1. Push for contactless delivery

The concept of contactless delivery became a big part of the new normal. Customers across age groups have leveraged the power of mobile apps to shop from the comfort of their homes and receive orders at their doorsteps, which helped them stay safe from any contagion.

2. Push for customer centricity

Digital touchpoints such as real-time trackers enabled customers to know the status of their shipment. Chat features on websites or apps ensured easy communication at the click of a button. Also, the pandemic witnessed many heroic stories of how delivery employees went out of their way to ensure shipments reached the customer on time.

3. Push for digital transactions

Digital payments had picked up in India even before the COVID-19 era. However, with the pandemic, the fear of contaminated paper money bumped up online transactions. Customers favoured contactless payment options like e-wallets, net banking, UPI, among others.

4. Push for delivery via drones

The pandemic brought about the concept of using drones to ensure delivery of vaccines, blood samples and other critical medical supplies to the remotest parts of the country where last-mile connectivity is a problem. Successful drone trials initiated under the project ‘medicine from the sky’ by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Telangana government, World Economic Forum, Niti Aayog and HealthNet Global is a step forward in integrating drones into supply chains. Blue Dart is keen on supporting the initiative with the launch of the Med-Express Consortium.

5. Push for sustainable logistics

Along with the pandemic, humanity is fighting a war against climate change. Several green initiatives, sustainable packaging, introduction of electric vehicles and other measures that can lead to zero emissions are on the rise. Implementing practices that are aligned with a strong ESG strategy is a sustainable approach that is being applied extensively in recent times.