcaino, Shipster is unique in meeting business customers’ needs. “There are a few billion dollar companies in ride-sharing or ride-hailing, and we think that shipping is 10 to 20 times larger,” he said of the market. “Our vision is to build the fastest shipping company in the world.”
The company is reportedly planning to set up operations in up to five additional cities in the U.S. by the end of 2015.
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