Dive Brief:
- Last-mile delivery provider Veho is looking to expand into new markets and product categories this year despite an overall downturn in the parcel shipping industry, co-founder and CEO Itamar Zur told Supply Chain Dive.
- The company expanded into 11 Northeast markets last year. Zur declined to provide specific areas Veho is considering a launch in this year, but its website lists Columbus, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan, as locations "coming soon."
- Veho provides deliveries for many apparel brands, meal kit companies and enterprise retailers. It's expanding into other categories like electronics to maintain volume growth and prove it can deliver effectively "for basically every e-commerce category out there," Zur said.
Dive Insight:
Veho saw plenty of growth in 2023, increasing revenue by nearly 90% year over year, according to Zur. It's aiming to build on that momentum despite a challenging and competitive environment that could see shippers further reduce their parcel carrier mixes.
"I think we're going to see some consolidation in the market in 2024, and I think we're going to probably get to a place where it is going to be a handful of large players," Zur said.
Zur further noted that Veho is pushing to win on both price and service quality to attract more business.
While Veho isn't looking to have the lowest prices in the market, it wants its rates to both be appealing to shippers and reflect the value it provides as a carrier, according to the CEO. Additionally, the company touts its more than 99% on-time delivery rate, real-time shipping updates and picture proof of delivery.
"The winners are going to be those companies who are able to marry cost with customer experience, and the only way you can do that is with technology," Zur said.
At the same time, Veho aims to reduce its own costs as it pursues its goal of profitability by 2025. The company laid off 19% of its corporate workforce — about 65 people — earlier this year, The Information reported in January. Zur said the layoffs free up Veho to "invest in areas that create the right customer value."
"We're running the company in a very financially disciplined way," Zur said. "We're getting more efficient and having a more nimble team."
