Disrupting the Small Parcel Delivery Market with Mark Lavelle

Episode Description

In this episode of eCom Logistics Podcast, Mark Lavelle discusses the changing landscape of e-commerce logistics and the opportunities for disruption in the market. He emphasizes the importance of meeting customer expectations for fast and transparent delivery, and how companies can optimize their shipping processes to achieve this. Mark also highlights the potential impact of Amazon entering the small parcel delivery space and the need for consolidation in the final mile segment. He shares insights on Maergo’s approach to solving the shipping problem and the benefits of their end-to-end solution. Mark concludes by discussing the future of e-commerce logistics and the need for sustainable business models in the industry.

ABOUT Mark Lavelle

Mark Lavelle has over 20 years of experience growing businesses at the intersection of commerce, payments, and internet technology. He’s Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Deep Lake Capital. Previously, Mark was SVP of Commerce at Adobe as a result of the $1.7B acquisition of Magento where he was CEO. Other senior leadership roles include eBay, PayPal and Bill Me Later.

HIGHLIGHTS

• [00:01:28] Mark’s background and his involvement with PayPal Mafia
• [00:05:32] The changing landscape of small parcel delivery
• [00:06:11] Opportunities for disruption in the market
• [00:08:00] Tackling the end-to-end problem in shipping
• [00:09:00] Defining the problem of growing consumer expectations for delivery
• [00:10:23] Solving the logistics challenge for small to medium-sized sellers
• [00:15:16] New entrants like DoorDash and Instacart change the delivery equation.
• [00:16:26] The control over the pre-click experience is valuable.
• [00:17:15] Shipping transparency and costs are crucial to consumers.
• [00:18:49] The gap in consumer expectations needs to be addressed.
• [00:27:14] Need for A/B testing to show the impact of faster delivery
• [00:28:29] Challenges of splitting inventory and the need for cost containment
• [00:30:07] Advantages of operating out of a single node for efficiency
• [00:38:02] Frustration with slow-moving warehouse systems
• [00:38:35] The need for multi-carrier systems to easily add new carriers[00:39:12] Amazon’s announcement of charging a 2% cut for self-fulfilled orders
• [00:41:01] Amazon’s focus on customer expectations and delivery promise
• [00:44:39] Lack of dominance in the logistics industry and opportunity for strategic VCs

QUOTES

[00:21:44] “You have to orient your supply chain and your parcel chain, and your consumer brand strategy really to meet their needs of up leveling expected delivery date, transparency around cost, and transparency around every stage of delivery.” – Mark Lavelle
[00:22:55] “If you want it expedited, there’s going to be a way, it’s going to be this. It builds more trust than waiting until the end of the process and having the customer abandoned.”

Find out more about Mark Lavelle in the link below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mklave/