With a surge in online orders as a result of the coronavirus leading to companies needing additional vehicles to match demand, Merchants Fleet today announced that over the next 24 hours, one million homes will receive essential goods in a vehicle managed by the Company.
The need for last mile and home delivery and other essential logistics is being felt across industries. As U.S. ecommerce sales have risen by more than a third in the last several weeks, this surge in the need for vehicles is unprecedented and well exceeds the planning and logistics related to delivery demand during the holiday season.
“Over the past two years, we have pivoted our business toward mobility offerings to include last mile, home delivery and short-term leasing, which is allowing us to keep American businesses moving during these unprecedented times by serving our over 500 home delivery suppliers, couriers and transportation clients,” Brendan P. Keegan, CEO of Merchants Fleet.
“In response to the needs of essential businesses, we have realigned our marketing, sales and operations teams to support the home delivery surge as we focus on getting our clients the vehicles required to ensure people across the country receive the goods and services they need. It has never been more critical for these businesses to continue operations with minimal disruption and to have safe and clean vehicles at their disposal.”
Over 60% of Merchants Fleet clients have been deemed to be in essential industries. Transportation and logistics, healthcare and public health, food and agriculture, and critical manufacturing are just a few of the business sectors where companies utilize Merchants Fleet vehicles for their essential work.
“From 2015 to 2019, the percentage of goods purchased online more than doubled to 10.7% in 2019, and with the impact of COVID-19 we expect that to accelerate,” said John Cail, Vice President of Mobility at Merchants Fleet. “Our mobility team is closely tracking these trends and has expanded our last mile operation to fulfill this demand. As businesses look for creative ways to keep operations moving in this environment, we are pleased to be able to support them.”
In conjunction with the increase in home deliveries, Merchants Fleet surpassed 15,000 vehicle orders for last mile & home delivery companies since December 2018. The Company offers a unique program that provides variable fleet options with a single point of contact that removes the need to return delivery vehicles to a rental counter, or buy a vehicle that is only needed on a short-term basis.
