20 Things You Didn’t Know about Veho
There are some companies that tend to follow the crowd and others that have a tendency to break the mold, doing things their own way and forging new paths that others have never even considered. Veho is one of those companies. You might know them as an end-to-end shipping company, but there is so much more worth knowing. In fact, here are 20 things about them that are likely to surprise you.
1. They typically deliver parcels within a day
The company touts the fact that it can have parcels delivered in a day on its website. This may not sound like much but the fact of the matter is that even Amazon can’t always promise that they will deliver parcels within 24 hours. You may be wondering how they manage to pull this off, but for now it’s worth knowing that they typically stand by their claims. In fact, it’s a major part of their business model and for them, it seems to be working.
2. They deliver packages on time 99.99% of the time
There aren’t a lot of parcel delivery companies that manage to stay on time, especially during the most demanding times of the year or during staff shortages. This one operates differently by maintaining the pool of delivery drivers at their disposal at all times. They also have a tendency to funnel things down to a microscopic level, ensuring that drivers can deliver packages within a very defined geographic area. Their system has so far proven effective, allowing them to deliver packages on time all but 0.1% of the time. That’s far better than anybody else in the delivery business and it will be interesting to see if they can maintain that as time goes on.
3. They also have an outstanding customer satisfaction rating
In addition to getting packages where they belong on time, they have been doing very well in the customer satisfaction business. In fact, they have a current rating of 4.9 out of a possible five stars. Considering the fact that it is virtually impossible to actually have a perfect rating, this is just about as good as it’s going to get, at least in the real world.
4. Every parcel can be tracked in real time using their smartphone app
They have an app that can be downloaded onto virtually any smartphone, whether it’s an iPhone or one that is supported by an Android operating system. This allows people who are waiting on packages to track those packages in real time using this specific app as opposed to being forced to utilize a tracking number and then going to the website of a major corporation such as UPS or FedEx. The idea is to give people specific information regarding the whereabouts of their packages so they don’t have to be left guessing where their packages are or when they will finally arrive.
5. They claim that they can scale their services to fit the needs of businesses
This is a company that specializes in serving e-commerce businesses. If you make a living out of selling things and then shipping those items to clients, there is a potential that this particular company can help you as well. They don’t deal with major corporations, nor do they deal with individual packages. Everything is geared toward the person who is involved in e-commerce so that packages can be shipped more efficiently.
6. They have a dedicated team that helps their clients get started fast
They have a team that knows exactly how to ship things within a specific geographic area in order to get packages where they are going as quickly as possible. Whenever a new e-commerce business comes on board with them, that team works directly with the business in order to get them started with the company as quickly as possible. The end result is that most e-commerce businesses can start shipping with them in a matter of days, far less time than it takes to get set up with virtually anyone else.
7. That same engineering team keeps things flexible for their clients
The same engineering team that works to set up new clients also produces a great deal of flexibility for those clients, allowing them to scale the services provided to their own individual needs. That allows smaller companies to get the services they need quickly and efficiently without forcing them to pay for services that would be better utilized by a larger company. By the same token, those larger companies can benefit by the extra services provided.
8. They source packages from other e-commerce companies and sort them accordingly
One of the reasons that they’re able to get packages delivered so quickly is because they’ve become experts at using technology to sort those packages according to the geographic area from which they are being shipped. They then group the packages into even smaller sections depending on where they’re being shipped to. it would be virtually impossible to do this effectively without state-of-the-art technology, something that they use extensively.
9. The company crowdsources drivers that can work locally
One of the major differences between this company and others is if they crowdsource local drivers to deliver packages from their local warehouses to individual residences. Typically, each driver only focuses on a one or two square mile area. That’s one way that they have managed to get packages delivered on time so frequently.
10. Updates are provided on a minute-by-minute basis
The app that can be downloaded allows recipients to track packages down to the nearest minute. The company even requires their drivers to take a photo of the delivered package and put the photo on the app so recipients can see exactly where the package has been left and what it looks like the very moment it’s delivered.
11. They have practically corned the market on the gig economy
You might think of this company as developing a monopoly on the gig economy, with one major exception. They work in much the same manner as individuals who deliver food orders using the same gig economy business model. However, this time they are delivering packages as opposed to delivering fast food or grocery orders.
12. They got their start in Colorado
As a matter of fact, they started in what is often considered one of the most progressive cities in the country, Boulder. Of course, they have since expanded their services to incorporate more metropolitan areas. However, they do not have operations in every city, so it’s important to check and see whether or not they have anything going in the city where you live.
13. They now have operations in more than a dozen cities
The truth of the matter is that they are currently operating in no less than 14 cities across the United States. That may not seem like much, but considering the business model they use and the way they conduct their operations, it marks steady growth within the company.
14. They don’t have traditional employees
As previously mentioned, they operate on the basis of a gig economy. As a direct result, they don’t have traditional employees. Instead, they use independent contractors who are willing to work as self-employed individuals for the routes they sign up for. This saves the company money because it means they don’t have to spend money on things like insurance for their employees. They also don’t have to worry about paying into retirement accounts and the like. They simply pay a specific amount for each route and then let the person who has accepted that route sort out the rest.
15. Those delivering packages have options available to them
As far as people who are delivering the packages are concerned, they also have plenty of options available to them. The same app that is used to help people track their packages can be used by independent contractors to find out exactly which routes are available, how many packages are involved and how much that individual route pays. The amount of pay varies depending on things like the city that the package is being delivered in, the exact route that is in question and the number of packages that are being delivered on that particular route at any given point in time. The amount of pay available is always clearly stated so people who deliver packages for them know how much they’re going to make ahead of time. Seeing the amount of money that’s being paid in comparison with the number of packages that must be delivered allows their independent contractors to adequately determine whether or not it is worth their time and effort to accept a particular route or look for something that is better suited to their needs.
16. More often than not, there aren’t really that many packages involved
The company is well-known for carefully monitoring the number of packages that are typically placed on a single route. More often than not, they only put about 25 packages on a route in order to help their independent contractors better manage the number of packages that must be delivered. Obviously, this also helps their drivers manage their time better because they’re not delivering 50 to 100 packages in a single day. That’s exactly why the company has been able to keep their on-time delivery percentage at such a high rate. Where a lot of independent contractors that drive for other companies are delivering upwards of 100 packages a day, most drivers that are delivering for this particular company are only delivering a fraction of that number.
17. You have to think about the size of your vehicle if you want to drive for them
People sometimes get caught in a situation where they believe that they can work as an independent contractor for the company delivering packages, even if they have a very small vehicle. The fact that the company only operates in major metropolitan areas and typically limits the number of parcels that must be delivered on any singular route to about 25 packages or less can cause some people to get the idea that they can easily fit those packages into a compact vehicle. The truth of the matter is that most of these packages are fairly substantial in size. In order to have enough room to place all of the packages, it’s typically necessary that you have a vehicle that is at least as large as a midsize SUV. In fact, some people even use small delivery vans in order to get the job done. If you don’t have a vehicle that is this large, it could pose a real problem in working as an independent contractor for the company.
18. Pay is typically considered fair
More often than not, drivers make just over $21.00 per hour. This may not be considered great pay, but there are certainly jobs that pay worse. As a matter of fact, it is possible to make more money per hour, but you have to be smart about choosing your route. It’s best to choose the routes that have the highest amount of pay while simultaneously requiring you to drive the least amount of time. In addition, you have the chance to pick up routes that offer incentives that sometimes mean more pay.
19. The company says they pay more than the average wage
The company says that their typical pay is roughly 30% better than people make on average. It’s true that it is high enough to be rather respectable, but there are also a lot of gig workers who claim that they can make more money delivering food orders for companies like DoorDash or UberEats.
20. They’ve received a significant amount of funding
So far, they have received $129.2 million in funding for their operations. They plan to use it to expand into additional markets as well as hire more managers to help get things rolling in those markets. As of right now, the locations they are focusing on include California and New York.