Dive Brief:
- Parts Town has expanded the reach of its same-day delivery service for local parts inventory through a partnership with UPS' Roadie, according to a May 21 news release.
- The distributor now covers a 50-mile radius from more than 130 Parts In Town locations across the U.S. through the offering, up from 20 miles previously. Parts In Town is a network of local service companies, dealers and distributors selling their inventory through Parts Town.
- Available products include foodservice equipment parts, HVAC parts and residential appliance parts that can be delivered in as little as two hours, the release said.
Dive Insight:
Faster parts delivery streamlines the equipment repair process and allows service technicians to get equipment like a flooding dishwasher or a broken HVAC system back up and running faster, making the expansion particularly valuable.
“Because of our industry-leading national footprint, same-day delivery with Roadie makes it easy and efficient for retailers to be there for their customers when they need them most – and make sure they have a clean glass, a cool room, and an ice-cold drink in no time," Roadie Founder and CEO Marc Gorlin said in the release.
Beyond Parts in Town locations, users of the same-day delivery service will also have access to inventory stocked at Parts Town's distribution center in Addison, Illinois.
"With the increase to a 50-mile radius, Parts Town can now deliver parts to the entire city of Chicago in as fast as two hours," the release said.
The same-day delivery service is only available for shipping addresses within 50 miles of a participating Parts In Town location, according to its website. The fee starts at $20 and is non-refundable.
Other parts distributors are working to boost their own same-day delivery capabilities. Marcone announced on May 17 that it would use DoorDash's white-label fulfillment platform to provide same-day delivery in under an hour on average.
Parts Town has room for further expansion of its same-day service through its Roadie partnership. Roadie features more than 200,000 active drivers on its platform providing delivery coverage for more than 95% of U.S. households, per its website.
UPS has invested in Roadie's capabilities since acquiring the crowdsourced delivery platform in 2021. It launched RoadieXD, a cross-docking capability for Roadie's oversized delivery service RodieXL, earlier this year as it pursues future revenue growth in the big and bulky shipping category.
"Our cross-dock solution brings the digital and physical together for long-zone deliveries of bulky items, such as grills and furniture, that do not fit in the UPS small package network," UPS CEO Carol Tomé said about RoadieXD on an April earnings call.
