Australian courier service Zoom2U strengthens Uber-style approach

Australian courier service Zoom2U has acquired Freight Match, an Australia-wide online service that matches transport operators with customers wanting to move goods.
Through the new addition, Zoom2U customers will have an alternative delivery option for interstate shipping, employing road freight carriers and air freight operators to deliver larger items such as pallets, building materials and shipping containers.
For interstate deliveries, goods can essentially ‘hitch a ride’ with vehicles that are already traveling to the required destination.
Steve Orenstein, CEO, Zoom2U, said the Freight Match acquisition would enable the company to apply the same online booking and smart delivery tracking features introduced with Zoom2U to the freight delivery industry.
“Much like courier delivery, freight transportation is an area that can be optimised significantly,” he said. “The problem is that existing services use the same technology systems that were used ten years ago, making delivery jobs unnecessarily complicated.
“Bringing Freight Match into the fold gives us an opportunity to upgrade its capabilities and offer a much better experience for customers. The reality is that Australians have become used to tracking their taxis and food on a map in real-time, and there’s no reason why they can’t do the same for package deliveries.”
Freight Match has a network of more than 2,000 transport operators in Australia, offering them a consistent source of new income by tapping into spare capacity without having to chase clients or fuss around with paperwork and payments.
Zoom2U recently celebrated its third year of operation in Australia, in which time it has secured major deals with DHL and Big Commerce, and gone from 250 parcel deliveries a day to more than 35,000 a month. It now has a network of more than 500 couriers around the country, and has raised $3 million in funding to date.
“Zoom2U has carved out a sizeable niche in Australia for customers who need a reliable courier for VIP, three-hour, same-day or after-hour service,” said Orenstein.
“We’ve had customers use Zoom2U for everything from getting spare keys sent over when they’ve locked themselves out of the house to express couriering a forgotten passport to the airport.
“With the impending local launch of Amazon, online retailers need to be looking at how they can overhaul their delivery infrastructure to match Amazon’s immediacy and breadth of shipping options. The recent acquisition of Freight Match means Zoom2U is well-placed to become the alternative delivery system of choice in Australia.”