The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently announced that it will begin accepting bids for “Last Mile Delivery” starting in late January or early February next year.
“Last Mile Delivery” refers to the final transport of goods from a distribution center (such as a warehouse) to the customer’s hands, which is widely considered the most crucial and expensive part of logistics, directly impacting delivery speed, customer satisfaction, and overall service efficiency.
For years, USPS has been providing delivery services directly from its delivery destination units (DDUs), but this usually only applied to a few large customers. With recent significant investments, the agency’s parcel handling and delivery capabilities have greatly improved.
“We deliver over 170 million addresses per week, making us the natural leader in ‘Last Mile’ delivery,” said USPS Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer David Steiner, expressing the hope to open up the delivery network to provide this valuable service to a larger group, including logistics companies and retail businesses of all sizes.
USPS will establish a fair bidding process to find the best delivery combinations across the country and obtain optimal pricing based on shipment volume. Steiner mentioned that this would be highly attractive to carriers, stating, “We can help carriers reduce costs while generating much-needed revenue for the postal service.”
During the bidding process, carriers can access USPS’s 18,000 delivery destination units across the United States to propose combinations of shipment volume, pricing, and delivery times. The winning bidder’s goods will be delivered by USPS on the same day or the next day, depending on the customer’s choice.
USPS plans to determine bid results through Negotiated Service Agreements (NSAs), notify the winners in the second quarter of next year, and begin providing services according to the agreements starting in the third quarter.